THE expression " Pouring oil on troubled waters" "has been from some remote period metaphorically used to signify the allayment of anger and strife by kind and gentle words. Like all other metaphors, this one was no doubt derived from an established and well-known fact; hence we may reasonably assume that the pheno- menon of oil stilling the disturbed surface of water was observed in ancient times.

An impression is prevalent that it is referred to in the Old Testament, which is not the case, and the earliest notice of it is, we believe, to be found in the writings of Pliny the elder, the Roman author, who flourished in the first century of the Christian era, in which the follow- ing passage, translated by Dr. Philemon Holland in 1601, occurs:— " All seas are made calme and- still with oyle, and therefore the dyvers do spurt it abroad with their mouths into the water, because it dulleth the un- pleasant nature thereof, and carryeth a light with it." The divers referred to in the quotation were, we presume, men who dived for pearl-oysters, corals, and sponges off the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea.

It does not, however, follow that because oil was thus turned to practical account, it had the power of breaking the force of mighty waves, and forbidding their crests to rise.

Nevertheless, it seems strange that this singular effect of oil in smoothing the water's surface, which was so early ob- served and recorded, has not long ago been amply tested, and, if proved to be of value, been brought into general use.

From time to time statements have appeared in the newspapers of the day, announcing its successful employment in storms at sea, more especially by whale- ships, the master and crews of which have frequent opportunities, when securing the oil and blubber from captive whales, of noticing its effect in smoothing the more ! or less ruffled surface of the sea.

j It is likewise said that the shoals of ! pilchards, a very oily fish, are often dis- cerned by the smoothness of the water around them, arising from the oil exuding from their bodies.

' Enquiry has also divulged that, in isolated cases, the fishermen on some [ parts of our coasts have been in the habit ! of throwing oil into the sea, with evident ! advantage, when running for the shore I through broken wate?.

All the more surprising, then, does it appear that so simple an antidote to a i terrible danger has not long since been universally adopted.

The question has, however, of late awakened general interest, through the , publicity given to it by the newspaper press, arising from a series of experiments LIPE-BOAT JOURNAL.—VOL. XIJ.—No. 12[).

174 THE LIFE-BOAT.

[AUGUST 1,1883.

carried out at Peter head and Aberdeen, with the object of smoothing the broken water at the entrances of those harbours, and thus enabling vessels to enter them •with comparative safety in on-shore gales of wind. We may therefore hope that this matter will not be dropped until it is proved whether or not the use of oil to still the waves is of practical value.

The question may be divided into three branches, viz.: 1st. The use of oil on shipboard.

2nd. On board fishing and other open boats, and Life-boats.

3rd. At the entrances of harbours.

The second division is that which most concerns us, especially that part of it which applies to Life-boats, whose func- tion is chiefly performed amidst' heavy seas and surfs, and which must ever be a work of dangerous character. We will, however, remark on each in succession.

1st. The use of oil on shipboard.

For proofs of the effectiveness of oil as a source of safety to ships we are, of course, dependent on the published accounts given by masters of vessels who have proved its efficacy. The following, selected from those at our command, which we give in their own words, will be found of interest, and their publication will, we trust, lead to a more general adoption, or at least to experimental trials, of so simple and apparently efficacious a means of safety, by the masters of other ships.

(1.) Mr. T. A. CBEGAN, master-mariner of Glasgow, wrote to the editor of The Glasgow JItraldon the 1st March, 1882:— " Some months ago I encountered a very heavy gale when crossing the Bay of Biscay, during which several steamers were lost. My ship was steaming head to sea, and making very little progress, and the sea, which was from the S.W., was breaking on board abaft the bridge, and occasionally with great violence. I had two canvas bags made of a triangular shape, the pointed ends of which were punctnred with small holes, a quart of common lamp oil put in each bag, the mouths of which were then, tightly tied up to prevent the oil escaping.

The bags were then hung one over each bow, with sufficient line to let them tow without jumping, and after the oil commenced to flow through the punctures freely, the result was most satisfactory, scarcely a sea coming on board—each wave as it reached the oil ceasing to curl, and undulating past the ship without a break. The oil in each bag lasted eight hours.

