After the end of the eighteenth century, the salutary practice of building ships under cover became general. Nowadays, of course, most ships are constructed in the open air. But in the time we are speaking of the ship--men built with wood and not steel. And when the weather was not allowed to get inside and rot the wood, it was found that the vessels lasted much longer than before. Furthermore, the method of uniting two pieces of timber together by “scarfing” was introduced. It was done either by letting the end of one piece of wood into the end of the other, or by laying the two ends together and fastening a third piece to them both. Thus, curved timbers could be made with pieces of straight timber. This may seem quite a small matter to some, but when it is stated that until this device was employed ships ready for launching were sometimes detained on the stocks for a considerable period until natural bent timbers could be found, it will be seen that Sir Robert Seppings, the inventor, was performing an excellent service to the Admiralty. [Illustration: THE CIRCULAR-SHAPED STERN OF H.M.S. “ASIA.” This 84-gun ship was in the engagement at the Battle of Navarino.] And there were other improvements which were only justified. That effusive gilt decoration--the scrolls, the allegorical figures, the wreaths (which had come in during Caroline times), the heavy brackets for the poop-lanterns were all to come under the chastening hand of simplicity. The stern galleries became simpler in character and fewer in number, the spritmast disappeared and the spritsail, though the spritsail yard remained for some time. In the Merchant Service the “Jimmy Green” continued till well into the nineteenth century; and the yard of the lateen mizzen had long since been lopped off to become a gaff, as also the triangular mizzen sail had become quadrilateral and a boom had been added. Masts were made taller, but the bowsprit was no longer a quasi-mast, as it had been since medieval days. Staysails had come into use from Dutch origin, and royals--or, as Hutchinson called them, “topgallant royals”--and studding-sails were already well established during the latter part of the eighteenth century. The triangular headsails were relied upon for getting the ship’s head round, and consequently the foremast was no longer placed so far forward as it had been in Tudor and Stuart times. [Illustration: A BRIG OF WAR’S 12-POUNDER CARRONADE.]