94 Ward's Steam-Engine. 
great, as not only to occasion a very serious loss of power, 
but to wear away the guides, and by increasing the play of 
the sliders, to destroy, in a short time, the parallelism of 
the motion. The only mode of obviating any part of these 
disadvantages, was, by having a short crank-piece, and a 
long connecting-rod. The greatest angle would then be 
small: the friction, of course, lessened; and the engine 
will stand a considerable length of time without need of re- 
airs. 
What, then, as it appears to me, will be found a serious, 
if not a fatal, disadvantage in Mr. Morey’s plan, is, that he 
is obliged to retain this parallel motion by guides. His en- 
gine, indeed, so far as this principle is concerned, is pre- 
cisely the same with the common Engine, which has the 
parallel motion by guides ; the only difference being, that 
the point of action in the one is the pointof re-action, in the 
other—a difference, however, which, in this respect, must 
be merely nominal, so long as action and re-action are 
equal. ‘There isa real difference, in another respect, that, 
in Movey’s Engine, the connecting-rod is necessarily so 
very short, and the angle of action so great, that, though it 
may answer the purpose, for a short time, yet the loss by 
friction, and the frequent necessity of repairs, will more 
than counterbalance its neatness of construction and com- 
pactness of form. : 
Having devoted my life to the study of mathematics, both 
pure and mixed, and being a mechanic in practice as well 
as theory, I was led to examine the various methods, which 
have been devised to render the power of steam subservient 
to the purposes of human life; and it occurred to me very 
early, in the course of my investigations, that the received 
supposition of a loss occasioned by the reciprocating move- 
ment, was founded in error. Quitting, therefore, the idle 
pursuit of expending my time and the ingenuity I might 
possess, in contriving ways to overcome a difficulty, which 
did not exist, I was left to direct my undivided efforts to 
the invention of some machinery, which would avoid the 
real disadvantages of the old steam-engine, namely, its fric- 
tion, bulkiness, complication, weight, and expense. To 
simplify and avoid friction were my sole objects ; and I be- 
lieve I have at Jength succeeded, in combining the in- 
