Q.-What is a jewel block?

A.-A strop'd block at the topsail yard-arm for the topmast stunsail halliards.

Q.-How are the martingale stays set up?

A.-By the back-ropes, which are ropes to keep the martingale in its place.

Q. What are the cap shrouds ?

A.-Shrouds shackled to the lower cap, and set up on deck abaft the rigging to support the lower-mast head.

Q.-Suppose you have to unship your foremast, what spars will you use for shears?

A. Take the fore and main lower yards for shears; strengthen them well with smaller spars from the slings to the deck, well lashed to the yard.

Q. How would you send a topsail-yard down?

A.-Send it down with a good luff tackle, having the upper block lashed or hooked to the mast-head so as to hang free.

Lash the lower block to the quarter of the yard (not amidships) so that the yard will cant as soon as it is weighted with the tackle. Have a tripping line to each of the yard-arms, so as to cant the yard as may be required. Lower away, take off the braces as soon as the tripping lines are on, or when the yard is on deck.

Q.-How would send a topmast down?

A.-Hook a top-block to the lower cap, reeve a good mast-rope through the block from aft forward, through the sheave-hole in the topmast, and make the end fast to the eye-bolt on the other side of the cap. Slack up backstays, headstays, and rigging. Sway away gently on the mast-rope, knock out the fid, and lower away. Before the topmast-head clears the trestle-trees, rack the mast-rope towards the head to prevent it from falling over when the head is below the trestle-trees. Single the mast-rope, reeve the end through the sheave-hole at the topmast-head, then take a round turn round the topmast, hitch it to its own part, and lower away on deck.

STOWAGE OF CARGOES.

Q. What precaution would you take while loading and discharging?

A.-Keep the ship upright and a few inches by the stern, so that the water may come to the pumps. Also keep the cargo spread fore-and-aft lest it strain the ship. Try the pumps repeatedly. Every evening note the draught of water, and the tons weight taken in during day.

Q.-What is the first duty of a mate entrusted to prepare the ship's hold to receive the cargo?

A.-I would sweep the hold clean, see the limbers clear fore and aft, so as to let the water have a free passage to the pumpwell, pumps all right, and the dunnage properly laid.

Q.-What are the limbers, and where are they situate?

A. The limbers are square holes cut through the lower part of the ship's floor timbers on each side of the keelson. They form a channel which communicates with the pumps throughout the whole length of the floor.

Q.-Where are a steamer's limbers?

A.-At the sides of the tanks.

Q.-What are the transoms?

A.-Timbers bolted across the stern-post of a ship, to strengthen her after part.

Q.-What are the breast hooks?

A.-Thick pieces of timber shaped into the form of knees, and bolted across the stem inside the ship to strengthen her fore part. Q.-How do you clear the limbers?

A. With my hand, or with a piece of iron.

Q. What is dunnage, and what is it for?

A.-Loose wood or other substances laid at the bottom of a ship to prevent damage to the cargo, if a ship should leak.

Q. What places require special attention as regards dunnaging?

A. The floors, bilges, around the masts and pump-well, in the wake of the chain-plates, scuppers, hooks, and transoms.

Q.-Why in the wake of the floor timbers?

A.-Because when a ship lies along she will have most water

there.

Q.-Why in the wake of the chains?

A.-Because ships are apt to strain there, owing to the weight of the masts and rigging when she lays along.

Q.-State the general rule for dunnaging a ship?

A.-Place five inches more dunnage in the bilge than on the floors; or, nine to ten inches on the floors, fifteen inches on the bilge, and three and a half in the wings.

Q.-How would you lay the 'tween deck dunnage ?

A.-Athwartships, and the first tier not too close, but so as to allow a free passage to the scuppers of any water that may get on

the inside lining of the vessel.

Q.-How would you lay the dunnage wood on the floors? A.-Lay the pieces as wide apart as convenient, so as to leave a free run for the water.

Q. How would you lay the dunnage in the bilge?

A.-It should be carried well up round the bilge especially abreast the foremost; because when the ship heels over the water dashes up there.

Q.-State what thickness of dunnage you would lay in the 'tween decks for cases, what for bales and bags ?

A.-One and a half inch for cases, and two and a half inches for bags and bales.

Q.-Your ship will not stand without ballast, how would you dispose of it when taking in iron?

A.—Trim the ballast to each end, leaving the midships clear, then commence taking in, stowing amidships; discharge the ballast and go on again.

Q.-What part of the cargo is considered as dead weight? A.-Iron, copper, lead, and other metals.

