SAILS FOR STEAMSHIPS.
[To THE EDITOR Or TEE " SPECTATOR:7 Sin,—I wish it were possible to compel large steamers to carry sails, but practical experience does not justify this. Sails are desirable either from a sentimental point of view; or for the excellent training they afford. The German liners have large sailing-ships to train their future officers. An article appeared in Leoycrs Shipping Gazette last week on the point whether sails would be useful in case of breakdowns, and the writer emphatic :ily concludes they would not, and instances the case of the ' Waikato,' which broke down between Australia and the Cape. This vessel carried square-sails which were quite useless. In fact, sails are 'only tried by the smallest class of coasters t6 increase their speed. and by other vessels to steady them in a seaway. 1 hardly think any seaman would expect sails to move a vessel of over one thousand tons. It is a coincidence that one form of marine propulsion —viz., motors—seems likely to increase the use of sails, as Scotch fishermen are installing motors in their sailing-boats for use in calms, while relying on the sails when- possible. Motors save space, and can be worked by the crew without
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