USEFUL INFORMATION.

IN CASES OF SHIPWRECK CONTINUED.

LIFE-PRESERVERS.

DURING the month of December 1811, in the St. George of 98 guis, the Defence of 74 guns, the Hero of 74 guns, the Saldanha frigate, the Baltic fleet, and in other ways, more than three thousand British seamen are said to have perished by their ships being wrecked on lee-shores, from physical causes, which would also have driven the crews alive on the same shores, had they been provided with the means of preserving their buoyancy, after they had lost the other ar tificial means of floating afforded by their ships*. In fact, had each man been provided with any of the numerous contrivances invented to diminish the specific gravity of the human body in water, and enable unhappy mariners to float over the few yards which usually lie between their wrecks and a lee-shore.

This being the case, it is certainly extremely proper, that in the number of Life-Preservers, we give a description of some of those hap py contrivances, and blessed inventions, by the timely application of which the sum of human misery may be considerably abridged, and many valuable lives saved to society and to their friends.

A long Canvas Bag, about 5 or 6 inches in diameter, filled with old corks, or cork shavings, passed round the body, under the arms, and tied with a string, or piece of leather, on the chest, has been pointed cut as a simple and cheap contrivance for this purpose.

The Cork Jacket is another invention, and is formed by sewing thin flat pieces or shavings of cork in a waistcoat or jacket, to fit close to the body, to which it is secured by buttons or stringst.

Dubourg's

*Swimming in a tempestuous sea is out of the question. Nothing can float, even at intervals, in such a sea, but what is specifically lighter than water, of this we had a melancholy instance when the Pailas frigate was wrecked on our coast, for among the number of those who lost their lives by attempting to swim on shore before the LifeBoat was launched, was one poor fellow, said to have been the best swimmer in the ship!

In the Monthly Magazine for July 1813, a correspondent from Dundee, after pointing out the advantages to be derived from cork jackets in the event of shipwreck, or fire at sea, writes-" About the year 1799, the Royal Humane Society gave a medal, or premium, for what was then represented an improvement on the cork jacket; but, in truth, this simple contrivance seems to want no improvement. A parcel of bottle corks, stitched together between two pieces of linen, and tied over the breast with strings, I have found fully sufficient to support me in the water. It occupies little room, can be put on in a

Dubourg's Cork Waistcoat is composed of four pieces of cork, two For the breasts, and two for the back, each being nearly of the same ength and breadth as the quarters of a common waistcoat without Haps; the whole is covered with coarse canvas, having two holes to put the arms through. There are spaces left between the two back pieces, and each back and breast-piece, that they may the more easily be adjusted to the body. Thus the waistcoat is open only in the front, and may be fastened on the wearer with strings; or if it should be thought more secure, with buckles and leather straps. Mr. DuBOURG made trial of the efficacy of this waistcoat in the Thames, and found that it not only supported him in the water, but that even two men with their utmost efforts were not able to sink him. It's weight does not exceed twelve ounces, and may be made at a very moderate expense.

The Marine Spencer is made in form of a girdle, of a proper diame. ter to fit the body, and six inches broad, composed of about 500 old tavern corks strung upon a strong twine well lashed together with lay-cord, covered with canvas, and painted in oil so as to make it water. proof. Two tapes or cords, about two feet long, are fastened to the back of the girdle, with loops at the ends. Another tape or cord of the same length has a few corks strung to the middle of it, is covered with canvas painted. A pin of hard wood, three inches long and half an inch in diameter, is fastened to the front of the girdle by a tape or cord about three inches long. To use the spencer it should be slidden from the feet close up under the arms, the tapes or cords are to be brought one over each shoulder, and fastened by the loops to the pin the tape or cord between the legs is to be fastened to the other pin. A person thus equipped, though unacquainted with swimming, may safely trust himself to the waves; for he will float head and shoulders above water in any storm, and, by paddling with his hands, may easily gain the shore. Such a spencer may also be made of cork shavings put into a long canvas bag, as formerly described.

