House of Commons, Great Britain

“ The slow conveyance of heavy weights may perhaps be effected by steam on well-made and nearly level roads, so as to supersede the use of horses; but steam power is eminently useful for producing great velocities. It was last year determined by the Society of Civil Engineers, after much inquiry and discussion, that the expence of conveying Carriages drawn by horses was at its minimum when the rate of travelling equalled about three miles an hour, and that expence increased up to the practical limit of speed, nearly as the velocity ”

“ The power requisite for moving bodies through water is in the opposite extreme; here, the mechanical resistance of the fluid increases with the square of the velocity, as do the elevation of the water at the prow and its depression at the stern. The cars or paddles must therefore preserve a constant ratio to the velocity of the vessel; and the force applied will consequently vary as the squares of the velocity, and the expenditure of Efficiency being as the force multiplied by the velocity ”

“ The line of traction is mechanically best disposed when it lies exactly parallel to the direction of motion, and its power is diminished at any inclination of that line in the proportions of the cosine of the angle to radius. When obstacles frequently occur, it had better perhaps receive a small inclination upwards, for the purpose of acting with most advantage when those are to be overcome. ”

“ Thus the Carriage is preserved from injury, and the materials of the road are not broken: and in surmounting obstacles, instead of the whole Carriage with its load being lifted over, the springs allow the wheels to rise, while the weights suspended upon them are scarcely moved from their horizontal level. ”

“ But it is probable that different animals exert their strengths most advantageously in different directions, and therefore practice alone can determine what precise inclination of this line is best adapted to horses, and what to oxen. ”