During the last few years, very large increases have been made in the dimensions, displacements and costs of battleships and armored cruisers as compared with vessels of similar classes previously constructed. Both England and the United States have constructed enormous war vessels within the past decade. The British _Dreadnought_ built in nineteen hundred and five has a draft of thirty-one feet six inches and a displacement of twenty-two thousand and two hundred tons. Later, vessels of the _Dreadnought_ type have a normal draft of twenty-seven feet and a naval displacement of eighteen thousand and six hundred tons. Armored cruisers of the British _Invincible_ class have a draft of twenty-six feet and a displacement of seventeen thousand two hundred and fifty tons with a thousand tons of coal on board. These cruisers have engines developing forty-one thousand horse-power. Within the past two years the United States has turned out a few formidable battleships, which it is claimed surpass the best of those of any other navy in the world. The _Delaware_ and _North Dakota_ each have a draft of twenty-six feet, eleven inches and a displacement of twenty thousand tons. Great interest attached to the trials of these vessels because they were sister ships fitted with different machinery and it was a matter of much speculation which would develop the greater speed. In addition to the consideration of the battleship as a fighting machine at close quarters, Uncle Sam is trying to have her as fleet as an ocean greyhound should an enemy heave in sight so that the latter would not have much opportunity to show his heels to a broadside. The _Delaware_, which has reciprocating engines, exceeded her contract speed of twenty-one knots on her runs over a measured mile course in Penobscot Bay on October 22 and 23, 1909. Three runs were made at the rate of nineteen knots, three at 20.50 knots, and five at 21.98 knots. The _North Dakota_ is furnished with Curtis turbine engines. Here is a comparison of the two ships: North Delaware Dakota Fastest run over measured mile......... 21.98 22.25 Average of five high runs.............. 21.44 21.83 Full power trial speed................. 21.56 21.64 Full power trial horsepower............ 28,600. 31,400. Full power trial, coal consumption, tons per day............ 578. 583. Nineteen-knot trial coal consumption, tons per day....... 315. 295. Twelve-knot trial coal consumption, tons per day.............111. 105. The _Florida_, a 21,825 ton boat, was launched from the Brooklyn Navy Yard last May 12. Her sister ship, the _Utah_, took water the previous December at Camden. Here is a comparison of the _North Dakota_ of 1908 and the _Florida_ of 1910: