270 SCIENCE OF HOME AND COMMUNITY 



Pennsylvania, and Illinois. There are ten states in which the 

 number registered in each is over 200,000. Besides the five 

 mentioned above these include Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, 

 Minnesota, and Texas. 



In 1904 there were made in this country 11,000 cars; 

 in 1909, 125,000; in 1915, almost 900,000; and in 1917, 

 nearly 2,000,000. 



Types of automobiles. Automobiles may be divided into 



two types, according to the power used to run the machine, 



the electric car and the gasoline car. Steam also has 



been used, but its disadvantages were so many that it has 



been largely abandoned. 



Comparison of gasoline and electric cars. Each type of 

 car has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantages 

 of the electric car are that it is more simple in construction 

 and more easily managed, and it is without odor, vibrations, 

 or noise. 



The advantages of the gasoline car are that it is lighter 

 and cheaper; it can travel over a larger range of country, 

 as gasoline can now be obtained in almost every village, and 

 the supply of gasoline can be pumped into the tank in a few 

 minutes. When everything is considered, the gasoline car 

 has more advantages than the electric car and so is much 

 more widely used. 



Parts of an automobile. The gasoline automobile is a 

 very complicated piece of mechanism. For the sake of 

 simplicity, we may say that it is composed of the following 

 parts : i . the axles and wheels ; 2 . the supporting frame and 

 springs; 3. the body or part that carries the load; 4. the 

 power plant; 5. the clutch and gear box; 6. the power 

 transmission system; 7. the lighting system; and 8. the 

 mechanism by which the driver controls the car. (See 

 figures 98, 99.) 



Axles and wheels. The front axle is attached solidly to 

 the frame and is not pivoted at the center, like the axle of a 



