D R A 
We have noticed, in the former part of this article, 
that the water which difturbs the working of coal-pits 
ahd mines, is often obliged to be pumped up by means of 
a fteam engine. To elucidate the great utility of fuch 
machines, and to Ihew the eafy application of them to 
the purpofes of draining marfhy land, we (hall here de- 
fcribe a fleam-engine for raifing water without a pifton, 
invented by M. Francois, and publiflied in the Memoirs 
of the Philofophical Society of Laufanne. The author 
defcribes it as follows : “ Some members of the govern¬ 
ment having confulted me refpebting the draining of a 
conliderable extent of marfhy land, between the lakes of 
Neufchatel, Bienne, and Morat, I firft confidered whether 
I could not, for that purpofe, employ the method which 
is ufed with fo much fuccefs by the Dutch ; this method 
confifts in furrounding with banks the land which is in¬ 
tended to be drained, and placing, at certain diftances, 
wind-mills which draw off the waters within, and pour 
them into canals formed on the other fide of the bank: as 
is commonly done in falterns. An infpeflion of the 
places, however, convinced me that it was impoffible to 
make ufe of fuch mills. Thefe marfhes are bounded on 
the eafl and weft by the mountains Jura and Jorat, which 
render the direction of the wind very irregular ; befides 
which thofe- mills are fubjedl to two very great inconve¬ 
niences ; the firft, that, even in flat open countries, they 
do not go more than one third of the year;, the fecond, 
that they can only raife water to a moderate height, that 
is to fay, to the height of the radius of the wheel. It is 
true that this inconvenience has been attempted to be re¬ 
medied, by inclining the axis of the wheel, but, that 
•being found to produce other inconveniences, it was 
thought neceffary to recur to the horizontal axis. It ap¬ 
pears to me therefore, that for undertakings of this na¬ 
ture, we fhould give up the idea of wind-mills, and, in- 
ftead of them, make ufe of fleam-engines. The Englifh 
have, for a long time, employed them with great advan¬ 
tage ; the French, and other nations, begin now to bring 
them into ufe. Thefe confiderations induced me to pro- 
pofe a machine, the conftrublion and efledts of which, are 
as follow : The machine is compofed of the pipe A B, 
as delineated in the preceding plate, fig. 15, part of which 
pipe is plunged into the water : to this pipe is joined the 
pump-body of iron C, the lower opening of which is 
clofed by the valve D, which opens from D. The dia¬ 
meter of C is fix times as great as that of A B. E is a 
copper flill, two thirds filled with water, and placed upon 
a furnace ; it communicates, by the tube F, with the up¬ 
per part of trite pump-body C. G H is a tube, through 
which the water is forced to rife into the bucket I, which 
is fufpended by the centre K, upon which it turns ; L is 
the counterpoife of the bucket. At M and N are two 
cocks. O/P and OP are the arms of the regulator, which 
ferve to open and fhut the cocks. CFJs the trough which 
carries off the water. R is the tube of fupply, the in¬ 
ferior orifice of which is fhut by the fpring-valve S, which 
opens from S towards C. Let 11s now fuppofe the water 
boiling in the flill, the cocks M and N clofed, and A B C 
filled with water: for the water will eafily be made to 
rife into the pump-body, by giving an ofcillatory move¬ 
ment to the bucket I. It is evident that, as foon as the 
cocks are opened, the fleam efcapes through the tube F ; 
it preffes upon the furface of the water, the valves D and 
S are clofed, and the water is forced to rife from G to H, 
where it empties itfelf into the fwinging-bucket I. This 
bucket, being filled, turns upon its axis, and empties it¬ 
felf into the trough Q ; as foon as it is empty, it is brought 
back into its horizontal polition, by the counterpoife L. 
The bucket, however, as it turns down, gives a motion 
to the two branches of the regulator, by which the cocks 
M and N are clofed, and as it riles opens them again. 