Q. How should dead weight be stowed?

A. The dead weight if stowed altogether in the bottom of the ship, would strain her; it should be stowed longitudinally from the fore to the after hatchways, taking care to raise it well up in the centre of the ship, and keeping both ends as clear from dead weight as possible; this will make the ship easier in a sea-way. Q.-How would you stow an entire cargo of iron ?

A.-I would rig a platform to the height of three and a halffeet, then commence stowing the iron by laying it fore-and-aft, between the fore part of the after hatch and the after part of the fore hatch, placing it diagonally or grating fashion, keeping

the bars well apart (an inch or two). Carry it over into the wings, right up both sides, taking care to have bars along the sides to keep the chafe off the skin, and bringing it up from the ends slantingly, like steps, towards the main hatch. Secure the iron by driving down pigs between the bars, and tomming off from the beams, with planks under the toms; or by laying the last three tiers solid, and shoring and wedging.

NOTE.-At Newport railway iron is stowed as follows:-Dunnage is laid to level the hold, two or three bars are then laid close together alongside the keelson, then a space of about six or eight inches, then other two or three bars, and so on till the bars are above the keelson, then grating fashion, and the upper tiers are solid and locked together.

Q.-How do you raise the entire body of the iron ?

A.-By stowing it grating fashion, and bringing it up in a slant from the ends towards the main hatch.

Q. What is the object in raising the body of the iron? A.-By so doing the violent rolling of the ship is prevented, and she is easier in a sea-way.

Q.-You have a quantity of iron, say 200 tons, to take in, how would you stow it?

A.-Stow it in the body of the ship fore-and-aft each side of the keelson, until level with it, then diagonally, but not bring it up to a point.

Q.-If you have bale goods to go on the top of the iron, what precaution would you take?

A.-Place an inch or an inch and a half of planking over the iron to keep off the chafe.

Q.-You are in a steamer loading railway iron, how do you protect the tunnel ?

By laying rails on it, fore-and-aft, or by covering it with coals or dunnage,

Q.-Where would you commence to stow casks?

A.—In the 'midships, and stow towards the wings.

Q.-When would you stow casks from wing to wing?
A.-When by doing so I can get another cask in the tier.
Q.-How can you get another cask in the tier?

A. By commencing in the wings and stowing right across the broken stowage of the wings caused by stowing amidships first is avoided.

Q. What is the best method of stowing casks?

A.-Place them exactly fore-and-aft, "bung up and bilge free," well quoined, with three inches of soft wood beds, and not trust to hanging beds.

E

All liquids should be stowed bilge and cuntline, for two reasons: 1. When stowed in that way they are much safer, in fact they almost stow themselves; and 2. Because you only require the size of the head of the cask to stow each tier, thus economizing space. Plenty of quoins should be used in stowing casks. The bilges should be free, not only from underneath, but from the cask, also on either side; they must be stowed close until the longer is completed, and then wedge off by driving quoins on each upper quarter. If the casks are not exactly in a fore-and-aft line, the chimes will crack and get broken, in breaking them out of their places. The space between casks should be filled up just high enough for the beds to rest upon, that the strain from the upper heights may not fall entirely upon the lower casks.

Q.-Why are casks stowed bung up?

A. To prevent leak, and because it is the strongest way of the cask; the head pieces are put in so that they are up and down when the cask is bung up.

(Flour barrels, &c., should be stowed with their head pieces vertically).

Q.-How do you keep the bilge free?

A.-By the beds.

Q.-Where do you place the quoins, and what are they for? A. On the beds on each side of the cask to prevent it rolling. Q. How can you tell if a cask is bung up, if it is dark, and if you cannot find the bung?

A.-By the rivets on the hoops, which are always on top by the bung.

The bung is between the rivets of any two opposite hoops.

Q.-How many hoops are there generally on each side on a cask, and what are their names?

A.-Four; two chime hoops, a quarter hoop, and a bilge hoop. Q. Which is the bilge of a cask?

A.-The largest circumference.

Q.-The chime of a cask?

A. The projection of the staves beyond the head.

Q.-Supposing you had to stow a whole cargo of beer in hogsheads, how would you form the lower tier?

A.-Bung up and bilge free of floor and keelson, and well quoined. Begin amidships and stow towards the ends till one longer is finished, then stow towards the wings. The bilges of the second longer from the keelson in line with the bilges of the first longer.

Q. How would you block off the ground tier in the wings? A. By dunnage wood, keeping the bilges free at the wings. Q.-How would you stow the riding tier?

A.-In the cuntlines of the lower tier.