The following voyage it was my misfortune to have to put it to a still more practical test, and again the result surpassed my most sanguine expectations. I was compelled to abandon my vessel at midnight, during a very heavy sea, and the safety of myself and crew lay in launch- ing the boats successfully. The boats, which had been previously provisioned, &c., were in readiness for lowering, but the sea, which was running alongside and breaking over the ship, made me doubt the possibility of the boats ever living in it, even if the difficulty of launching them .was overcome, and to the use of oil, under Providence, we owe our lives. I caused two tins of common lamp oil, each containing about two gallons, to be emptied, one over each side, and after giving it time to diffuse itself over the water, the boats were lowered and sheeted clear of the sinking ship without shipping as much as a bucketful of water. The waves were still there, towering 30 and 40 feet above us, but without a break or a white-topped one among them, while ahead and astern they were break- ing heavily." (2.) Captain JAMES FOKMAN, of the ship Airlie, of Dundee, writes :— " On the 28th February, 1882, on our home- ward passage from Calcutta, -we encountered a severe gale from S.W., shifting, as is usual, to N.W., and then unexpectedly to K.N.E. im- mediately after the N.W. shift. For four hours it blew almost a hurricane, not steadily, but in terrific bursts. For the first hour and a half my ship lay down almost unmanageable, the wind N.E., ship heading N.W., with S.W. sea rolling in over our lee rail, completely sweeping our decks, but, I am thankful to say, did no great damage. We. were obliged to cast away our lower fore topsail and topmast staysail to ease the ship and keep her from falling off.

We had to let them blow away, as the men could not move about the decks in safety. After the first four hours it settled down into a strong gale, wind N.E. We lay for thirty-six hours on the starboard tack, a very heavy sea gradually getting up, which washed our forward boats adrift, and stove in one of the plates on our star- board bow, breaking the angle-iron inside short off. Heavy seas were constantly breaking over us, and the decks were flooded constantly.

After thirty-six hours of a very hard blow, the wind eased, and we kept away on our course again for twelve hours. As we •were evidently overtaking the storm again, I was obliged to heave-to again, the wind and sea being too AUGTOOT 1,1883.] THE LIFE-BOAT.

175 heavy for us to run with safety. . This time I hove-to on the port tack, under lower main, topsi.il, and reefed main staysail. There was a tremendous sea running, the breakers being long and very wicked. As soon as we were hove-to I saw that unless something unusual were tried, we should be certain to lose our boats, and perhaps get serious damage; so I deter- mined to try the oil. The result was magical.

In half an hour after the oil was pnt over, tlio weather side of our deck was dry, and for the next forty-eight hours not even so much as a spray broke over us. I have no doubt you have some idea of an Atlantic breaker alter four days of an almost continuous gale. We stood and looked at them, rolling and breaking all round us, but the moment they came to the oil 1hey stopped and fell dead, as if by magic. My firm opinion is that, had we not used the oil, my ship would have come out of it without boats or anything else that the sea could have washed away, if not far more serious damage; whereas, during the latter part of the gale, we lay like a bird, all the hurt we got being during the first part. I shall always use it under similar circumstances in the future. I tried it once before, two years ago, while running heavily, but my vessel sailed too fast for it to act, as she ran out of the influence of the oil too quickly. With a vessel lying-to it is quite a different matter, and there is no trouble attached to it whatever.

"I filled my canvas bags with raw linseed oil, each bag being 18 inches long by about 6 inches in diameter, and holding about two gallons of oil. One bag hung over amidships, and one from the cat-head.

" During the whole time I never renewed the oil in the bags; what was put over at the begin- ing lasting the whole time, there being over a quart of oil remaining in each bag when hauled in.

"The bags were simply punctured with a large sail needle, in half a dozen places. The bags were bent to abont 50 fathoms of small line, all of which was veered out, but they never went half that distance from the ship, and floated just like a bladder. The influence of the oil spread fully a ship's length to wind- ward of the bags, and the heaviest breakers never came far within the outside limit of the oil.

" Such, then, is the result of using oil. I did it as an experiment, to a great extent, as I had never tried it before under similar circum- stances. At the same time I was almost certain it would have the effect I •wished for, though not to such a great extent. I am thankful it did, for had one of the tremendous rollers broken fairly on board of us, there is no saying what the nsult would have been.

