At a meeting some months since of the Archæological Society of London, Capt. Windus, of the Navy, read an account of a remarkable carrack or war galley, equipped by the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, and described by Bosio, the historian of the Order, which had been plated with sheet lead as a defense against bullets. This vessel was built at Nice, in A. D. 1530, and made one of the great squadron sent by the Emperor Charles V., against Tunis, to assist the dethroned Muley Hassan against Barbarossa. The celebrated Andrew Dorias commanded the expedition, and after a few days Tunis was taken by storm. This metallic clad galley was called the Santa Anna, and aided greatly in taking the city. She had six decks, consequently was larger than the Merrimac. Her crew consisted of 500 men.

A NOVELTY IN QUARRYING.

An instrument for boring into hard rock, made out of a tube furnished with a circular cutter of rough diamonds, is now being employed in France. It is caused to revolve, and, as it enters the stone, the cutter scoops out a cylinder, which is afterwards easily taken out of the tube. Holes in hard granite, for blasting purposes, two inches diameter and four feet deep, are thereby bored in one hour. This would require two days' work in the ordinary way. The diamonds, when examined through a magnifying glass, do not look at all injured.

NAUTICAL INTELLIGENCE.

ARRIVALS AND CLEARANCES AT BOSTON.

THE arrivals at Boston from foreign ports for ten years past have been

as follows:

Besides the above, 29 steamers have arrived during the year, and 27

have cleared.

The coastwise arrivals and the clearances, as far as known, as many are not entered at the custom-house, have been as follows:

The statement of tonnage of the port of New York for 1862, as made up from the official records at the custom-house, shows an increase, both in the number of arrivals and clearances, over every preceding year. In the American tonnage there is, of course, considerable decrease, owing to the

fact that a large number of vessels have changed their nationalities, while American bottoms have in a great measure been neglected, in consequence of the great risk of capture by the Confederate privateers, in addition to which a large proportion of American vessels have been employed by government. The total number of arrivals from foreign ports was 5,406, comprising a total tonnage of 2,552,481. Of this number 2,693 were American vessels, representing a tonnage of 1,472,989, against 3,034 vessels and a tonnage of 1,618,258 in 1861. The increase in the number of clearances is relatively the same. The number of American vessels was 2,202, and of foreign 2,814, making 5,016 vessels, and representing a tonnage of 2,487,852. Considering the fact that the country has been involved in a coloss civil war during the entire year, the result is certainly astonishing; yet the "Commerce of New York," previously published, prepared the public for some such result. Annexed are the entries and clearances since 1857, inclusive:

ENTRIES AT NEW YORK FROM FOREIGN PORTS.

The number of coastwise entries and clearances for the year-according to custom-house records-is as follows:

1862...

1861.

1860.

1859.

1858.

1857.

1,569 503,679 4,182 1,425,810

In view of the continued interruption of the coastwise trade, no idea of it can be formed from these figures-especially as vessels are not by law required to enter and clear at the custom-house, except they have either foreign or certain specified domestic merchandise on board.

PACIFIC OCEAN.

We find in the London Nautical Magazine the following reports of shoals, important to navigators.

The first is as follows, lying to the north of Isabel Island, the principal of the Solomon Group, dangerous to shipping and new to the chart under the name of the Lass Shoal.

The brig Wailua, Lass, October 11th, 1861, discovered a shoal in lat 7° 45' S., long. 159° 54′ E., about half a mile wide, and in length as far as could be seen from the mast-head; it stands N.W. and S.E. We passed over it and found 11 fathoms water. About one and-a-half miles trom where we were, the water had a milky appearance, and think that a vessel passing over there would be likely to strike. Did not find this shoal on any of my charts, therefore ships passing that way will require to keep a sharp look out. At the place where we went over, the rocks were plainly visible under the vessel.

The next by the same vessel is off the N.E. coast of New Guinea. The account says:

October 28th, lat. 5° 40′ S., long. 146° 18' E., during the night we discovered another shoal, not down on our charts. It is situated between Rooke and Lotten Islands, and is about half a mile in circumference, and is covered with trees.

