supply, that in 1815, the year in which the great Napoleonic wars
terminated, the price had risen to L7 7_s._ a load, which was, probably,
the highest figure ever reached. In 1833 it sank to L6, and then
continued to rise till, in 1850, it had reached L6 18_s._ per load. In
consequence of the scarcity of English oak many foreign timbers, such as
Dantzic and Italian oak, Italian larch, fir, pitch pine, teak, and
African timbers were tried with varying success. In America timber was
abundant and cheap, and this was one of the causes which led to the
extraordinary development of American shipping in the first half of the
nineteenth century, and it is probable that, but for the introduction of
iron, which was produced abundantly and cheaply in this country, the
carrying trade of the world would have passed definitely into the hands
of the people of the United States.

The use of iron and steel as the materials for construction have enabled
sailing ships to be built in modern times of dimensions which could not
have been thought of in the olden days. These large vessels are chiefly
employed in carrying wheat and nitrate of soda from the west coast of
South America. Their structural arrangements do not differ greatly from
those of iron and steel steamers which are described in Part II.

APPENDIX.

DESCRIPTION OF A GREEK BIREME OF ABOUT 800 B.C.

During the year 1899 the British Museum acquired a new vase of the
Dipylon class, which was found near Thebes in Boeotia, and dates
from about 800 B.C. On one side of the vase are represented chariots
and horses, apparently about to start for a race. On the other side is
a painting of a complete bireme, which, on account of its antiquity
and the peculiarities of its structure is of extraordinary interest.
The galley in question, Fig. 74, is reproduced from an illustration,
traced direct from the vase, and published in the "Journal of Hellenic
Studies," vol. xix. (1899). The chief peculiarity of the construction
is that the rowers are seated upon a two-storied open staging, erected
upon a very shallow hull and extending from an elevated forecastle to
an equally raised structure at the stern. The stage, or platform, on
which the lower tier of oarsmen is seated, is supported by vertical
struts rising out of the body of the boat. The platform for the upper
stage is also supported by vertical struts, which rise, not from the
boat itself, but fro