In the _New World_, we have an excellent specimen of the first-class American coast or river steamer, combining the multifarious and, apparently, conflicting requisites for vessels thus employed. With a light draught of water, such vessels require to have stability to carry in safety the lofty hotels erected on their decks, and to afford the spacious and sumptuous accommodation which competition has led every American traveller to expect. High speed must also be combined with safety and comfort, and lightness blended with strength. To attain the former, the boilers of these vessels are placed outside the ordinary line of the hull of the vessel on guards or framework, an extraordinary position for heavy weights, but tending, materially, to safety in the event of explosion, and, to comfort, in causing less vibration and greater coolness, the furnaces being thus away from the cabins. To secure the latter, the rigidity of the hull is maintained by a perfect system of trussing with wooden beams, braces, iron tie-rods, and stays, together with innumerable other remarkable contrivances wherein great skill and scientific knowledge is displayed. By these and other contrivances, the requisite strength, combined with the greatest lightness consistent with safety, is ensured, so that the whole vast and commodious structure, with its towering cabins, lofty saloons, handsome galleries, balconies, and extensive promenades, fragile as they doubtless appear, is a marvel of mechanical skill, and, really, possesses much greater stability and power of resistance than is to be found in numerous vessels of other countries of twice the weight of materials used in the construction of the _New World_. [Sidenote: Details of her construction.] The mode of constructing these vessels is entirely different to that adopted in any other country: thus, the hull of the _New World_ is of wood, the external planking being about 3½ inches in thickness, and the ribs sheathed internally for a considerable distance amidships by double-crossed diagonal woodwork. Further forward and aft, it is single, and, towards the end, there is no sheathing; but the floor-timbers are strengthened by several longitudinal timbers or keelsons of considerable size.