Agricultural Steam-engines at Newcastle. 
679 
and the other a very early, cnt-ofF, the latter amounting to complete suppres- 
sion ; tlic posiiion of the link is itself controlled by the governor, which thus 
determines the length of the admission. The cut-off valve slides on a plate which, 
lying upon the main valve, loosely tits the steam chest. The plate is ported, 
the object being to keep a constant lead, and the ports themselves ai'e twinned, 
thus halving the travel of the cut-off slide, and doubling tlie sensitiveness of 
the governor's control. The feed-immp is (ilaced vertically under the crank- 
shaft and is continuous in its action ; a cock in liie delivery pipe determining 
how much water shall go to the boiler, and how much shall return, through 
a bye-pass, to the tub. The returning water meets with exhaust steam in 
the usual way, and reaches the tub, iu company with the drainage of the 
water heater itself. This consists of a chandler, about 5 feet long, saddling 
tlie boiler, and tlush with the lagging, Aviiich receives the exhaust steam 
on its way to the chimney. An inch copper pipe makes eight runs of this 
chamber, through all of which the feed water flows, finding its way after- 
wards into a coil of inch-pipe placed in the smoke-box. Lubrication of the 
I' linder is provided for by a " Beck " sight-feed lubricator, which worked 
\i'ry .satisfactorily during the trial, while the connecting-rod head is oiled by 
a simple automatic wiping apparatus. 
This engine ran for 4 hrs. 23 mins. of actual, and 4 hrs. 29^ 
mins. of mechanical time, with a supply of 193 lbs. of coal, 
eijuivalent to a consumption of 2 • 6 lbs. of coal per horse-power 
per hour; beating the best Cardiff record, of 2*79 lbs., and 
thus, early, leading every one interested in the trials to antici- 
pate some remarkable results when the compound engines should 
make their appearance. 
There is little to say about the general behaviour of the 
Davey-Paxman Simple engine during its trial. The steam 
pressure and speed hardly varied at all from start to finish, 
while the engine ran quietly and smoothly, requiring very little 
attention, the lubrication being, for the most part, automatic ; 
and the governor controlling the speed absolutely. 
Simple Engine by 3Ir. E. Humphries (No. 3117). — This was the 
second engine tried on the 6th of July, and constituted Mr. Hum- 
phries' first appearance as a competitor in the Royal Agricultural 
Society's Engine trials. Mr. Humphries' representative elected 
to run at a speed of 145 revolutions and a pressure of 85 lbs. 
with a brake-load of 16 horse-power. 
The boiler is of the locomotive type, lagged with felt and wooil. The 
cylinder is placed over, and somewhat to one side of, the fire-box, and, saving 
the covers, is jacketed, the jacket draining direct into the boiler. The slipper- 
l guides consist each of two flat bars, bolted, at their rear ends, to the cylinder, 
\ and, forward, to a bracket rising from the boiler for the purpose of their 
support. The crank is " bent," and shouldered close uj) to the bearing. The 
' crank brackets are of cast-iron, bolted to the boiler shell, and stayed, on the 
crank side, to the cylinder, on the fly-wheel side to the boiler shell, over the 
fire-box. The crank shaft bearings are divided vertically on the crank side, 
i the take-up being provided for by a single set screw, while, on the fly-wheel 
side, there are three brasses, having vertical divisions, of which the bottom 
(brass is set up by a wedge, and the lateral brasses by set screws. A special 
