MR. J. C. DYER ON STEAM NAVIGATION. 291 



^ith Patrick Miller and James Taylor^ made several ex- 

 periments on patents they had obtained relating to steam 

 navigation, and in 1802 started a boat on the canal at 

 Glasgow, which ran at the rate of three miles an hour, 

 and it was concluded that his plan would supersede horses 

 in canal navigation. The wheel was placed at the stern 

 of the boat ; but he states that the wheel, or wheels, may 

 be at the sides if preferred. The boat, however, was dis- 

 continued, and no more was heard of Symington's boats 

 until long after those of Fulton had become widely ex- 

 tended on the American waters. 



The first ocean steamer was the ^Fulton,' of 327 tons, 

 built in 18 13 by A. and N. Brown at New York. The first 

 steamer constructed for harbour defence, under the per- 

 sonal superintendence of Mr. Fulton, was built in 18 14, of 

 2470 tons burden. This boat has been the type from 

 which all the iron-clad batteries and rams have since been 

 constructed, with various modifications, by later inventors. 



Thus it appears that the continuous rotative motion of 

 the paddle-wheel and the screw propellers are the only 

 means yet discovered for navigating by steam-power with 

 safety and effect. 



In the specifications of Mr. Fulton's inventions, he gives 

 drawings and descriptions — (i) of the chain-fioat ; (2) of 

 the duck's-foot paddle ; (3) of the screw, fan, or smoke- 

 jack propeller ; and (4) of his paddle-wheels ; with which 

 several plans he had made experiments in France, which led 

 him to throw aside the three first, and to adopt the pad- 

 dle-wheel as the best in practice according to the then 

 powers of construction ; for it is well known that it was 

 many years after the first screw steamer was constructed 

 (the ^ James Watt,' running from London to Havre) before 

 a safe screw propeller could be made, for large ships, equal 

 to the paddle-wheels. 



Having witnessed the triumphant success of Fulton's 



u 2 



