Chapter IV (3)

She had a pair of side-lever engines, by Robert Napier of Glasgow, of 814 horse nominal power. Diameter of cylinders, 96 inches by 9 feet stroke; paddlewheels, diameter, extreme, 37 feet 7 inches, and 30 feet 10 inches effective; twenty-eight floats, 9 feet 2 inches by 3 feet 2 inches, three sets of twenty-eight arms, eight floats in the water at 19 feet draft of water. Four flue boilers, twenty furnaces; bunkers to hold 890 tons of coals; thirty-eight hands in the engine-room. The _Africa_ was built of the best British oak, and planked double outside and inside, and the space between the frames was filled up, from the keel to the gunwale, with rock-salt, to preserve the vessel from the dry rot. The number of her berths enabled her to carry 180 passengers. She was manned by a full crew of chosen men, giving about one-third to each department. She was estimated to carry 900 tons of coal; and she had capacity for the transit of 600 tons of cargo, not including the stores of ship and passengers. Fitted up for carrying guns, the _Africa_ could at any time be transformed, from the peaceful original, into an Admiralty ship of war. The saloons and berths were fitted with an evident regard at once to elegance and utility: there was nothing the most refined taste could desiderate, as there was nothing wanting which could add to the comfort, convenience, and pleasure of the passengers.

[205] See Appendix No. 8, p. 601. I give the authorities from whom these returns were obtained, and all the figures on both sides of the question, so that my readers may judge for themselves, but, having had the log-books of the Cunard Company examined with great care, I can vouch for the accuracy of the conclusions in my text.

[206] Mr. C. B. Stuart computes the power of the _Asia_ at eight hundred and sixteen H.-P., and the _Atlantic_ and _Pacific_ at only eight hundred each. On further comparing these steamers it will be found that for each square foot of immersed section the _Atlantic_ had 1-10/100 horse-power; the _Pacific_, 1-12/100; and the _Asia_, 1-26/100, thereby giving the latter an important advantage over the others. In the judgment of the Americans, therefore, whatever superiority may have been exhibited in their vessels over those of the British in speed, is justly ascribed to their models, effective boilers, and ability in their preparation.