(123.) The greatest speed which has yet been attained upon water by the application of steam has been accomplished in the case of a river steamer of peculiar form, which has been constructed upon the river Hudson. This boat, or rather raft, consisted of two hollow vessels formed of thin sheet iron, somewhat in the shape of spindles or cigars (from whence it was called the _cigar boat_.) In the thickest part these floats were eight feet in diameter, tapering towards the ends, and about 300 feet long: these floats or buoys, being placed parallel to each other, having a distance of more than 16 feet between them, supported a deck or raft 300 feet long, and 32 feet wide. A paddle-wheel 30 feet in diameter and 16 feet broad revolved between the spindles, impelled by a steam engine placed upon the deck. This vessel drew about 30 inches of water, and attained a speed of from 20 to 25 miles an hour: she ran upon a bank in the river Hudson, and was lost. The projector is now employed in constructing another vessel of still larger dimensions. It is evident that such a structure is altogether unfitted for sea navigation. In the case of a wide navigable river, however, such as the Hudson, it will no doubt be attended with the advantage of greater expedition. (124.) Several projects for the extension of steam navigation to voyages of considerable length have lately been entertained both by the public and by the legislature, and have imparted to every attempt to improve steam navigation increased interest. A committee of the House of Commons collected evidence and made a report in the last session in favour of an experiment to establish a line of steam communication between Great Britain and India. Two routes have been suggested by the committee, each being a continuation of the line of Admiralty steam packets already established to Malta and the Ionian Isles. One of the routes proposed is through Egypt, the Red Sea, and across the Indian Ocean to Bombay, or some of the other Presidencies; the other across the north part of Syria to the banks of the Euphrates, by that river to the Persian Gulf, and from thence to Bombay. Each of these routes will be attended with peculiar difficulties, and in both a long sea voyage will be encountered.