+-------+-------------------------------------------------------+ | | Gross Tonnage of Vessels built of | | +-------------------+---------------+-------------------+ | Year. | Iron and Steel. | Wood. | Excess Tonnage in | | | | | Iron and Steel. | +-------+-------------------+---------------+-------------------+ | 1879 | 484,636 | 26,186 | 458,450 | | 1880 | 525,568 | 19,938 | 505,630 | | 1881 | 730,686 | 18,107 | 712,579 | | 1882 | 913,519 | 14,850 | 898,669 | | 1883 | 1,012,735 | 15,202 | 997,533 | +-------+-------------------+---------------+-------------------+ |Totals,| 3,667,144 | 94,283 | 3,572,861 | +-------+-------------------+---------------+-------------------+ _Tonnage of Wooden Vessels registered in the United Kingdom which were Lost, Broken up, &c., during each of the years 1879 to 1883, with Tonnage of Wooden Vessels built and registered in the United Kingdom during the same period._ +-------+----------------------------+-------------------+ | | Tonnage of Wooden Vessels. | Excess of Vessels | | Year. +-------------+--------------+ lost over those | | | Lost. | Built. | built. | +-------+-------------+--------------+-------------------+ | 1879 | 149,828 | 26,186 | 123,642 | | 1880 | 173,065 | 19,938 | 153,127 | | 1881 | 170,283 | 18,107 | 152,176 | | 1882 | 166,809 | 14,850 | 151,959 | | 1883 | 144,138 | 15,202 | 128,936 | +-------+-------------+--------------+-------------------+ |Totals,| 804,123 | 94,283 | 709,840 | +-------+-------------+--------------+-------------------+ Whence it appears that while 709,840 tons of the 1,779,112 tons of ships removed from the register during the last five years were wooden vessels, only 94,283 tons of the 3,667,144 tons built and registered in the United Kingdom during the same period were constructed of that material. In other words, wooden ships represent 45 per cent. of the total losses, while they only represent 2·5 per cent. of the total tonnage built and added to the register during the five years in question. Just as the introduction or general adoption of the compound engine marked an epoch in the history of shipbuilding and marine propulsion, so now the introduction of “mild steel” or “ingot iron” as a material for shipbuilding, together with the more extended adoption of water ballast, and the rapid development of the continuous-cellular system of construction, may be said to constitute a fresh starting point in the history of the industry.