696 
THE TRIALS OF OIL ENGINES AT 
CAMBRIDGE. 
It is now six years since there was first exhibited at a Country 
Meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society an oil engine which 
presented sufficient merit, especially as regards its adaptability 
to agricultural purposes, to warrant the award of one of the 
Silver Medals offered for new implements. A notice of this 
engine appeared in the Report on the Miscellaneous Implements 
exhibited at the Nottingham Meeting (Journal, Second Series, 
Vol. XXV., 1889, p. 94). 
In the following year (1889) an engine, similar in principle, 
but of the portable type, was exhibited at the Windsor Show, 
and, upon trial, the improvements in the working of this engine, 
together with the modifications adapting it to the portable form, 
were judged sufficient to again merit the award of a Silver Medal. 
In connexion with the Plymouth Meeting of 1890, it was 
arranged to offer special prizes for small motors not exceeding 
five brake horse-power, such as are used — more generally as 
fixed engines — for working dairies, or for chaff-cutting and 
similar operations. It was recognised that, for such purposes, 
the result already obtained by the petroleum engine had even 
then placed it in the position of a competitor with the steam 
engine, especially where the work to be done was of an inter- 
mittent nature. 
It was consequently decided to divide the competition into 
two classes, the first for steam and hot-air engines, both of 
which would use coal or coke as fuel, and the second for engines 
using fuel other than coal : the latter class being instituted with 
the special view of providing a competitive trial, not only of 
the petroleum engine, but of such engines as manufactured 
their own gas, and worked as the ordinary gas engine of that 
date. 
The entries justified the hope that a comparative trial might 
be made between the three types of engines referred to. When, 
however, the time arrived for trial, the solitary gas engine which 
had been entered for competition was withdrawn, and only two 
oil engines appeared. The relative performances of the latter 
are duly reported in the Journal (Third Series, Vol. I., 1890, p. 
580), where it will be seen, from the results recorded by the 
winning engine, that there had been a very marked improvement 
in the efficiency obtainable as compared with the previous re- 
corded performances — an improvement which fully merited the 
award offered. 
