desirable that candidates should lodge them as early as possible. Upon application to the Shipping Master, candidates will be supplied with a form, which they will be required to fill up and lodge with their testimonials in the hands of the Examiners.

The fee for examination must be paid to the Shipping Master. If a candidate fail in his examination, half the fee he has paid will be returned to him by the Shipping Master, on his producing a document which will be given him by the Examiner.

The following are the fees to be paid by applicants for examination :

Any one who has been one year in possession of a Master's first-class Certificate, granted by one of the former Boards of Examiners, or of any Ordinary Master's Certificate of Competency granted under the present Examiners, may pass an Extra Examination, and receive an Extra Certificate in exchange for his former one, without payment of any fee; but if he fails in his first examination, he must pay half a Master's fee on his coming a second time; and the same sum for every subsequent attempt.

If the applicant passos he will receive a document from the Examiner, which will entitle him to receive his Certificate of Competency from the Shipping Master at the port to which he has directed it to be forwarded. If his testimonials have been sent to the Registrar to be verified, they will be returned with his certificate.

If an applicant is examined for a higher rank and fails, but passes an examination of a lower grade, he may receive a Certificate accordingly, but no part of the fee will be returned.

As the examinations of Masters and Mates are inade

compulsory, the qualifications have been kept as low as possible; but it must be distinctly understood, that it is the intention of the Board of Trade to raise the standard from time to time, whenever, as will no doubt be the case, the general attainments of officers in the merchant service shall render it possible to do so without inconvenience; and officers are strongly urged to employ their leisure hours, when in port, in the acquirement of the knowledge necessary to enable them to pass their examinations; and Masters will do well to permit apprentices and junior officers to attend schools of instruction, and to afford them as much time for this purpose as possible.

EXAMINATIONS IN STEAM.

Arrangements have been made for giving to those Masters, or applicants for Masters Certificates, who desire to do so, an opportunity of undergoing an examination as to their practical knowledge of the use and working of the steam engine. These examinations will be conducted under the superintendence of the Local Marine Boards, at such times as they may appoint for the purpose; and the Examiners will be selected by the Board of Trade from the engineer surveyors appointed under the Steam Navigation Act.

The examination will not comprise intricate theoretical questions, but will be such as to satisfy the Examiner that the applicant is competent to control the working of the engine, and has such a knowledge of the ordinary parts of the machinery, as will enable him to judge of the nature of an accident, and, in the absence of the engineer, to give the necessary directions in the engine room.

The practice will be as follows: The applicant must deliver to the Shipping Master a statement in writing to the effect that he wishes to be examined in Steam. If he is about to pass a master's examination in navigation also, this statement must be on or annexed to the form E. E.; if he has a Master's

Certificate of Competency, it must be delivered to the ShippingMaster with his Certificate, so that due notice may be given to the Examiner, and so that the Board of Trade on receiving it may have the means of indorsing on his Certificate, and recording the fact that he has passed in Steam. He must also at the same time pay a fee of 78., which will be applied in remunerating the Examiners. Notice will be given of the time at which the applicant is to attend to be examined; and if he passes, the result of the examination will be reported to the Board of Trade, and his Certificate of Competency will be issued or returned to him, as the case may be, with an indorsement as above mentioned, showing that he has passed in Steam. If he fails, no notice of the failure will be reported on the Certificate, but no part of the fee will be returned.

F. W. BEECHEY.
W. H. WALKER.

T. H. FARRER,

Secretary.

Naval Department, Board of Trade,
May, 1852.

MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS IN ARITHMETIC.

[These are similar to those given when the Examination was first made compulsory, and are introduced here for practice.]

1. Express in figures, ten millions ten thousand and ten. 2. Add together 17984, 739, 9, 6754, 896, 97, and 7493. 3. In 97864 cables, each containing 120 fathoms, how many inches?

4. Divide 874687718592 by 9648.

5. Express in figures, nine hundred and nine thousand and forty.

6. Add together 8, 746, 84, 97631, 471, 140011 and 639. 7. In 8694 tons, how many ounces?

8. Divide 5240037752890 by 86321.

9. Express in figures, one hundred and four millions ninety thousand and nine.

10. Add together 768, 4597, 8, 460, 62, 179634 and 98.
11. In 68049 statute miles, how many barleycorns?
12. Divide 6903523318679 by 84097.

13. Express in figures, ninety millions two hundred and four thousand and fifty.

14. Add together 874, 97643, 96, 4, 371, 930872 and 15. 15. In 8076 centuries, how many seconds? 365 days being reckoned to the year.

16. Divide 7941037222000 by 9839.

17. Express in figures, one hundred millions sixty thousand four hundred and nine.

18. Add together 876, 4973, 64, 9, 754319 and 474.

19.

In 769846 statute miles, how many inches?

20. Divide 55175168622402000 by 8609000.

21. Express in figures, nine hundred millions two thousand and one.

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22. Add together 8764, 987641, 470, 91, 9, and 8746.
23. In 6785 Great Circles, how many seconds (')?
24. Divide 120140420490 by 60070.

25. Multiply £36. 17s. 4 d. by 79.

26. If of a ship be worth £ 207. 10s. 3d. what part can be purchased for £1245. 1s. 6d.

27. Required the value of a nugget of gold weighing 84 lbs. at £3. 12s. 1 d. per oz.

EXERCISES IN LOGARITHMS, &c.

Sufficient directions are given to all tables of logarithms in respect to the method of using them, but the following remarks are for the purpose of enforcing the necessity of having a due regard to the characteristic or index of a logarithm, the neglect of which is productive of great error.

Take any numbers as 27, 564, 3047; the first consists of two, the second of three, and the third of four digits. Take also any number as 765-476; the figures (765) on the left of the decimal point compose the integral part, those on the right (476) are decimals. Again take any logarithm as 3.124830, the first figure (3) is called the index, and the remaining portion is the decimal part or mantissa; now the mantissa of the logarithm of any number above 100 is all that is registered in the tables, and the index has therefore to be supplied. These observations being understood the following Rule must be borne in mind.

Rule. The index of the logarithm of a number greater than unity is one less than the number of digits in the integral part, and when the number is less than unity, the index is properly negative, but the arithmetical complement of it is sometimes used. Examples,