Chap. 8.]
453
GHAPTER Y111.
Experimenters Contemporary with Papin—Savery—This engineer publishes Ins inventions—Hisproject for propelling vessels—Ridicules the Surveyor of the Navy for opposing it—His first experimeutson steam made in a tavern—Account of them by Desaguliers and Switzer—Savery’s first engine—ItsOperation—Engine witli a single receiver—Savery ’s improved engine described—Gauge cocks—Excel -lent features of his improved engine—Jts various parts connected by coupling screws—Had no safety-valve—Rejected by rainers on account of the danger from the boilers exploding—Soider melted bysteam—Opinions respecting the origin of Savery ’s engine—It bears no relatiou to the piston engine
_Modifications of Savery ’s engine by Desaguliers , Leopold, Blakey and others—Rivatz—Engines by
Gensanne—De Moura—De Rigny—Francois and others—Amonton’s fire mill—Newcomen and Cawley—Their engine superior to Savery ’s—Newcomen acquainted with the previous experiments of Papin—Circurastances favorable to the introduction of Newcomen’s engine—Description of it—Condensation byinjection discovered by chance—Cliains and Sectors—Savery’s Claim to a share in Newcomen’s patent anunjust one—Merits of Newcomen and Cawley.
Both philosophers and mechanics were engaged in experiments on airand steam machines about the same time as Papin. Of these, Savery ,Amontons , Newcomen and Cawley were the most successful. The twolast named have not generally been considered so early in the field ; but,from an observation of Switzer, such appears to have been the case. Asweekly and monthly ‘ Journals of Arts ’ and ‘ Mechanics’ Magazines ’ hadnot then been introduced, those who were disposed to communicate theirdiscoveries to the public had no appropriate medium for doing so, exceptby a separate publication, and this mode but an exceedingly small numberof inventors ever adopted: hence it is that not only the dates of severalmodern inventions are uncertain, but numerous devices and valuablefloating thoughts have, with their authors, been constantly passing intoutter oblivion. The history of steam as a mechanical agent affords signalproofs of the advantages of inventors recording their ideas : thus the nameof Decaus had long been forgotten, when an old tract of his was disco-vered containing the device we have figured at page 410. This he pro-bably considered the most trifling thing in his book, yet on account of ita place has been claimed for him among the immortal authors of the steam-engine. Moreland, of whose speaking trumpet an account was insertedin the sixth volume of the Philosophical Transactions , and his ideas of thepower required to force water to different elevations in the ninth, omittedto publish through the same or any other medium a description of hissteam-engine; and by this neglect has lost a large portion of honor thatmight have been attached to his namp. The same may be said of Garay,Ramseye and Worcester . Savery , however, knew better, for he laid hismachine before the Royal Society and got it noticed in their Transactions;and when he had subsequently improved it, he published a separate ac-count with illustrations ; in consequence of which he has sornetimes beenconsidered the author as well as describer of the first working steam-engine.
Of Savery ’s personal history, less has transpired than of either More-land’s or Worcester ’s. He evidently was a man of great energy, whoraised bimself from obscurity by his talents—a self-made man . Accordingto a tradition he commenced life as a working miner, and in process of time