ON THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. VII 



"Applied Mechanics. During the last century the science of Ap- 

 plied Mechanics has made strides which astonish by their magnitude ; 

 but even these, it may reasonably be hoped, are but the promise of 

 future and more wonderful enlargements." 



Referring to the progress of steam navigation, Mr. Fairbairn re- 

 marked, " that the paddle-wheel system of propulsion has maintained 

 its superiority over every other method yet adopted for the attainment 

 of speed, as by it the best results are obtained, with the least expendi- 

 ture of power." 



" Great changes in the cultivation of the soil are undoubtedly des- 

 tined to be effected by the steam-engine. It is but a short time since 

 it was thought inapplicable to agricultural purposes, from its great 

 weight and expense. But more recent experience has proved this to 

 be a mistake ; and already in most districts we find that it has been 

 pressed into the service of the farm. The small locomotive, mounted 

 on a frame with four wheels, travels from village to village, in Great 

 Britain, with its attendant, the thrashing-machine, performing the 

 operations of thrashing, winnowing, and cleaning, at less than one 

 half the cost by the old and tedious process of hand labor. Its appli- 

 cation to ploughing and tillage on a large scale is, in my opinion, still 

 in its infancy ; and I doubt not that many members of this Association 

 will live to see the steam-plough in operation over the whole length 

 and breadth of the land. Much has to be done before this important 

 change can be successfully accomplished ; but with the aid of the agri- 

 culturist in preparing the land so as to meet the requirements of steam- 

 machinery, we may reasonably look forward to a new era in the culti- 

 vation of the soil. 



"Iron Ship-building. In iron ship-building, an immense field is 

 opening before us. Our wooden walls have, to all appearance, seen 

 their best days ; and as one of the early pioneers in iron construction, 

 as applied to ship-building, I am highly gratified to witness a change 

 of opinion that augurs well for the security of the liberties of the coun- 

 try. From the commencement of iron ship-building, in 1830, to the 

 present time, there could be only one opinion amongst those best 

 acquainted with the subject, namely, that iron must eventually super- 

 sede timber in every form of naval construction. The large ocean 

 steamers, the ' Himalaya,' the ' Persia,' and the ' Great Eastern,' abun- 

 dantly show what can be done with iron ; and we have only to look at 

 the new system of casing ships with armor-plates to be convinced that 

 we can no longer build wooden vessels of war with safety to our naval 

 superiority and the best interests of the country. I give no opinion as 

 to the details of the reconstruction of the navy ; but I may state that I 



