EVOLUTION OF THE AUTOMOBILE. 



407 



tricycle type, and it was intended to mount the gun between the rear 

 wheels. The boiler, which resembles a huge kettle, hung over the 

 front end and was apparently devoid of a smoke stack. Motion was 

 imparted to the front wheel by means of a ratchet. Although this 



invention is very crude, it must be regarded .as meritorious if we con- 

 sider that it was made before the steam engine had been developed 

 in a successful form for stationary purposes. 



The next effort to solve the problem was made by W. Symington 

 in the year 1784, the carriage devised by him being illustrated in 

 Fig. 2. This coach, although pretentious in appearance, was crude 



Pkevithick's St ram Cailuia<.e, Mai>e in lso::. 



mechanically, but it actually ran. The service, however, was not what 

 Could be called satisfactory. 



In 1803, Eichard Trevithick brought out the carriage shown in 

 Fig. 3, which could run. but was artistically a failure. Moreover, the 