The position given places it near the Astrolabe Gulf, but just within the coast line about Point Iris. We therefore preserve the record for future reference. The Lotten Island is Dampier's Rocky Island, called Lottin by D'URVILLE. The charts of these parts, however, are yet in a very imperfect condition, and especially that portion bounded by the Admiralty Islands, New Ireland, New Britain, and New Guinea, that appears to abound in detached shoals and small islands, of the positions and contour of which we are yet very uncertain. The following from the same vessel as the preceding is also new to the chart, and must have presented an interesting spectacle to the crew of the Wailua. The account says:November 5th, discovered another shoal to the westward of New Britain, N.W. of Nord Island, five miles off shore. This shoal is about half a mile wide, and five miles long, having the appearance of a half moon. We lowered a boat and examined it, finding about 10 feet water thereon. On approaching this shoal the man at the mast-head cried,— "There she blows!" but on nearing it we discovered it to be a boiling spring, constantly emitting water about 150 feet in the air, and on first sighting this it had just the appearance of a whale spouting. This spring can be seen about twenty miles off.

Such scenes are highly interesting, but are to be expected in a sea over a volcanic bed that will throw up a cone like Lottin Island, above 3,000 feet in height, in which the volcanic principle is evidently at work by the emission of smoke, and a large hollow on its N.E. side, the remains of an ancient crater. There is abundance of work here for the nautical sur

veyor.

NOVA SCOTIA, SOUTH-EAST COAST.

The following description of shoals recently discovered in Shelburne Harbor, on the S.E. coast of Nova Scotia, is by Captain Shortland, R.N.,

1862.

Middle Rock, in the channel approaching Shelburne, is a small rocky patch of 24 fathoms, low water springs, with the remarkable boulder on Surf Point bearing W.b.N. N., six cables, and Sand Point N.b.W. rather less than a mile. It is about half way between the North end of MacNutt's Island and Sand Point northward of it, a 3 fathom shoal extending out to it half a mile from the eastern shore, the rock forming its outer extreme. The depth at a cable west from the rock is 5 fathoms.

Hero Shoal is a small rocky patch of 2 fathoms (replaced on the chart by H.M.S. Hero in 1862), S.W., rather more than half a mile from the southermost wharf of Shelburne, and about one-third across from the western to the eastern shore, with the tower of the northernmost church in Shelburne on with a white house on the high land northeastward of the town, bearing N.E. N. At a cable eastward of the shoal there are 6 fathoms water, and between the shoal and the western shore 3 and 4 fathoms.

The tower of the southermost church in Shelburne on with the white house on the high land N.E. of the town, bearing N.E. N. leads a cable eastward of the shoal.

NOTICES TO MARINERS BY SUPERintendent A. D. BACHE.

The following Notices to Mariners have been given by the Superintendent of the U.S.C. survey, A. D. BACHE.

In the approaches to Newport Harbor, Rhode Island, two rocks have been discovered by HENRY MITCHELL, Assistant U.S. Coast Survey.

No. 1. Is about 700 yards west from the Poor House on Coaster's Harbor Island, and 375 yards N.b.E. from red buoy No. 6. It is >>bout one acre in extent, with 17 feet shoalest at mean low water. At the lowest spring tides there will probably not be less than 15 feet over it. It is nearly mid channel in the northern passage. To clear it, hug closely the bold shore of Coaster's Harbor Island.

2. Is nearly on the line between the Rose Island Spindle, about 325 yards from it, and Goat Island Lighthouse. It has two sharp peaks N.W. and S.E., 144 feet on the outer at mean low water. West of this rock the depth is 5 fathoms; to the northward, 7 fathoms; to the eastward, 8 fathoms; and to the southward, 7 fathoms water. It is outside of the line from Rose Island Spindle to buoy No. 3. To clear it keep the Goat Island side of the channel.

Shoal on the Coast of Maryland.-The Baltic, drawing 184 feet water, Captain J. J. COMSTOCK, is reported to have run aground on a shoal about two and-a-half miles due East from Winter Quarter Shoal, about eleven miles from the coast of Maryland. It is not laid down on the charts, but will be surveyed as soon as possible.

APPLIANCES FOR SAVING LIFE FROM SHIPWRECK ON THE COASTS OF

DENMARK.

A notice to mariners by the Danish government states that at various places on the coast of North Jutland and on the island of Bornholm, life