It has also been suggested, that every part of the usual dress of the sailor should be made with a view of preserving his life, in case of accident, and for this purpose that a quantity of cork shavings or chippings (such as may be had at the cork cutters,) should be quilted into his jacket about the collar and neck, between the outside and inside lining, or as a belt, a considerable breadth across the back and shoulders, then principally omitted under the arms, and resumed over the chest and stomach, yet not so much as to create inconvenience. If in these, and other parts of his dress, so much cork could commodi. ously be worked, as would give the sailor an opportunity of recovering himself, and making use of his own powers in cases of emergency, many valuable lives might be saved.

minute, and the expense is next to nothing. When I go to sea I put this in my trunk; and had shipwreck occurred on a lee-shore, should certainly have availed myself of the jacket. I might, indeed, be dashed or drowned, but still the chance of escape would be greater than if I had neglected this simple contrivance."

The Seaman's Friend.

In the Monthly Magazine of November, 1812, Mr. MALLISON speaks of an invention under the above title, which had received the unanimous acknowledgement of a select committee of the House of Commons, after having witnessed some actual experiments made on the river Thames, by persons who were provided with it for the purpose. This invention appears too to have cork in its composition, but as no description is given of it, we cannot say how far it may, or may not, bear a resemblance to some of the above methods, or whether it may surpass or come short of some of them in point of utility, in the event of boats upsetting, providing the crews were furnished with it at the time.

DANIEL'S Life-Preserver.

Is a most admirable invention. The body of the machine, which is double throughout, is made of pliable water-proof leather; the head of the wearer is to pass between two straps which rest upon the shoulders, and his arms are to pass through the spaces on the outside of the straps, so as to allow the machine under them to encircle the body, like a large hollow belt; on the lower part of the back of it is a strap, which is to pass between the thighs of the wearer, and buckle in front. The machine, thus fixed, is to be filled with air by the mouth of the wearer, who is to continue blowing through a stop-cock in the front of the machine till it is fully inflated; the air is then confined by turning the cock.

This machine, when well filled with air, has been found capable of preventing four persons from sinking, as appears from the following extract from a letter addressed to Mr. DANIEL by JOHN DICKENSON, Esq. of Norwich, who fortunately was supplied with one of the LifePreservers at the time he was upset in a pleasure-boat, in company with two ladies and another gentleman.

"On tacking," says Mr. D. "to enter Norwich river, at the extremity of a broad water, two miles over, known by the name of Braydon, a sudden gust overset the boat, precipitating myself, companion, and two ladies, into as agitated water as I have ever seen at sea, (except in hard blowing weather). You may judge my situa tion at such a juncture. Your machine was jokingly filled as we came along, to which I ascribe (though very unexpected by us) our preservation. The gentleman, whose name is GORING, was inexpert at swimming, and with difficulty kept himself up till I reached him; and then directing him to lay hold of the collar of my coat, over which the machine was fixed, I proceeded towards the ladies, whose clothes kept them buoyant, but in a state of fainting when I reached them then taking one of the ladies under each arm, with Mr. GORING hanging from the collar of the coat, the violence of the wind drifted us on shore upon Burgh Marshes, where the boat had already "been thrown, with what belonged to her."

Trans. of the Soc. of Arts for 1807, &c. Arabian method.

It is worthy of notice, that a contrivance, on a similar principle to Mr. DANIEL'S, has been in use among the Arabs from the

earliest

earliest ages. Taking the skin of a goat, they sew up very completely its different openings, except the skin of one of the legs, which they use as a pipe or tube to blow up the rest of the skin, and then twist and hold it very tight to prevent the escape of the air. By means of this inflated skin, they can keep themselves floating in the water as long as they please; and, by paddling with their hands and feet, can transport themselves to considerable distances.

Chinese Method.-In China, where millions of persons live almost wholly on board vessels on the canals, the children are preserved from drowning by a very droll method. An empty gourd, or calabash, well corked, is tied upon the back of each child, who thus paces the decks of the vessels in security, knowing that, if he should happen to fall overboard, he would be prevented from sinking, or that, if he should be under water-for a moment, the shell at his back would soon bucy him up again*.

