OF the many problems which confront the technical officers of the Institution few have caused so much careful thought and discussion as the design of an efficient life-belt.

Until the year 1904 the question was comparatively simple. Cork jackets were the vogue if one may borrow a term from the dressmaker's dictionary —and cork is not a material of which the utility and efficiency can be increased by any peculiar cut of the jacket. In fact, until 1904 the life-belt which Admiral Ross Ward at one time Inspector of Life-boats, had designed in 1854 was with some slight modifications, still in use.

In December 1904 however  and new substance - Kapok - came in to use and two sets of kapok belts were issued to each station for trail. 

As a of these trials, this new substance was adopted, and belts made of it were dis-ributed to all the crews in 1906. Kapok is superior to cork in several very important particulars. It is more durable not being liable, as is cork, to become brittle and to break. it is lighter-; the belts made of it are less clumsy to wear and will support more weight for a longer time. These are great advantages. It was found however that an unconscious man, wearing a Kapok belt to float with his face entirely submerged, and it should here be —a said that, in our opinion, the life-belt which will support the unconscious man with his face clear of the water under every conceivable condition has yet to be devised.

However, in 1917 the Board of Trade informed the Institution that, , at one j since its life-belts failed in this respect, time  had de- I it was unable to approve of them. Ex-haustive experiments were again carried out, and a second Kapok belt was de- the Committee of Management 

it. Some, indeed, refused to wear it at all! It was, therefore, necessary to reopen the whole question just as it seemed to have been settled, and a deputation from the Committee of Management, consisting of Major- General Seeley, Commander Lord Curzon, R.N., the Secretary, and the Chief Inspector, was received by the Board of Trade in July, 1920, and ex- plained the difficulties with which the Institution had to contend.

The Board of Trade was entirely sym- pathetic, and eventually approved of a return to the first and more comfortable Kapok belt, on the clear understanding that it be worn by the men on their own responsibility. The immediate difficulty was thus removed. But, naturally, the Institution was not content to let matters rest at this, and again most careful experiments had to be carried out. As a result, a third Kapok belt has now been designed. It is the first belt with certain modifications, and, in the opinion of the technical advisers of the Institution, gives the maximum of security that it is possible to obtain consistent with the ease in wearing, on which the crews themselves insist. The final choice is left to the crews, and each Life-boat crew decides for itself whether it will wear the second and more cumbersome belt, or the original Kapok belt with the modifications which have now been made in it. So far there has been a pronounced preference for the older type, as improved.

The Institution feels that, after three years of uncertainty and the most careful and thorough experiments, the question : of the life-belt has now been settled,; and that everything which is humanly possible has been done to provide belts which the experts believe to be efficient, and in which the crews them- selves have confidence.

A word, however, may be added for the benefit of those who have been very anxious to revert as soon as possible to the original Kapok belt in its improved form, and who have been impatient of the inevitable delays. The work en- tailed in the bringing out of a new belt is both tedious and difficult. After it had been designed, most careful personal tests were carried out with it by the Deputy Chief Inspector. These tests showed that certain alterations were necessary, and when these had been made further tests had to be carried out. After this the experimental belt had to be cut up, the Kapok in each pocket carefully weighed, and a specifi- cation of the whole belt prepaied.

Moreover, the pre-war covering material, which had been in use since 1904, was no ; longer obtainable, and many samples of new material had to be tried before a satisfactory substitute could be found.

Not until all this had been done was it possible to ask the contractors to quote terms for making the new belt, and to give the final order for the manufacture of it in large numbers to be started.

O In this, as in all matters of equipment, the Committee are determined that neither time, money, nor trouble shall be spared in obtaining the best design, material, and workmanship..