266 



DISCOVERY 



the ordinary way. The C position is for giving an extra 

 charge to tlic batteries should this at any time be 

 necessary, although this is seldom likely, as they are 

 continually being recharged when the car is being 

 driven along the road, as is the case on an ordinary 

 lighting and starting set. The N position is the neutral ; 

 the other figures on the quadrant have already been 

 dealt \vith. 



There is no clutch pedal, but there are three pedals 

 to be operated by the driver, the left being the brake, 

 the next to it being the accelerator or throttle pedal, 

 and the next the magnetic brake, which, as a matter of 

 fact, may for all intents and purposes be ignored, for 

 it can never bring the car to a standstill and so very 

 few drivers will trouble to employ it. At the side of 

 the driver there are two levers as in an ordinary car, 

 one for operating the hand brake (both hand and foot 

 brakes operate direct on the rear wheels) ; the other is a 

 gear lever which at first sight seems something of a 

 paradox. Actually, however, it is simply there for 

 engaging a pair of spur pinions to give a reverse gear. 

 When it is required to drive the car backwards, the 

 controlling switch is put in the N position, this gear 

 lever is put into the reverse position, and then the 

 control switch handle is operated just as when it is 

 required to drive the car forwards. Obviously there 

 are as many reverse ratios as there are forward. The 

 whole of the control from the switch on the steering 

 wheel is conducted through a control box constructed 

 on similar lines to that of the ordinary tramcar, this 

 box being mounted immediately above and parallel 

 to that portion of the steering column that goes under 

 the bonnet. 



As regards the characteristics of the behaviour of 

 this car on the road, I have already spoken of the most 

 striking, namely, the remarkable smoothness and 

 slowness with which it may be moved from rest. On 

 a test performance the car took no less than thirty- 

 seven seconds to travel its own length. It may be 

 that some readers will think that this performance 

 could be equalled on an ordinary car without, of course, 

 any stops between the time of the first movement of the 

 wheel and the end of the journey, but could it be done on 

 an ordinary car without a driver ? for that is what can be 

 done on the Crown Magnetic. One may stand at the 

 side of the car, put the control switch in the starting 

 position and then into the No. i position, and then 

 one may stand aside from the car and watch it uncannily 

 begin to move forward entirelj' under its own power and 

 with no one in it I One rather spectacular possibihty 

 with the Crown is to start it in this manner, then walk 

 to the front of the radiator, place one's hand and weight 

 on this component and so stop the car. On removing 

 the pressure the car will slowly move forward once 

 again Another rather striking illustration of the 



characteristics of this car came to my notice more or 

 less by accident. The magneto switch was out of 

 action and the driver had to stop the engine. He 

 adopted the equivalent procedure of putting on the 

 brakes and letting in the clutch with the engine running 

 slowly, which, of course, is acommon method of stopping 

 the ordinary car engine ; but whereas with an ordinary 

 car as soon as the clutch is let in the engine stops, with 

 the Crown Magnetic it took something like ten seconds 

 after the controlling switch had been put through the 

 No. I as far as to the No. 3 position before the engine 

 stopped. 



As to whether Entz transmission will ever become 

 common on cars I hesitate to express an opinion. It 

 certainly has wonderful possibilities, but I rather doubt 

 if its efficiency on top gear is as high as that of the 

 ordinary transmission. Moreover, although experience 

 does not suggest that it will give much trouble or de- 

 mand more maintenance attention than is the case 

 with a conventional car, it is a fact that should anything 

 go WTong on either of the two motors it is likely to be of 

 such a drastic character that it will be a job for the 

 makers alone to put right. But only experience can 

 tell how the car will turn out after extended use. It 

 has been used on American models for some few years, 

 and no special difficulties have been encountered ; and 

 I see no reason why the conser\'ative prejudices of the 

 British public should not be overcome by this wonder- 

 fully attractive car, as it has been overcome by other 

 things equally revolutionary in the past. At present 

 the car is made only in the one model, which is not 

 only large but correspondingly high-priced. If, as is 

 to be hoped, it is ever introduced in a medium-priced or 

 light-car form, then there may be a very different story 

 to tell as to the course of its attack on the British 

 market. 



How the Turks came into 

 Europe 



By F. F. Urquhart 



Fellow and Tutor of Duttiol College, Ox/ord 



Discovery is a rare adventure in historical studies. 

 When there is a change in the accepted judgment on 

 past events or characters, it is usually the result of a 

 slow process, a work rather of progressive occupation 

 than a raid. Walter Scott and Maitland both belong 

 to the army which has slowly reconquered the Middle 

 Ages, and Cromwell's real character was not established 

 in a day. Occasionally, however, it has been the 



