e or reward, _ought_ not
to be beaten on the broad seas by any competitor. It affords an
instructive confirmation of the results arrived at by the committee,
that when some of our swiftest yachts and clippers came to be
carefully examined, it was found that the wave principle had been to a
great extent adopted in their form, in cases even where the vessels
were built before the labours of the committee had commenced. The
_art_ had in this case preceded the _science_. And let it not be
considered that any absurdity is involved here: farmers manured their
fields long before chemists were able to explain the real nature of
manuring; and so in other arts, ingenious practical men often discover
useful processes before the men of science can give the rationale of
those processes.

It may be all very well to assert, that 'Britannia rules the waves,'
and that 'Britons never will be slaves,' and so forth; only let us
prove the assertions to be _true_, or not assert at all. We must
appeal to the 'Shipping Intelligence' which comes to hand from every
side, and determine, from actual facts, whether any one country really
outsails another.

Among the facts which thus present themselves to notice, is one
relating to _clippers_. Who first gave the name of clipper to a ship,
or what the name means, we do not know; but a clipper is understood to
be a vessel so shaped as to sail faster than other vessels of equal
tonnage. It is said that these swift sailers originated in the wants
of the salmon shippers, and others at our eastern ports. A bulky,
slow-moving ship may suffice for the conveyance to London of the
minerals and manufactures of Northumberland and Durham; but salmon and
other perishable articles become seriously deteriorated by a long
voyage; and hence it is profitable in such case to sacrifice bulk to
speed. Leith, Dundee, and especially Aberdeen, are distinguished for
the speed of their vessels above those of the Tyne and the Wear; and
the above facts probably explain the cause of the difference. The
Aberdeen clipper is narrow, very keen and penetrating in front,
gracefully tapering at the stern, and altogether calculated to 'go
ahead' through the water in rapid style. As compared with one of the
ordinary old-fashioned English coasting brigs of equal tonnage, an
Aberdeen clipper will attain nearly double the speed. One of these
fine vessels, the _Chrysolite_, in a recent voyage from China,
traversed 320 nautical miles (near