Messrs. Russell & Co., Greenock and Port Glasgow, show at the Glasgow
exhibition a very numerous and varied show of sailing models. First,
we find the noble four-masted ships of from 1,800 tons to 2,200 tons,
which sail and carry well on their tonnage, and which are worked by
fewer hands than are required for a ship of the same burden with three
masts but squarer yards. Some owners prefer the latter, and so Messrs.
Russell show not only such handsome specimens as the four-masted Falls
of Earn, but also the three-masted Ardencraig and Soudan. One of the
favorite models of this firm is that of their 1,500 ton ship with
three masts, represented by the Cromartyshire, of which type they have
built a large number of vessels noted alike for their carrying
capacity and their excellent sailing qualities. The Main, built for
Mr. James Nourse, of London, is a good specimen of their 1,700 ton
ship, as designed for the special trade of the owner, between
Calcutta, Demerara, and London. Their 1,300 ton bark is represented by
the model of the Aboukir Bay and her sisters of the Bay Line, owned by
Messrs. Hatfield, Cameron & Co., of Glasgow; while their 1,000 ton
barks are shown in the model of the Banca, belonging to Messrs. P.
Denniston & Co., of the same city. These are about the smallest class
of sailing ships built during recent years, the demands of the
shipping trade being such as to make it unprofitable to sail anything
smaller than about 1,500 tons; while the tendency is to exceed 2,000
tons in burden, and to reach even as high as 3,000 tons.--_The
Engineer._
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