On the other hand, the trough Q, which receives the wa¬ 
ter from the bucket, gives a portion of it, at every turn, 
to the tube of fupply R, which water, in falling, over¬ 
comes the refiftance of the fpring-valve S ; this water 
\ 
D R A C)3 
being cold, and falling into the pump-body C, condenfcs 
the fleam, and confequently occafions a vacuum ; and the 
water which is in the tube A B, being forced up by the 
weight of the atmofphere, comes into its place. The 
pump-body C, becomes then filled afrefli, the cocks are 
opened, the fleam efcapes, and the water is again driven 
out; this takes place alternately, five or fix times in 
every minute. A view of this machine, as delineated in 
the engraving, will fufficiently fliew its fimplicity : it is 
fubjedl neither to the fridtion of piftons, nor to the fhaking 
of levers which rife and fall, as in the fleam-engines made 
ufe of in England. It polfelfes in itfelf the principle of 
its regular motion ; for, tire bucket, being put in motion 
by the water which empties itfelf from it, caufes the re¬ 
gulator to a£t, which opens and (huts the cocks, without 
the aftiftance of any perfon. This machine can raife wa¬ 
ter at lead fifty feet, reckoning thirty for the weight of 
the atmofphere, and twenty only for the adtion of the 
fleam. Its power confifts in the proportion which tiro 
capacity of the flill bears to that of the pump-body above 
it. According to this proportion, the quantity of water 
which goes out at each adtion may be eftimated. 
DRAKE, /1 The male of the duck. See Anas. —The 
duck fhould hide her eggs from the drake, who will 
fuck them if he finds them. Mortimer .—[From draco, Lat. 
a dragon.] A fmall piece of artillery, now out of life.— 
Two or three fhots, made at them by a couple of drakes , 
made them flagger. Clarendon. 
DRAKE (fir Francis), a very eminent Englifh naviga¬ 
tor and naval commander, born of obfcure parentage near 
Taviftock in Devonfhire, probably'in‘1545. He was the 
eldeft of twelve brothers, and was brought up to a ma¬ 
ritime life under the care of fir John Flawkins, who was 
his kinfman. After fome fubordinate commands, he rofe 
to be captain of a veffel at the age of twenty-two ; and in 
that capacity he ferved under Hawkins in the gulf of 
Mexico, and acquired’.great reputation for his gallantry. 
He returned, however, bankrupt in fortune ; and by na¬ 
val cafuiflry he conceived that lie had a right to retrieve 
his Ioffes, by making reprifals, as they were called, upon 
the fubjedls of the king of Spain. It is not to be con¬ 
cealed, that the private expeditions of feveral of our na¬ 
val adventurers againft the Spanifli trade and fettlements, 
however deferving bf admiration on account of the bold- 
nefs and ability with which they were condudted, partook 
ve.ry much of the char’atier of piracies, and were always 
regarded as fuch by the court of Spain. Without, there¬ 
fore, examining the point of right, we fhall proceed to 
relate hiftorically the principal exploits of this great hero. 
Drake’s delign of cruifing againft the Spaniards, foon 
railed him a number-of volunteers fufficient to man two 
fmall velfels, with which he made a voyage to the Weft 
Indies in 1570. The next year he repeated his voyage 
with one fhip alone. Of the particular tranlablions of 
thefe years we have no account; but his ‘purpofe feems 
to have been chiefly exploratory and commercial, and 
he avoided alarming the Spaniards by open hollilities. 
He failed again in 1572 with two velfels, one of feventy, 
the other of twenty-five tons burthen, and manned by fe- 
venty-three perfons. Yet with this fmall force lie ven¬ 
tured to llorm the town of Nombre de Dios on the ifth- 
raus of Darien, in which adtion he received a wound. 
He afterwards took Vera Cruz on the fame ifthmus; and 
lie had the fortune to make a large addition to the booty 
acquired at thefe places, by falling in with a firing of 
fifty mules laden with lilver, of which his men .carried 
off as much as they could, and buried the reft. In this 
expedition he had the aftiftance of an Indian nation, hof- 
tile to the Spaniards, whom he made his friends by libe¬ 
ral treatment. Satisfied with his luccels, he re-embarked 
with his wealth, and arrived fafe at Plymouth in Augtift, 
1573. Drake, upon his return, honourably lettled withhis 
owners, and employed the money which remained to him in 
a manner which, if it is to be imputed to difinterefted patri- 
otilm, will appear very extraordinary. He fitted out three 
ltous 
