The last column in the above tabular statement, headed "Degree of Occupation," may require some explanation. It is calculated on the assumption that a tug could do 3,000 hours of work per annum, and this is taken as the unit, the time of actual haulage being counted as full time, and of stoppages as half time. The expenses included in the statement of cost of haulage include all working expenses, repairs, general management, and depreciation. The accounts for 1882, which are not completely available at the time we are writing, show much better results than above recorded, there being a considerable reduction of cost, while the freight hauled amounted to a total of 54,921,965 ton-miles. [Illustration: WIRE ROPE TUG BOAT, RIVER RHINE.] As regards the wear of the rope, we may state that the relaying of the first rope between St. Goar and Bingen was taken in hand in September, 1879, while that between Obercassel and Bingen was partially renewed the same year, the renewal being completed in May, 1880, after the rope had been in use since the beginning of 1876. The second rope between Bonn and Bingen, a length of 74¾ miles, is of galvanized wire, has now been 2¾ years in use, during which time there have been but three fractures. The first rope laid was not galvanized, and it suffered nine fractures during the first three years of its use. The first rope, we may mention, was laid in lengths of about a mile spliced together, while the present rope was supplied in long lengths of 7½ miles each, so that the number of splices is greatly reduced. According to the report of the company for the year 1880, the old rope when raised realizes about 16 per cent. of its original value, and allowing for this, it is calculated that an allowance of 18.7 per cent. per annum will cover the cost of rope depreciation and renewals. Altogether the results obtained on the Rhine show that in a rapid stream the economic performances of wire rope tugs compare most favorably with those of either paddle or screw tug boats, the more rapid the current to be contended against the greater being the advantage of the wire rope haulage. * * * * * IMPROVED HAY-ROPE MACHINE. Hay-ropes are used for many purposes, their principal use being in the foundry for core-making; but they also find a large application for packing ironmongery and furniture. The inventor is James Pollard, of the Atlas Foundry, Burnley. [Illustration: HAY ROPE MACHINE.]