Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 37, Number 6, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 January 1905 — HISTORY OF THE ANCHOR. [ARTICLE]

HISTORY OF THE ANCHOR.

<V'.rlaii ImproT.mr.ti That ItaW. Been Made In It* lhaye. 'The ships' anchors in general used up *to the beginning of the last century •consisted of a long, round Iron shank, having two comparatively short, straight arms or flukes, Inclined to the •hank at an angle of about 40 degrees and meeting It In a somewhat sharp point at the crown. In large anchors the bulky wooden stock was Built up of several pieces, hooped together, the whole tapering outward to the ends, especially on the aft or cable side. About the beginning of the last century a clerk in the Plymouth naval yard, Pering by name, suggested certain Improvements, the most Important of which was making the arms curved instead of straight. At first sight this simple change may seem of little value, but consideration will show that this is not the case. The holding power of an anchor depends on two principal conditions —namely, the extent of useful holding surface and the amount of vertical penetration. The latter qual- ■ ity Is necessary on account of the nature of ordinary sea bottoms, the Bur- * face layers of which are generally less tenacious and resisting than Is the ground a short distance below. In the year 1831 chain cables began to supersede the hempen ones, with the result that the long shanked anchors hitherto In vogue were no longer necessary, and anchors with shorter shanks find with heavier and stronger crowns gradually came Into use. In consequence of these changes a commission was appointed in the year 1838 to inquire Into the holding power of anchors, and a principal result of its labors was the adoption of the so called admiralty pattern anchor, which continued to be used In the navy up to the year 1800. The invention of the steam hammer in 1842 made the welding of heavy masses of iron a comparatively easy and reliable process, so that from this time onward the strength of anchors fully kept pace with that of the chain cables which had come into general use. A number of patents for anchors were taken out prior to the great exhibition of 1851, and, public attention having been called to the models there shown, In the following year a committee was appointed by the admiralty to report on the qualifications of anchors of the various kinds. Practical trials were then instituted, and as a result Trotman’s anchor took the highest place, Rodger’s anchor being second on the list. Some of the tests to which the anchors were submitted were of doubtful value, such, for Instance, as “facility for sweeping.” Nowadays, however, at all events for deep ships In shallow harbors, it is considered an advantage for an anchor to offer as little obstruction as possible above the ground.—Science Siftings.