A. The highest class of merchant ships on Lloyd's books, subdivided into A1 and A2, after which they descend by the vowels. Refer to Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping.

A. Distinguishing letter on sea fishing boats registered at Aalborg, Denmark.

A. Distinguishing letter on sea fishing boats registered at Aberdeen, Scotland.

A. Distinguishing letter on sea fishing boats registered at Antwerp, Belgium.

A.A. Distinguishing letters on sea fishing boats registered at Alloa, Scotland.

A.B. Distinguishing letters on sea fishing boats registered at Aberystwith, England.

A.B. Able body. Signifying trained seamen. Refer to Able-bodied Seaman.

Aback. Position of ship's sails when wind bears against front surface.

Abandon. See Abandonment.

Abandonment generally means a Notice of Abandonment or letter from the assured notifying to the underwriter the abandonment of the subject insured.

"The abandonment must be direct and express, and I think the word Abandon should be used to make it effectual" (Lord Ellenborough in Parmeter v. Todhunter, Camp., 542). It is a positive transfer of property from the assured to the underwriter the notice is intimating his intention to abandon. As a rule, the underwriter declines to accept the notice, but his neglect to reply must not be taken as his acceptance (Provincial Insurance Company of Canada v. Leduc, L.R., 6 P.C. 224)., No particular form has been prescribed for tender or notice of abandonment. It is not even necessary that it should be in writing, although it is usually so given as documentary evidence of the tender; but in whatever form it is given one essential is that it be given unequivocally; no conditions may be attached; it must be an absolute offer then and there, but it is desirable that it should state some grounds on which the tender is made. The reply of the underwriter if he accepts must be similarly unconditional and absolute. Refer to Derelict and Constructive Total Loss.

Abatement or Rebate is in commerce an allowance or discount made in consideration of prompt payment. The term is also used to express the deduction occasionally made by the Customs authorities from duties chargeable upon such goods as are damaged or for loss in warehouses. Among shippers the term rebate is used to denote the amount returnable for freight paid by the shipper to the shipowner or his agent, when the shipper confines his shipments to one line or ring of shipowners.

Abbe, Professor Cleveland, A.M., Ph.D., LL.D., Professor of Meteorology, United States Weather Bureau (b. New York City, December 3, 1838). Educ. College of the City of New York; University of the State of Michigan; Harvard University; Central Nicholas Observatory, Poulkova, near St. Petersburg, Russia. Instructor of Mathematics, Trinity Parish School, New York, 1857-58, and Engineering, Michigan State Agricultural College, 1859; aid in U.S. Coast Survey, 1860-64; Director of Cincinnati Observatory, 1868-73; organised the weather service under the Secretary of War, 187091, now under the Secretary of Agriculture; started the reform in standards of civil time reckoning by even hours of longitude from Greenwich, 1875, which is now widely adopted; conducted the Signal Service expedition to observe the solar eclipse from Pike's Peak, 1878; Meteorologist to the Expedition to the West Coast of Africa, 1889-90; Associate Editor of the American Meteorological Journal, 1891-94; editor of the monthly Weather Review, 1893; Professor of Meteorology, Columbia University, 1885; Lecturer on Meteorology, Johns Hopkins University, 1895.

"

Publications: The Parallax of Sirius" (1866), "The Distribution of the Nebula " (1867), "Dorpat and Poulkova " (1869), "The Weather Bulletin of the Cincinnati Observatory" (1869), “The Eclipse of August" (1869), “How to Use Weather Maps (1871), "Historical Note on Weather Telegraphy' (1871), "Observations of Coggia's Comet " (1874), "The Aurora of Feb. 4th, 1872"; "The Hurricane of August, 1873"; "The Meteor of Dec. 24th, 1874"; "The Signal Service Eclipse Expedition to Pike's Peak, 1878"; "Short Memoirs on Meteorology (1878), "Treatise on Meteorological Apparatus and Methods" (1887), "Determination of the True Amount of Precipitation " (1889), “Mechanic of the Earth's Atmosphere" (1891), Atmospheric Radiation" (1892), "Preparatory Studies for Storm and Weather Predictions" (1889), "The Marine Nephoscope " (1893), "The Meteorological Work of the U.S.

B

ABERDEEN

Aberdeen, Leith and Moray Steamship Co., Ltd., with their head office in Aberdeen, maintain a service every Monday from Leith for Aberdeen, Buckie, Lossiemouth, Cromarty, Invergordon and Inverness, making the return journey from Inverness every Thursday.

