266 
The  late  C.  E.  Amos,  C.E. 
(which  was  subsequently  greatly  improved  *),  and  which  showed 
the  working  power  of  steam-engines.  At  its  very  first  stage  of 
working,  the  opportunity,  and  indeed  almost  the  necessity,  for 
Mr.  Amos  to  show  his  energy  and  exercise  his  practical  skill,  in 
addition  to  his  scientific  attainments,  became  evident.  The 
Brake,  as  already  stated,  had  not  become  so  perfect  as  in  the 
form  it  assumed  in  after  years.  It  then  required  the  incessant 
application  of  manual  regulation  to  secure  the  engine  perform- 
ing its  due  amount  of  duty.  The  operator  who  was  put  to  this 
work  was  not  capable  of  performing  it  with  the  precision 
necessary  to  ensure  fairness  to  each  exhibitor.  The  energy  of 
Mr.  Amos  was  equal  to  the  occasion,  and  was  instantly  brought 
into  play.  Stripping  off  his  coat  and  rolling  up  his  shirt- 
sleeves, he  worked  the  adjusting  screw  with  his  own  hands  for 
hours,  being  almost  saturated  to  the  skin  with  the  soft  soap  and 
water  of  which  the  lubricator  then  employed  was  comjxtsed. 
He  continued  this  until  a suitable  working  engineer,  uncon- 
nected with  any  of  the  exhibitors,  could  be  obtained  from  the 
neighbourhood.  Having  myself  witnessed  this  characteristic 
incident,  I cannot  refrain  from  alluding  to  it  as  an  example  of 
the  manner  in  which  Mr.  Amos  was  ready  for  any  emergency 
which  unexpectedly  presented  itself  amidst  the  numerous  trials 
that  had  to  be  made  under  sometimes  almost  insurmountable 
difficulties,  and  within  the  very  limited  time  that  could  be  devoted 
to  the  trials  of  the  ever-increasing  quantity  of  machinery  that 
year  after  year  flowed  to  the  Society’s  Shows.  The  Dyna- 
mometer was  improved  for  the  Norwich  Show  in  1849,  and  the 
result  the  next  year  proved  the  value  of  the  dynamometrical 
tests.  The  consumption  of  coal  of  an  engine  then  was  11  ’5  lbs. 
per  horse-power  per  hour ; the  following  year  7*7  lbs.,  an  im- 
provement of  upwards  of  30  per  cent.  ; and  two  years  later  it 
was  reduced  to  4-66  lbs. 
Mr.  Amos  also  invented  for  the  Norwich  Show  a Dyna- 
mometer for  the  trials  of  winch-driven  implements.  For  this 
he  received  the  special  honour  of  being  presented  with  the 
Society’s  large  Gold  Medal. 
The  following  year  an  apparatus  was  brought  into  use  for 
ascertaining  the  power  consumed  by  threshing-machines  worked 
by  horse-gear. f The  result  was  important,  inasmuch  as  it 
* It  is  but  justice  to  state  that  the  Brake  was  afterwards  improved  by  Messrs. 
Clayton  and  Shuttleworth,  who  introduced  a metal  brake-wheel  with  wood 
friction-blocks  and  oil  as  the  lubricator.  Credit  is  also  specially  due  to  a Mr.  Balk, 
who  was  in  the  establishment  of  Mesrs.  Ransomes  and  Sims.  He  invented  an 
automatic  means  of  controlling  the  brake  by  using  differential  levers  attached  to 
the  ends  of  the  brake  straps,  thus  dispensing  with  the  brakes-man.  Mr.  Appold, 
F.R.S.,  also  contributed  some  improvements. 
t Seo  Society’s  * Journal,’  vol.  xi.,  p.  479. 