" I intend putting a can of oil in eneli of my Life-boats as soon as we get to sea, with bag and line all ready in case of emergency." (3) "On the 18th December, 1882," states Captain TAYLOB, of the schooner Gleaner, " at j about 8.30 A.M., I ran for Montrose Harbour. I i had about half a gallon of Colza oil on board, ; which we poured over the stern, and which immediately had a most decided effect in lessen- j ing the power of the breaking seas, and enabled j us to keep our course through the heavy sea, no water breaking over her. M7hen between the Leads and the Annat Buoy, our oil got j done, and we were struck by a Vieavy sea, which broke over the stern, completely filling our I decks, and hove us northwards towards the i Annat Bank. We were able to bring her into her course again. The ebb tide and the ' fresh' I in the river caused it to run seven knots, and was very dangerous." (4) "On the llth December, 1882, the Edit Anglian, in charge of Captain BEACHEK, inaile I the entrance of the Tyne when an easterly gale was at its worst, and when great danger attended any vessel passing the bar. The.

j master reports that he resolved to try the effects ! of oil upon the vaves, aud stationed two men, | each witli a two-gallon bottle of oil, at the I vessel's bows, one on either side. The oil was ; gently poured upon the ' broken ' water, and the effect was that it became comparatively I smooth, and the vessel passed into the harbour j with little difficulty. The oil used was that ; usually burnt in the ship's lamps, and only four ; or five gallons were poured upon the sea." I (5.) Captain F. W. LASHBROOKE, master of the ketch Elizabeth, of Bude, writes:— "On the night of the 13th December, 1882, I was on a voyage from Portmadoc to Ply- mouth. Between Milibrd and the Land's End | we encountered a severe gale from the north- ward, with thick snow. Failing to make any ! lights, I was obliged to heave-to. The sea was I terrific. One sea broke on us, smashing the I gangway in ; also some bulwarks. I was afraid j a few more seas like that would sweep the decks. Lashing some spars up'to make a tciu- I porary gangway, I hung a sail over, and threw some oil about the sail. This, I found, pre- vented any sea breaking against it. I then got a loose bag and threw some oil over it, wrapping it together and making a rope fast to it. 1 hung it over the bows; this, I found, prevented any sea breaking on board. I had to replace the bag, with some oil on it, every half hour.

I was hove-to about six hours after using the oil, and not one sea broke on board, although | the sea was fearful. Previous to using the oil, many seas broke on board. The snow clearing, we ran the ship, and in running I found the oil invaluable, towing a bag on each side, with some oil about it. The oil I used was Colza oil. I tried some linseed oil: it did not answer so well. The quantity I used was trifling. I had only two quarts of Colza on board, and that lasted me eight hours. I have every con- fidence in it, and should not be afraid to run in any sea (even into Bude with a north-west gale) if I had, say, a can of Colza oil and a few loose bags. My plan would be to soak those bags in the oil, then roll them up, making fast a rope to them, and hang them over the side, well for- ward, to keep the sea from breaking over the waist of the ship. I hope it may be more fully known that oil, properly used, may prevent many serious accidents." (G) "New York, 21st September, 1882.—The steamship Stanmore, from Swansea, which has arrived here, reports having experienced terrible weather, and the captain ascribes her safety to the fact of her towing a bag of oil, which slightly escaped when running before the wind." (7) " Steamship Goml.—On the 22ud October, 1881, Captain BROWN, the master, when enter- ing the harbour of Aberdeen through a heavy sea, and alive to the danger of doing so, in the event of a sea striking the vessel's side at the critical moment of passing the harbour bar, took the precaution of throwing overboard a quantity of oil, which had the immediate effect of pre- venting the breaking of seas near her, and she passed safely through the narrow entrance." Such are a few cases, apparently well authenticated, of this peculiar and seem- ingly invaluable property of oil. Perhaps its most extraordinary characteristic is that so very small a quantity should have so great an effect, the thinnest conceivable film on the -water's surface sufficing to subdue the rising crest of a huge wave, so that even saturating a sail or an empty bag with oil, in the case of the Is etch Elizabeth, produced the desired effect.

Wo have above expressed a Jiope that the masters of vessels in the Merchant Service may be induced, in circumstances of danger, to more extensively test the value of " oiling the waves," so as to establish its utility, or prove it to be but a " broken reed " in which to trust.

We would further suggest that the Lords of the Admiralty would effect a | great public benefit, at a trifling cost, if I they were" to issue instructions to the j Commanders-in-chief of all our Fleets to i direct the Captains of every ship under their command to carry out a series of ' experiments with oil when sui table oppor- ' tunities should occur, the results of which, : being then duly reported, and submitted I for examination and comparison to a Board of competent naval officers.

The publication of such, with the Board's commentary on the same, could not fail to be of universal interest, and might become a text-book on the subject to the seamen of every maritime country in the world.

2nd. The use of oil on board fishing and other open boats and Life-boats.