Earnholm.

FLEET.

James Crombie. Aberdeen Line (Rennie's). Was inaugurated in 1856 with a fleet of sailing ships trading regularly between London and Natal. In 1857 steam was first tried with the Madagascar, the first steamer on the South African Coast carrying the mails from Cape Town to Durban. In 1886 the Matabele,

the first steamer in the South African trade to be fitted with triple expansion engines, was added to the fleet. The company now maintain a weekly service from the West India Dock, London, to Natal, calling at Portland and the Canary Islands (Las Palmas and Teneriffe), and an East African service inaugurated in 1892, which has developed into a fortnightly service between Natal and Quilimane, calling at the Portuguese ports of Delagoa Bay, Inhambane and Beira and Chinde.

Abeam. In a direction at right angles to vessel's length.

Abel, Sir Frederick Augustus (1827-1902). Scientific Chemist (b. London). Was an authority on explosives and improved the manufacture of gun cotton; was part-inventor with Professor Dewar of cordite. Invented an apparatus for determining the flashpoint of petroleum; Professor of Chemistry, Royal Military Academy, 1851-55; Chemist to the War Department, 1854-88; First Director Imperial Institute, 1887. Publications: "Gun Cotton " (1866), The Modern History of Gunpowder" (1866), “On Explosive Agents" (1872), “Researches in Explosives" (1875), Electricity Applied to Explosive Purposes" (1884).

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Aberdeen. Steamship, built in 1882. One of the first to be engined with triple expansion engines, which were designed by Mr. Kirk to work with steam at 125 lbs. pressure.

Gross tonnage, 28,000.

Aberdeen Line (Thompson's). This company, plying between London and Australia, via the Cape, founded in Aberdeen in 1824, has occupied for threequarters of a century a prominent position in the Australian cargo and passenger trade; due in the first instance to the runs of their noted clippers to Melbourne and Sydney. The Aberdeen, built in 1881, was the first ocean steamer to demonstrate decisively the superior merits of triple expansion engines. The total tonnage now only includes one sailing vessel of 2,093 tons, the old clippers having been replaced by modern steamships. The Miltiades holds the record from London to Melbourne via the Cape, her steaming time being 34 days, actual time from port to port 35 days.

Able-Bodied Seaman. (Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, section 126.) A seaman shall not be entitled to the rating of A.B., that is to say, of able-bodied seaman, unless he has served at sea for four years before the mast, but the employment of fishermen in decked fishing vessels registered under the first part of this Act shall only count as sea service up to the period of three years of that employment; and the rating of A.B. shall only be granted after at least one year's sea service in a trading vessel in addition to three or more years' sea service on board of decked fishing vessels so registered.

Service may be proved by certificates of discharge or by certificate of service from the RegistrarGeneral of Shipping and Seamen (q.v.) or other satisfactory proof.

Twin screw. Hp. 4,500 = 21 kts.

Abruzzi, Duke of, Prince Luigi Amedeo Giuseppe Maria Ferdinando Francesco, Captain Italian Navy and Geographer (b. Madrid, January 29, 1873). Third son of Amedeo, Duke of Aosta, and cousin to the King of Italy. Ascended Mount St Elias, Alaska, July 31, 1897, and determined its altitude and geological origin. Commanded an Arctic expedition to the North Pole, 1900; when he and his party reached 86° 33′ N. Refer to Arctic Exploration.

Publication: The Ascent of Mount St Elias "

(1900).

Abyssal Animals are those which inhabit the greatest depths of the ocean. Until the last half of the 19th century, it was commonly supposed that only the upper strata and shallow water of the ocean were inhabited. This was disproved by the Challenger expedition (q.v.), and it was thought that possibly the discovery would lead to the finding of living fossils. This, however, has not been the case to any great extent, as the deep-sea animals show clear signs of having been derived from shallow water and do not shed any light on the origin of life in the sea. It has been proved that Abyssal animals are carnivorous and depend upon the dead organisms which drop down from the surface waters. At the great depth at which they are found the water is so cold, and the pressure so enormous, that living plants are absent. One striking peculiarity of deep-sea animals is that many of them, especially fish, are blind. The last volume of the Challenger monographs, entitled Summary of Results," gives a graphic and historical account of deep-sea dredging.

Academies, Naval. See Naval Establishments.

Acalephæ. From the Greek, meaning Nettle; a name given to the animals commonly known as jellyfish, sea-blubber, medusa, sea-nettle.

