Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IX.djvu/403

 IRON-CLAD SHIPS IRON MANUFACTURE 389 as a projectile." The victory of the Austrian over the Italian fleet at Lissa in 1866 was in a great measure due to the excellent services of the Austrian ship Ferdinand Max, which ram- med and sunk the American-built frigate Re d'ltalia and damaged other ships severely. It afforded conclusive evidence of the great re- sults which may be achieved by the proper use of this method of attack, and attracted renewed attention to the construction and manoeuvring of iron-clad rams. In order that a ship may be efficient as a ram, it is obvious that she should be swift and handy under steam, so as to en- able her not only to overtake her enemy, but to hit her directly and squarely in the side. These qualities are incompatible with either great size or great length. Hence the ram should have moderate dimensions and propor- tions, in combination with powerful machinery, twin screws, and improved means of steering. As to the proper form of ram bows, there are some differences of opinion among naval con- structors. Some favor stems reaching forward above water, others prefer upright or nearly upright stems ; but the majority are decidedly in favor of the under-water prow, spur, or eperon, which has been generally adopted in European navies. The advocates of the for- ward-reaching stem, like that shown in the "Warrior, think that there is an advantage in delivering the blow above water rather than under, particularly in ramming low-decked monitors or ships with low sides, on the ground that there is a probability of overrunning the enemy and making the weight of the ram- ming ship aid in sinking her. The advo- cates of the upright stem, like that shown in the. Achilles and Invincible, assert that the blow delivered thereby is not so local in its effect, and that this form of bow can be more readily disengaged after ramming; while the advocates of the spur bow (shown in the Lord Clyde) believe that it is specially adapted to sink an enemy by penetrating the weak side below the armor, and particularly about the rudder, and that it possesses greater penetra- ting power than any other bow. Mr. Reed, late English naval constructor, holds that this form possesses special advantages against American monitors, the armor of which generally termi- nates at comparatively slight depth below wa- ter. The following table shows the strength of the iron-clad navies of the world in 1873 : 3 S'S COUNTRIES. 11 IP COUNTRIES. 11 III ill z N a z " < 5 Great Britain... 54 721 Sweden & Nor- Franco 44 857 18 23 Germany 6 79 Turkey 22 127 11 166 2 Italv 22 207 48 121 Spain 1 145 Brazil 18 64 Holland 20 61 Chili 2 Denmark fl 69 Peru 6 24 Xante 25 180 General total . 806 2,844 See " Ordnance and Armor," by A. L. Hoi- ley (New York, 1865); "History of the Navy during the Rebellion," by the Rev. 0. B. Boyn- ton (New York, 1867-'8); "System of Naval Defences," by James B. Eads (New York, 1868); "Our Iron-clad Ships," and "Ship Building in Iron and Steel," by E. J. Reed (London, 1869) ; UArt naval A I 'exposition universelle de Paris en 1867, by Vice Admiral Edmond Paris (Paris, 1869) ; " Reports of the Committee appointed by the Lords Commis- sioners of the Admiralty to examine the De- signs upon which Ships of War have recently been constructed " (London, 1872) ; La, marine cuirassee, by M. P. Dislere (Paris, 1873) ; and reports of the secretary of the navy. IRON MANUFACTURE. Since the reduction of iron from its ores is an operation of simple character, requiring merely that the ore shall be in contact with burning fuel in an enclosed space, or in the midst of the fire, it is not surpri- sing that the process was employed in remote antiquity. The Greeks attributed the discovery of iron to the burning of the forest on the moun- tain of Ida in Crete about 1500 B. C. The rapidity with which iron rusts on exposure is no doubt the reason why so few ancient articles of this material are preserved. Pliny quaintly says: "Nature, in conformity with her usual benevolence, has limited the power of iron, by inflicting upon it the punishment of rust ; and has thus displayed her usual foresight in ren- dering nothing in existence more perishable than the substance which brings the greatest dangers upon perishable mortality." Copper and bronze are not so liable to oxidation, and are consequently better preserved. Iron is oc- casionally found in the metallic state in mete- orites, but its amount is too small to be of im- portance to any nation. There is abundant historic testimony to the great antiquity of iron. The Bible contains a great number of references to it. Wilkinson says : " Iron and copper mines are found in the Egyptian desert, which were worked in old times; and the monuments of Thebes and even the tombs about Memphis, dating more than 4,000 years ago, represent butchers sharpening their knives on a round bar of metal attached to their aprons, which from its blue color can only be steel ; and the distinction between the bronzed and iron weapons in the tomb of Rameses III., one painted red, the other blue, leaves no doubt of both having been used (as in Rome) at the same period. In Ethiopia iron was much more abundant than in Egypt." According to Dio- dorus, the Egyptians assigned the art of work- ing iron to their great national divinity Osiris, thus implying that it was known from time immemorial. Herodotus and Pausanias men- tion that the Lydian king Alyattes, the father of Croasus, who died about 570 B. C., present- ed as an offering at Delphi a curiously inlaid iron saucer made by Glaucus, an inhabitant of Chios. Both Diodorus and Herodotus mention the island of Elba as abounding in ironstone,
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