436 



Oil Engines. 



outside the United Kingdom has learned to appreciate machine 

 tools, and, what is more, to make them. 



Power to work these machines, then, becomes a necessity, and 

 as power is now one of the cheapest things that can be wanted 

 in any industry, those who neglect to use mechanical power for 

 every useful purpose are neglecting opportunities. 



For many years now the farmer has had the steam engine at 

 his command, and many have used its power in limited applica- 

 tions ; but the steam engine itself is limited in its offer of con- 

 venience. Even the useful small engine employed for the many 

 minor operations requiring only two to four horse-power, 

 of which many thousands are in use all over the kingdom, 

 does not offer sufficient convenience in its use to encourage 

 its employment and, therefore, that of power-driven machines. 



Fortunately, it has happened that with the rise and progress 

 of the use of farm and dairy machinery, the oil engine has arisen 

 too, and is now a well-developed and trustworthy source of 

 power. With it the steam engine has to be compared — mainly 

 on the ground of convenience. 



When preparations for the working of a motor occupy suffi- 

 cient time and trouble to make them a matter for considera- 

 tion, they are only made when there is enough work to be 

 done to justify them. Work which it would be convenient to 

 do to-day or this morning were the starting of the motor a 

 nominal operation, must be postponed until this evening or to- 

 morrow, when the quantity of work to be done by the machines 

 is enough to justify the trouble and expense of getting up steam. 

 This consideration does not present itself when there is a good 

 deal of work or continuous work, as in a manufactory, where 

 engines and machines are running all day ; but it does on a 

 farm. In brief, it does not pay, either from a cost or from 

 a convenience point of view, to light a fire and get up steam. 



Viewed from these standpoints the oil engine has a great 

 advantage over the steam engine. It moreover has no boiler 

 needs no fire, no fire-making, and no stoking ; needs very 

 little more attention than the steam engine without the boiler, 

 needs very little water instead of a lot, and when the work is 

 done and the engine stopped, five minutes' attention will leave 

 the engine in order for the next period of working. 



