[Private] Navy Yard June 9, 1795 Sir The following is the result of several experiments on the strength of several pieces of Ash, three feet long in each long, one inch & ½ or an inch thick & two inches and one quarter of an inch broad; in order to discover what effect, single or double holes for bolting the floors will have on the head of a ship [strikethrough: as used] bored through the long & trisonal diameter as well as one piece without any hole; these pieces were supported at each end and the weight put on the middle, the effect of which is as follows. | N^o of holes in each Piece | size of hole in each Piece | weight the piece of the [undecipherable] | weight that they broke | Comparisson of the pieces compared with each other | |---|---|---|---|---| | 1 | 2 | 1 In^t ¼ | 1085.3 | 935 lb^s | little piece than the other of the [undecipherable] | | 1 | 1 | 1 In^t 3/2 | 1086.8 | 955.0" | [undecipherable] | | 2 | without a hole | — — — — | 1058 — | 1006.9" | Good piece | | 3 | 1 | 1 In^t 7/8 | 811.18 | 895.0" | supposed to be the best piece of the number | | 3 | 1 | 1 In^t 7/4 | 839.15 | 695.0" | looks rather worn than the other piece of the same number — | | 4 | 2 | 1 In^t 7/0 | 867.12 | 517 | | | 4 | 1 | 1 In^t 7/4 | 868 — | 573 | did not brake with the weight but [undecipherable] with the [undecipherable] the botting of the [undecipherable] | [signature: Joshua Humphreys] N.B. the pieces were put on their [flat] sides to receive the weights — [To] Joshua Humphreys at [undecipherable]