698 The Trials of Oil Engines at Cambridge. 
selected, the right being conceded to the competitors to subse- 
quently use a cheaper or heavier oil. 
For the trial of the engines a large shed was erected in the 
only available space on the Show ground. The land was not, 
perhaps, such as might have been selected by choice, as, if there 
had been much rain, it Avould soon have become quite soft. In 
the case of all the fixed engines, the concrete foundations were 
made unusually large, and it fortunately happened that no in- 
convenience was suffered from rain. 
Each engine was placed in a compartment or stall by itself, 
so that the attendant might not be interrupted or interfered 
with by anybody except the Judges. 
Along the middle avenue of the trial-shed was laid a three- 
inch water main, from which branches were led into each com- 
partment, where a water meter was fixed which recorded the 
amount of water consumed by each engine. The meters were 
lent by Messrs. Kent & Co., of Holborn, their readings were 
checked against a measured vessel, and their use very materially 
facilitated the record of the necessary observations. For the 
supply of oil, and in order to ensure uniformity of quality, two 
large tanks were provided in the shed, which were filled from 
one tank truck, and from these tanks the oil was weighed out to 
the exhibitors, Messrs. Avery and Messrs. Pooley having pro- 
vided the necessary weighing machines for weighing both the 
oil fuel and the lubricating and lamp oils. 
The Judges appointed by the Council for the trials of the 
engines were : — 
Professor D. S. Capper, M.A., King’s College, London. 
Professor Ewing, M.A., F.R.S., Cambridge. 
Mr. 11. Neville Grenville, Butleigb, Glastonbury. 
At the last moment Mr. Grenville was, through illness, un- 
able to attend the trials, but at his suggestion Mr. J. B. 
Denison, of Balure, Bembridge, I.W., who for several years was 
identified with the building of high-speed launch engines, was 
appointed to take his place. 
The descriptions of the several engines and the details of 
the trials are given at length in Professor Capper’s report. 
In concluding these preliminary observations, attention may, 
however, be directed to the fact that though the conditions of 
the trials were not formulated with the object of attaining the 
lowest possible consumption of oil for any one engine, yet the 
results show that very satisfactory progress has been made in 
this direction as compared with the trials at Plymouth, where 
the winning engine had everything its own way. Not only 
