n of steering
according to whatever tack the canoe is on. The duty of the rest is to
bail out the boat and to keep the sail properly trimmed.

Nothing afloat, probably, can go so close to the wind as the
flying-proa, while its speed is astonishing. The Malays use the proa,
but theirs is a broader, heavier, and less swift boat than that used by
the Ladrone islanders of the Pacific, which is that which we have just
described.

The canoes of the Fijians are superior to those in use among any other
of the South Sea islanders. Their chief feature is that they are
twin-canoes, joined together by cross-beams, which support a platform of
from twelve to fifteen feet broad. Of the two canoes, one is smaller
than the other, and the smaller serves by way of an outrigger. These
canoes are sometimes one hundred feet long, their depth being usually
about seven feet. Sometimes a small cabin is built upon the platform.
The mast is about thirty feet long, is supported by guys, and is
furnished with a yard carrying a large sail. There are small hatchways
at both ends of the craft, at each of which one of the crew sits ready
to bail out the boat. The Fijian canoes can also be propelled by means
of sculling, the sculler using a broad-bladed scull about ten feet in
length. A large canoe can be got through the water at the rate of two
or three miles an hour by sculling.

Various experiments have from time to time been made in the way of
building boats and ships with double hulls, the object being to obtain
increased stability, and thus reduce to a minimum the rolling and
pitching of ordinary vessels. The steamship Castalia was an ambitious
attempt in this direction. She was built for the passenger service
between England and France. But she did not realise the expectations
formed of her.

Most persons who have crossed from Dover to Calais, or vice versa, by
the Calais-Douvre mail packet, will bear witness both to the comfort and
speed of that vessel. Up to this she has proved the most perfect form
of steam-ship yet constructed for the purpose required. The
Calais-Douvre is built somewhat upon the same principle as the Castalia,
but differs from that vessel in that whereas the latter was two
half-ships joined together, each twin-portion of the Calais-Douvre is a
perfect ship in itself. The result has been, that while the Castalia
was a failure, the Calais-Douvre has proved a distinct success. She is
three hundred feet in l