JAMES WATT. 43 



value of Watt's improvements. But Dr. Roebuck, whose under- 

 takings were very numerous and various, in no long time after 

 forming this connection, found himself involved in such pecu- 

 niary difficulties, as to put it out of his power to make any 

 further advances in prosecution of its object. Qn this Watt 

 employed himself for some years almost entirely to the ordinary 

 work of his profession as a civil engineer ; but at last, about 

 the year 1774, when all hopes of any further assistance from 

 Dr. Roebuck were at an end, he resolved to close with a pro- 

 ' posal which had been made to him through his friend Dr. 

 Small, of Birmingham, that he should remove to that town, and 

 enter into partnership with the eminent hardware manufacturer, 

 Mr. Boulton, whose extensive establishments at Soho had 

 already become famous over Europe, and procured for England 

 an unrivalled reputation for the arts there carried on. Accord- 

 ingly, an arrangement having been made with Dr. Roebuck, by 

 which his share of the patent was transferred to Mr. Boulton, 

 the firm of Boulton & Watt commenced the business of making 

 steam-engines in the year 1775. 



Mr. Watt now obtained from Parliament an extension of his 

 patent for twenty-five years from this date, in consideration of 

 the acknowledged national importance of his inventions. The 

 first thing which he and his partner did was to erect an engine 

 at Soho, which they invited all persons interested in such 

 machines to inspect. They then proposed to erect similar 

 engines wherever required, on the very liberal principle of receiv- 

 ing as payment for each, only one-third of the saving in fuel 

 which it should effect, as compared with one of the old con- 

 struction. As this saving, however, had been found to amount 

 in the whole to fully three-fourths of all the fuel that had been 

 wont to be employed, the revenue thus accruing to the patentees 



