Ships have a regular way of talking to one another, by means of flags arranged in certain ways.

This form of signalling is comprehended by all sailors.  It is a universal language, and no matter from what country or in what seas ships may be sailing, the language of the flags makes it possible for them to be understood.

There has been one difficulty with the flag-signals, and that has been that they were useless at night.  When it became too dark for the flags to be seen, sailors had no other means of communication.

The New York paper claims to have overcome this difficulty.

In saying that ships have no means of communicating with each other, it must not be forgotten that they can use lights and send certain messages with them.  But the flag system enables them to say exactly what they wish to, while through the lights they can only show where they are, and call for help in case of accident.

The invention of the searchlight set men thinking, and at last the idea struck one man that if the searchlight were turned on the flags, it ought to be perfectly possible to see them in the darkest night.

A few nights ago two tugs went down to Sandy Hook to try if the experiment would work.  To their great delight they found it did answer perfectly.  The tugs were stationed about a mile and a half apart, and could read with ease the messages waved across the water.

More experiments will be made, and if on further trial the method is found to be practical, a great advance will have been made in navigation.

From Amsterdam, another report comes of a method that has been invented, to enable ships to speak directly with the shore at a distance of five miles.

This invention is in the nature of a powerful foghorn.  It is, however, made somewhat like a musical instrument, so that different tones can be produced by it; and the idea is to have these tones arranged into a signalling code, after the fashion of the flag-signals, so that a conversation can be kept up in a similar way to that done with flags.  G.H.R.

LETTERS FROM OUR YOUNG FRIENDS.

We have had a very large and interesting mail this week from the young friends of THE GREAT ROUND WORLD.

We take pleasure in acknowledging and publishing R.R.’s graphic and clever description of the fire near Wanamaker’s in Philadelphia, Helen Z.C.’s pleasant chat about a Chicago suburb, and Seymour U.P.’s nice little note from Saranac Lake.

We also acknowledge the receipt of relief maps for the competition from Adrian Van A. and Harriot M., of Brooklyn.

    DEAR EDITOR: