203 REPORT— 1869. 



veution. lie would in all probability liave relapsed into tbe mere instrument- 

 maker, -with broken health and broken heart, and the introduction of the steam- 

 enr;-ine would not only have been retarded for a generation or two, but its iinal 

 progress would have been based probably upon the coarser conceptions of Papin, 

 bavorv, and Newconien. 



It can easily be shown that the perfect conception of the physical nature of steam, 

 which dwelt, like a Meaveu-born inspiration, in ^^'att"s mind, was neither imder- 

 stood by his contemporaries nor by his followers up to very recent times, nor can 

 it be gathered from "S'S'att's imperfect specitication. James "Watt was not satis- 

 fied in excluding the condensing-water from his^workiug-cylinder, and suiTOimdiug 

 the same by non-conducting substances, but he placed beween the cylinder and the 

 non-conductiug envelope a source of heat in the form of a steam-jacket, tilled with 

 steam at a pressure somewhat superior to that of the working steam. His imme- 

 diate successors not only discarded the .steam-jacket, and even condemned it on the 

 superficial plea that the jacket presented a larger and hotter surface for loss by ra- 

 diation than the cylinder, but expansive working was actually rejected by some of 

 them on the ground that no practical advantage could be obtained by it. 



The modern engine, notwithstanding our perfected means of construction, had 

 in fact degenerated in many instances into a virtual steam-meter, constructed ap- 

 parently with a A'iew of emptying the Isoiler in the shortest possible space of time. 



It is only during the last twent}' or thirty years that the subtile action of satu- 

 rated steam, in condensing upon the sides of the cylinder when imder pressure, 

 and of reevaporating M-hen the pressure is relieved towards the end of each stroke, 

 has been again recognized aud insisted upon by I.e C'hatelier and others, who have 

 shown the necessity of a slightly superheated cylinder, in order to realize the ex- 

 pansive force of steam. 



The result has been a reduction in the consumption of fuel in our best marine 

 engines from G or 8 to below 3 lbs. per gross indicated horse-power. 



It is a hopeful circumstance that, during the next Session of Parliament, the 

 whole question of the Patent Laws is likely to be inquired into by a Special Com- 

 mittee, who, it is to be hoped, will act decisively in the general interest, without 

 being influenced by special or professional claims. They will have it in their power 

 to render the Patent Office an educationfxl institution of Ihc highest order. 



In viewing the latest achievements of engineering science, two works strike the 

 imagination chiefly by their exceeding magnitude, and by the influence they are 

 likely to exercise upon the traffic of the world. The tirst of these is the Great 

 Pacific Railway, which, in passing through vast regions hitherto inaccessible to 

 civilized man, and over formidable mountain-chains, joins California with the 

 Atlantic States of the gTeat American Ecpublic. The second is the Suez Ship- 

 ping Canal, w^iich, notwithstanding adverse prognostications and serious diffi- 

 culties, will be opened veiy shortly to the commerce of the world. These works 

 must greatly extend the range of commercial enterprise in the Xorth Pacific and 

 Indian Seas. The new waterway to India will, owing to the difficult navigation 

 of the Red Sea, be in effect only available for ships propelled by steam, and will 

 give a stimulus to that l)ranch of engineering. 



Telegi-aph communication with America has been rendered more secure against 

 interruption bv the successful submersion of the French Transatlantic Cable. On 

 the other hand, telegraphic communication with India still remains in a very un- 

 satisfactory condition, owing to imperfect lines and divided administration. To 

 supply a remedy for this puljlic evil, the Indo-European Telegraph Company will 

 shortly open its special lines for Indian correspondence. In jN'ortheru Russia the 

 construction of a land line is far advanced to connect St. Petersburgh with the 

 mouth of the Amour River, on completion of which only a submarine link between 

 the Aniom- and San Francisco will be wanting, to complete the telegi-aphic gii'dle 

 round the earth. 



AVith these great highways of speech once established, a network of submarine 

 and aerial wires will soon follow to bind all inhabited portions of our globe toge- 

 ther into a closer community of interests, which, if followed up by steam comnui- 

 uication by land and )5y sea, will open out a great and meritorious field for the 

 activity of the civil aud the mechanical engineer. 