But if oil can be thus effectually em- ployed to protect the great ships of the sea from the fury of a storm, it might be presumed that it could be even more so in the case of boats overtaken by a gale, or having to encounter a high surf when running for the shore, and that it might even be of service to Life-boats, which are not unfrequently overwhelmed, and are occasionally upset, by heavy broken waves.

On this head we have been unable as yet to collect any sufficient series of illus- trative cases, but have ascertained that numerous instances have, from time to time, occurred of fishermen and others, who happened to have oil in their boats, availing themselves of the same to prevent the waves from breaking, and have done so with marked success, thereby saving their boats and their own lives. Yet, strange to say, its use has never been generally and systematically adopted, and its value, as a wave-smoother, has been only casually or incidentally known, as a matter of hearsay or tradition.

The District Inspectors of Life-boats to the NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION have, however, been instructed by its Committee of Management to take opportunities to test its value when exercising the crews of its Life-bocits in heavy seas. This has to some extent been done, but not yet in a sufficient number of instances to admit of a decisive opinion as to its practical value for Life-boat work to justify the addition of a supply of oil to the articles already forming the complete equipment of a Life-boat when afloat on service, or to enable any definite rules to be drawn up as to the manner of its application.

Indeed, before doing so, two points require to be considered.

1. Anything which might divert the attention of the coxswain and crew of a Life-boat from its careful and skilfu! management in a heavy broken sea would be an evil, and in so far as the manipula- tion and discharge of the oil should do so, the same would be a drawback to any advantage derived from its use.

2. The space in a Life-boat being very limited, every superfluous article carried in one is an inconvenience, and hence its utility should be well established before its adoption.

The general tenor of the reports of the Inspectors is to the effect that in a mode- rate coast surf a small quantity of oil produces an extraordinary effect, by pre- venting the breaking of the waves, and causing a smoothness of surface without affecting their undulating motion, but that there is some uncertainty in its action, and that a somewhat heavier wave than the average ones will suddenly burst through the thin film of oil, and its crest break and fall over as usual.

Another element of uncertainty is the circumstance that in the event of a strong wind, sea or tide crossing the direction of a boat's course, it rapidly carries the oil with it, leaving the boat unprotected by its influence.

The Inspectors all more or less agree that the effect of the oil is less in surf, in comparatively shallow water, than in the open sea. None of them, however, have yet arrived at a definite opinion as to its probable usefulness as a portion of a Life-boat's equipment; and undoubtedly many more experimental trials must take place before they will be able to do so.

The relative values of different oils has likewise to be ascertained. Those hitherto tried have been linseed, colza, fish-oil, and paraffin, all producing the desired effect, which in the case of the last named, on account of its thinness or greater fluidity, could hardly have been expected.

Another point to be determined is the amount of oil which could, with most advantage, be used, and the best manner of distributing it.

At a future period we may hope to have acquired such an amount of experi- mental knowledge on the subject as may be of great practical value; for the present, we will only quote from a report on it 'by Commander LAPBIMATTDATE, E.N., one of the District Inspectors, the following passages, which will convey some idea of the character and results of experiments hitherto made.

" The occasions on which, experiments of any value can be made from a Life-boat are neces- sarily rare, from several causes. Unless an- chored, a Life-boat cannot be easily kept stationary, and soon leaves the oiled water, while her incessant rolling motion in troubled water interferes with observation. Moreover, in the strong tides on the coast of England, it is impossible, unless going directly with the cur- rent, to see any effect of oil thrown from the boat herself.

"When pulling head to sea, no result is of course obtained by dropping oil, which is speedily washed astern; neither is any advan- tage gained by its use when crossing the sea, unless the tide be setting in the direction of the boat's course, and then the boat's progress must be retarded to allow the oil 'smooth' to keep pace with, the boat. The oil can, however, be used when at anchor, enclosed in a bag used as an anchor buoy, or when running before the sea, by towing similar bags astern, or hanging them on either bow or quarter. At anchor, again, the tide is frequently found running athwart the sea, when the oil will have little or no beneficial effect. I found, on a recent trial, that the action of the oil, when riding at anchor in water covered by it, was uncertain, and in a manner capricious. The canvas bag, which held about two gallons, was attached to the anchor, and allowed the oil to exude freely, without being pierced. The width of water apparently affected by its action may have been 50 feet when taken on either side of the boat, which was riding to 20 fathoms of cable, in about 10 feet of water, the tide running at the time between one and two miles an hour. The sea occasionally broke heavily, and a succession of rollers passed under the boat during the whole period, about thirty minutes.

