Show A QUID OF TOBACCO how a small thing stopped operations on a great avar ship emile duboc tells an amusing story of an event which he says certainly led to tho downfall of hydraulic machinery in the french service A few years ago the authorities of a great shipbuilding finn were very much perturbed when the trials for turning the turrets of a new battleship in the presence of the committee appointed to take over the ship were failures A day or two before everything bad gone satisfactorily facto rily but now the turret after some slight movements stuck fast the gauges indicated the normal pressure there was nothing wrong with the turret or with the racks for rotating it there was no perceptible leak in any of alie pipes and it was so impossible to assign any reason for the behavior of the turret that the committee had to go home without seeing it revolve that evening and the following day a complete overhaul was made of the system of piping and it was then discovered that one small but important pipe was completely choked by a quid of chewed tobacco which a workman had doubtless let fall into it inadvertently when this was removed the turret worked as well as ever bui the disquietude caused by the want of success of the day before was only increased when it was discovered how insignificant the cause had been from that day the naval authorities decided that in future wherever practicable the power for ship operations should be carried by a wire instead of a steam pipe |