There is one subject more, however, while referring to the tables of Chapman, to which we would briefly advert, and that is notation. A simple inspection of these tables will show, that that celebrated man did not avail himself' of all the advantages that this powerful and important instrument is capable of af fording. There is more in notation, to adopt a com mon phrase, than first meets the eye. Simplicity, uniformity, generality—a capability itself of suggest ing new relations and inquiries—these, and many other particulars, are connected with the question of nota tion. And when we have seen the march of whole departments of science retarded for years, by the use of barbarous and improper symbols, it is not too much to insist, that in the formuke and equations of condition that may hereafter be created for the use and extension of naval architecture, some little atten tion sould be paid to the lights that the modern ana lysis has thrown on the great question of notation. The remotest element of a ship must be connected with some primitive clement, by a series of unques tionable laws,—laws dark and mysterious it is true at present, but which the spirit of a genuine and pure in duction will eventually illuminate and make clear. This remote element may, however, be traced to its primitive element by a shorter route, by one process of ratiocination than another; but by no better method than by the pure light of a legitimate notation, can the ‘•_ of shortest descent" to this great point be ob tained.
Shipbuilding began to be particularly attended to in England in the reign of Henry the Seventh, who com menced the Royal Navy of England by building the Great Harry, which is said to have been the first ship built with two decks in this country. In the succeed ing reign the foundation was laid for an extensive royal navy; and the Admiralty and Navy boards were constituted for the direction of naval affairs. In the early part of this reign, the Regent, of 1000 tons bur den, with the Mary Rose of 500 tons, and several other vessels, were constructed. The Regent being burnt in an engagement with the French fleet in 1512. Henry the Eighth ordered a ship to be built of equal tonnage, carrying 700 men, and named Henry grace de Dieu. The principal defect of' ships at this period appears to have been too great height above the wa ter in proportion to the extreme breadth, while at the same time the lower tier of guns, was much too near the water's surface. The loss of the Mary Rose is
attributed to the defect of her ports being very near the water: Sir Walter Raleigh says they were within sixteen inches of' the water. The loss of this vessel led to the raising the lower deck ports higher from the water.
At the end of the sixteenth and the beginning of the seventeenth centuries, ships of' war were divided into seven classes, at the suggestion of Sir Robert Dudley. He gave the dimensions of the vessels according to the services for which they were intended, all of them be ing constructed to draw very little water. The length of the first class called the galleon, was four times the breadth; and the lengths of the other vessels gradually increased in proportion to their breadth. The se venth class, called the intended entirely for velocity, liad its length in what has been truly characterised the extravagant proportion of ten times its breadth. At the period referred to, the ships of all nations displayed a remarkable similarity,—a cir cumstance arising from the Venetian vessels having been adopted by most of the constructers of that time, as models of imitation. In the reign of' James the First, Mr. Phineas Pett built the Royal Prince, of the bnrden of 1400 tons, and 64 guns. The keel of this ship was 114 feet, and her cross beam 44 feet. In the reign of Charles the First, a much larger ship was constructed, called the Sovereign of the Seas. The length of her keel was 128 feet, and her main breadth 48 feet. Her length from the fore end of the beak head to the after end of the stern, a pro ra ad puppim. 232 feet; and in height, from the bottom of her keel to the top of the lanthorn, 76 feet. Sire bore five lan thorns, the biggest of which would bold ten persons up right; had three flush decks. a forecastle, balf deck, quar ter deck. roundb)use. and also galleries. A general in crease of the ships the Royal Navy took place in this reign; and in 1677 the dimensions of the differ ent classes of ships were established by government. In the year 1684, Sir Richard Haddock, the comp troller of the navy, directed a scientific inquiry to be made into the solid content immersed in the water, of a ship of each class, when laden, from a fourth to a sixth rate, and by subtracting the weight of the ship's hull, when launched, from the total displace ment, to determine the true burden in tons it will car ry, and to compare this correct tonnage with the