" The effect of the oil was visible enough in disarming sea after sea of its crest, but at in- tervals a wave rather larger than the rest ap- peared quite unaffected, and passed through the usual conditions of a breaking surf. An open boat might have been swamped by any one of these, had the fall coincided with the position of the boat.

" I subsequently pulled quite slowly through the breaking water towards the shore for a mile or more, and allowed the oil to drip from the bag on one bow, occasionally pouring a little overboard. Here, as before, the effect was only partial, one sea especially breaking right over the boat's quarter. In both cases the oil proved a partial protection, but by no means an absolute shelter from the sea." 3rd. At the entrances of harbours.

At the instigation of Mr. I. SHIELDS, a nrillowner of Perth, and to a great extent, we believe, at his own expense, an appa- ratus for discharging oil to seaward of the entrances of harbours having bars, or otherwise exposed to heavy surfs, to the endangerment of vessels entering them, was laid down and tested at Peterhead in January, 1882, the following description of which, taken from the Aberdeen Journal of the 13th of that month, will give an idea of the character of the apparatus.

" Some time ago it will be remembered that Mr. Shields, of Perth, experimented with, oil at the bar of the north harbour of Peterhead, in order to attempt to prevent the waves, as they rolled inwards, from breaking, and reduce them to long undulating rollers which a small boat could puss over with perfect safety. The ex- periment was so successful that Mr. Shields determined to lay the apparatus which he had invented at the bottom of the bar of the north harbour at his own expense, in order to demon- strate how useful and advantageous it would be for vessels crossing a bar when the sea was rough and dangerous. The apparatus consists of a pipe, 1,200 feet in length, with three conical valves, 75 feet apart from each other, which prevent the oil from escaping, except when the foice-pump, in a small house erected for the purpose at the Eoanheads, is set at work. This winter there have been very few gales of wind from the direction which renders the north bar rough, and it was not till yesterday that a suitable opportunity arose to prove the efficacy of the invention. The wind blew from the south-east, and the waves broke with s6 much force that the 'ball' was hoisted, to indicate that it was dangerous for boats to cross the bar.

Mr. Shields, who was accompanied by Mr. Yeaman, Dundee, was in Peterhead, and a trial was determined to be made. In the forenoon it was found that the first length of the piping, not having been sufficiently -weighted, had risen to the surface, and the tug-boat and some men were sent out to fix additional weights to it.

This having been done, the pipes were charged with refined seal oil, about 100 gallons being required for the purpose. Only one or two gallons are necessary, however, to 'still the troubled waters ' after the pipes are filled, and the remainder lies in readiness for the next occasion. It was high water about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, when the trial was made, and at that time the sea was breaking right across the whole bar. So dangerous was the sea that the tug-boat, with a vessel in tow, had to ' stand off'; but the oil gradually rose to the surface, and, covering the whole surface of the sea between the outermost rocks jutting from the Eoanheads and the North Head, converted what was before broken water into a glassy and un- dulating ocean, so that the tug-boat and ship were able to come in with safety. Instead of the waves cresting upwards and breaking, they rolled gently inwards; and it was surprising to see some of the larger ones, which had threatened to dash with violence on the piers, come in so smoothly and peacefully. One or two vessels went out while the oil was at work, and the duties of the pilots were rendered less onerous. Mr. Shield's invention is one which should be carefully taken into consideration by ail those connected with harbours, as there is not the slightest doubt that at Peterhead (where the whole apparatus has been laid down at the inventor's own expense) it has been a wonderful success. Mr. Shields and Mr. Yeaman will remain a few days, to see if an opportunity can be obtained of testing the apparatus when the wind is from the north or north-east." A similar apparatus was tested at Aber- deen in October last in a heavy S.E. gale, with, it is stated, favourable results.

It may be remembered that in July last the EARL OF CARNARVON brought the subject before the House of Lords with a view to ascertaining if the Government would be prepared to assist, by a vote of public money or otherwise, to carry out a series of careful experiments, in order to ascertain if the entrances to the more dangerous harbours of the United King- dom might be thus protected during the stormy months of the year.

In the course of a reply LORD SUDELEY, on the part of the Board of Trade, ob- served—"Of one thing there could be no doubt, that a great quantity of oil would have to be used; a considerable expense incurred in laying pipes outside the har- bours, and keeping them in good •working order; and that there would be great danger that the various currents and tides might often carry away the oil-film spread upon the waters before it could be of any service." In which opinion we entirely concur. Nevertheless, it is to be hoped that, as in the case of ships, open boats and Life-boats, experiments of a suffi- ciently extended nature will now be carried out to settle the question one way or the other.