Acceptance. See Bill of Exchange.

Accident. "The expression 'accident' in the ordinary sense denotes an unlooked-for mishap or

ACCIDENT

untoward event which is not expected or designed,” and covers cases of inevitable accidents and accidents caused by the Act of God (q.v.).

An inevitable accident is "that which the party charged with the offence could not possibly prevent by the exercise of ordinary care, caution and maritime skill," and is a good defence to an action for negligence.

By section 425 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, a report of any accident to a British steamship causing loss of life or personal injury, or affecting the seaworthiness or efficiency of the ship, must be sent by her master to the Board of Trade as soon as possible after its occurrence.

This section also applies to all foreign steamships carrying passengers between places in the United Kingdom.

By section 728 inspectors may be appointed by the Board of Trade (q.v.) for the purpose of reporting on the causes and nature of any accident or damage to any ship.

Refer to Collisions at Sea, Employers' Liability, Limitation of Liability, Seamen.

Accident Insurance. See Insurance.

4

Accountant General. An officer in the English Court of Chancery who receives and disburses all moneys paid into the Court. This office was abolished in 1872, the duties being transferred to the Paymaster-General.

Accountant Officers (Navy). See Paymaster (Navy).

Accul. A term used by seamen, indicating the end of a deep bay.

Accumulated Temperature. This is the combined amount and duration of the excess or defect of the air temperature above or below the base temperature of 42°. It is considered that the temperature above that value is mainly effectual in starting and maintaining the growth, and in completing the ripening of agricultural crops.

Accumulator, Hydraulic. Devised by Lord Armstrong, consists of a vertical cylinder and heavily weighted ram, fed at a constant rate from the hydraulic pump, giving a pressure of 700 lbs. to the square inch. In this way an artificial head of water is obtained. Any superfluous water escapes from the top of the cylinder, as when the piston reaches its highest point it automatically stops the pump. The differential accumulator is one in which forced pressure may be obtained by means of changing the area of the piston surface, or by the use of several different pistons.

ACEVEDO

In the steam accumulator the piston rod forms the ram of the hydraulic cylinder.

The air accumulator " Armstrong " is one in which the ram works against compressed air in a chamber, instead of against weights.

Accumulators, electric, are batteries or reservoirs for the accumulation of electric energy.

See Robinson, "Hydraulic Power and Hydraulic Machinery."

Acetylene (C, H) is a colourless, poisonous gas, discovered by Bertelot, 1862, and brought prominently into commercial use by Wilson's discovery (1888) of the modern method of preparing calcium carbide.

On analysis it contains-Carbon

92'3

Hydrogen 7'7

100'0

It occurs in small quantities in coal gas, and to a greater extent in oil gas. It is largely manufactured for commercial purposes, and is usually made by bringing water into contact with calcium carbide, which is manufactured by heating a mixture of lime and hard metallurgical coke, of the highest degree of purity, in an electric furnace. It is now largely manufactured in America and Europe and is usually supplied to consumers in air-tight drums. Not more than 28 lbs. may be stored in Great Britain or in any of the British Colonies, by any one person, without an annual licence; and must be stored in a place specially built, and a certain distance away from other buildings. The package in which it is contained must be hermetically sealed, as it rapidly absorbs moisture, thus deteriorating in quality, and liberating a gas which is dangerous. It is liable to spontaneous explosion when in a liquid state, and it is illegal to manufacture or keep it in this form. The gas when burning is intensely white, and it is said to resemble sunlight more nearly than any other artificial illuminant. The highly illuminating and intrinsical brightness of the flame makes it a very suitable illuminant for lighthouses.

It has been used in England, United States, Germany, Argentine and China for lighthouse and beacon illumination. On the German and Dutch coasts oil gas mixed with about 20% of acetylene has been used with excellent results, as it increases the illuminating intensity about 100%; but it is very expensive. The cost of lighting by acetylene is about the same as lighting by coal gas at 5s. per 1,000 feet. See Lewes' "Acetylene," 1900; Dormer, "L'Acetylène et ses applications," Paris, 1896. For a list of the papers and memoirs on acetylene, see Ludwig's "Führer calcium carbid-und Acetylene-Literatur." Berlin, 1889.

Acevedo. Spanish torpedo-boat. (Chiswick, 1885.) Length, 117 ft.; beam, 12 ft.; draught, 6 ft.; displacement, 63 tons; complement, 20; ment, 2 machine, 2 tubes; Hp., 660 20 kts.; coal, 25 tons.

=

arma