," designed to be one of the fastest and
most powerful vessels of her class afloat, was launched from Cramp's
shipyard in Philadelphia in 1895. She is the sister ship to the "New
York," which was put in commission in 1893. A matter of significance,
as showing the rapid progress in the art of naval construction within
a few years, was the taking out of commission in 1895 of the
"Chicago," to be refitted with engines and boilers that will give her
powers approaching those of the newer vessels. Two years will be
required for this work, and when she is complete she will travel three
knots an hour faster than heretofore, and in many respects will be
substantially a new ship.

The official trial trip of the battle-ship "Massachusetts," which
occurred in 1896, was a source of gratification to the Navy Department
and to all others who are anxious to see the United States take
respectable rank among the naval powers. The primary business of a
battle-ship is to fight; hence her guns and not her speed are of the
first importance. Naval experts have agreed that the "Massachusetts"
and her sister ships, the "Indiana" and the "Oregon," have larger and
more effective batteries than any man-of-war afloat or in progress of
construction. The "Massachusetts" has now proved, by steaming at the
rate of 16.15 knots for four hours, with a maximum speed of 17.03
knots, that she is superior to all other battle-ships in speed as well
as in armament. Her performance is unparalleled in naval history, and
makes her the foremost war-vessel of the world. The "Indiana" is a
trifle slower. She steamed 15.61 knots for four hours, but under the
disadvantage of a bottom that had never been cleaned. She would
probably go half a knot faster with a clean bottom. As a
representative specimen of the battle-ships which belong to the navy,
a few details of the "Massachusetts'" armament may be of interest. She
has thirty guns in all. The chief of these are four of thirteen-inch
calibre, which are the largest in use in modern navies; a pair of them
can be fired every three minutes. The eight-inch guns are next in
size. There are four of them, and they can be fired every minute. In
addition to these, there are two six-inch rifles, twenty six-pounders,
and four one-pounders. The six-inch guns can be fired twice a minute,
and the six-pounders twenty times in the same period. In a fight
lasting thirty minutes, these guns would throw forty-one and a half
tons of metal