The _Duguesclin_, referred to on page 84, is an armored cruiser built of steel and iron and sheathed with wood and coppered; an iron armor belt 9⅛ to 6½ inches thick encircles her, and the four barbettes are protected by 8 inches of compound armor. The armament consists of four 9.45-inch guns in the barbettes, of one 7.5-inch gun in the bow, and of six 5.5-inch pieces on broadside, in addition to two 6-pounder rapid-fire guns, twelve revolving cannon, and two above-water torpedo tubes. Her displacement is 5869 tons, draught 23 feet 3 inches, and she has developed 4100 horse-power and 14 knots. The _Sfax_ is a partially protected steel cruiser, which is sheathed with wood and coppered, and has an under-water curved steel protective deck 1.5 inches thick. There is the usual water-tight subdivision below and above this deck, together with the lately adopted cellulose belt. The armament consists of six 6.3-inch guns, four mounted on sponsons, with bow and stern fire, and two in recessed ports with bow and beam fire; of ten 5.5-inch guns in broadside on the main deck, and of eight Hotchkiss revolving cannon. In May, 1887,[29] “with natural draft, the mean indicated horse-power developed for four hours was 4333, and the speed 15.9 knots. With forced draft the mean results of a six hours’ trial were, indicated horse-power, 6034; revolutions, 78; mean speed, 16.84 knots. The trials for coal endurance showed that with full natural draft speed the consumption was 1.96 pounds per hour per indicated horse-power developed, and with forced draft it was 2.10 pounds. During these trials the draught of water was 19 feet 4 inches forward and 25 feet 1 inch aft, which was in excess of the normal designed draughts of 19 feet 8 inches and 24 feet 8 inches. Notwithstanding this fact, and the fact of the indicated horse-power falling much below the estimated power of the engines (5000 with natural, 7500 with forced draft), the speed realized exceeded the maximum estimated of 16.5 knots.”