The Bamboe Habit, is another invention of the Chinese, by the use of which, a person unskilled in the art of swimming, may easily keep himself above water. The Chinese merchants, when going on a voyage, are said always to provide themselves with this simple apparatus, to save their lives in cases of danger from shipwreck. It is constructed by placing four bamboes horizontally, two before, and two behind the body of each person, so that they project about twenty-eight inches; these are crossed on each side by two others, and the whole properly secured, leaving an intermediate space for the body. When thus formed, the person in danger, slips it over his head and ties it securely to the waist, by which simple means he cannot possibly sink.

METHODS FOR THE SAFE REMOVAL OF SHIPS THAT HAVE NOT BROKEN UP, OR ARE NOT OTHERWISE RENDERED PERFECTLY USELESS, WHEN DRIVEN ON SHORE.

HAVING said thus much respecting the different means that have

been devised and adopted to save the lives of the crew and pas. sengers in cases of shipwreck, which certainly ought to be the primary consideration, we shall now proceed to state two methods that have been found practically useful, in removing vessels that have not been entirely destroyed or completely disabled, to places of safety-The first is

Empty Casks,

Which are usually resorted to with success, for the purpose of floating off a vessel, especially if she be small, and at no great distance from the port to which it is proposed to conduct her. in other cases it may be necessary to have recourse to the following

Method adopted by Mr. Barnard,

Recorded in the LXX. vol. of the Philosophical Transactions, as having been successfully practised on the York, East Indiaman, of Soo tons, which had parted from her cables in Margate roads, and was driven

For this, and some of the preceding articles, see BoswoRTH'S "Accidents of Human Life."

driven on shore. This was by laying a deck in the hold as low as the water could be pumped to, framed so solidly and securely, and caulked so tight, as to swim the ship, independent of her own leaky bot tom. We would, with pleasure, give a particular account how this service was performed, did our limits permit, but at present we can only refer such as have not an opportunity of seeing the above volume of the Philosophical Transactions, to pages 593 and 594 of vol xx. last edition, of the Encyclopedia Perthensis.

In stopping a Leak.

When the water rushed furiously into the ship, and nothing was to be expected from pumping, the external application of sheeps' skins, sewed on a sail, and thrust under the bottom of the ship, has been found to succeed.

A MOST EFFECTUAL REMEDY, Which, if adopted, would prevent a Ship from sinking, and enable the Crew to save themselves, the Ship, and the greater part of the Cargo,

Is given in the Monthly Magazine for August of the present year, in a letter, addressed to the Editor, signed CADOGAN WILLIAMS. We shall give it in his own words. "It is, that every ship should be divided into four equal compartments, with partitions of sufficient strength the probability, in case of a leak, is, that it would take place in one of them; and, allowing it to fill, the safety of the ship would not be endangered, and three-fourths of the cargo would remain undamaged. To prove my assertion, we will suppose a vessel of one hundred tons so divided, (though the plan is as applicable to a ship of one thousand tons as a canal boat) and that one of the compartments filled, which would not increase her weight more than from six to eight tons from the cargo previously occupying the space, and would be reducing her buoyancy about one third; was she sent out of port with only one fourth of her hull above water, though I believe vessels are more commonly sent with one-third, and more than that. Packets, as they carry little or no cargo, may with safety be divided into three compartments. In case of fire the advantage is equally obvious, as any one of the quarters might be inundated with safety,"

SUPPLEMENTARY NOTE.

Before we conclude this subject, we beg leave to state, in justice to Capt. MANBY, that since the publication of our October number, we have received a letter from that gentleman, in which he.politely assures us, that in all his various productions, he has (to use his own words)" availed himself of no man's labour, nor profited by any one's ability; that the whole is the result of infinite reflection, intense ap plication, much time, and great expense; being the incessant toil upwards of eight years, devoted solely to the accomplishment of this important design!" and remarks, that was this an object to him, he could produce evidence, that the throwing a rope was attempted by him previous to the year 1733, when he left the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich,