Adventure Magazine Cover — page 198: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

190 The Brazilian coffee of the better grade, particu- larly that which is called “Santos coffee,” ranks high, and it is good coffee if one knows how to pre- pare it. It should be parched very brown and pul- verized. It is always wasteful to use any ground coffee. If the people of the United States would use only pulverized ccffee, we, as a nation, could probably get along with one-quarter to cne-third less coffee per annum than we are using at the present time. Brazil produces more coffee than any other coun- try; and while some of the Maracaibo coffee and coffee from certain regions of Mexico and Central America, as well as some of the Oriental coffees, may be regarded as superior to th: average Bra- zilian coffee, some very fine coffee is produced in Brazil. Deck-Gear Terms AND a few words on the course of training required of aman befcre he can become an editor. Also. about the job of purser: Questior -—“In my reading of nautical stories, of which I am very fond, there are several terms which ido not understand and therefore I am taking advantage of your free services offered in the Adventure magi.zine to get these straight. Kindly tell me how the following are used: (a) a marline- spike (b) a capstan-bar (c) a belaying-pin. Are there any competent correspondence schools that teach navigation? What are the qualifica- tions for a purser? J. ¢., must he gain his post on his maritime merits, or is it an ordinary pro- fession? Would it be advisable to take a course in naviga- tion for the purpose of being a captain or a mate, or must a person ship before the mast as a common sailor and work his way up (the way he ought to)? I would like to spend a season or two on the sea and would like to know if a person with a clerical education woula be eligible for any pcsition on a passenger liner or any other kind of ship. This bunch of questions may seem to you to be a bevy of nonsensical twaddle, but I confess I take a lively interest in every separate one of them. Please don’t print my name or address.” Answer, by Mr. B. Brown:—A marlinespike ?= a steel spike, running to a point, which is used to open the strands of a line in splicing, ct :or several similar purposes. A capstan-bar is a wooden bar, usually strengthened and bound in parts with iron, which is inserted in the head of the capstan, which is a kind of a windlass, and is used in turning the capstan, in hoisting the anchor or in hauling in a cable. A belaying-pin is an iron pin, which sets in a hole in the pin-rail on the bulwarks, and to which are made fast portions of the running rigging. There are many competent schools for the purpose of teaching navigation. The knowledge of naviga- tion is but a portion of the requirements for a ship’s officer. He must necessarily have at least two years’ experience before the mast before entitled to go up for examination for papers, unless he is the graduate of an approved nautical school-ship, where he gets intensive training in seamanship on shipboard and a part of the time at sea. The purser should have some sea knowledge; be Adventure a fair accountant. He usually, where he does not owe his position to pull, goes up from the position of freight-clerk, which is the first clerical position on a passenger liner, open to the man who is a competent clerk but lacks sea experience. Some- times the purser is taken from the office force of the steamship company. I would suggest that as a preliminary you get a clerical position with some steamship company, learn the ropes there and take a job as freight-clerk if you can get assigned to the work. ‘‘Ask Adventure’’ service costs you noth- ing whatever but reply postage and self- addressed envelop. Tristan da Cunha SEene that neither inquirer nor “A. A.”? man mentioned the fact, I may as. well add that Tristan da Cunha is an island belonging to the British Empire situated midway between South America and the Cape of Good Hope. ... Sure I looked it up: Ouestion:—‘‘Would like some or rather all the information you can give me concerning the island of Tristan da Cunha, which is a possession of England. I am going to live there if there is any chance at all. : I wrote to the British Embassy at Washington, D. C., but they could not furnish me any informa- tion, so I am looking to you to furnish me with all the information and help me all you can.’”-—HARRY J. Prows, Richmond, Ind. - Answer, by Capt. Dingle:—Tristan da Cunha is not a particularly promising location for a settler, whatever the settler’s notions of comfort may be. The islanders depend utterly on passing vesse!s for groceries and clothes, and often a ship has passed six months or more, sometimes nearly a year, befcre the next one heaves in sight. Potatoes were sent there years ago, and grow wei, however. There are thousands of sea-birds which can be eaten if one can stomach the strong fishy flavor of sea-birds, and the seas around yield plenty of fish. There is nothing else whatever in the wayof regular produce, nor does the island offer any great prospects of fertility. So far as I can judge, there should be at present a population of about a hundred people all told; and when I called there—that’s vears ago—some folks had a few geese and chickens; there were a few pigs and sheep, and cows were eking out a scanty existence. The family of Glass is the chief one there, and a Scot named William Glass I believe established the little settlement some time in the eighteen-twenties. If you really think of settling there, I advise you to write for full details of living conditions and de- sirability to Mr. Glass, Tristan da Cunha. I don’t know which particular Mr. Glass to refer you to, but such a letter will get to the chief of the family anyhow. I imagine somebody who could teach school would be most likely to find welcome there at present. COMNNMUC DOOKS (© in