THREE:The steam cranes of Mr Morrison, which resemble hydraulic cranes, except that steam instead of water is employed as a medium for transmitting force, combine all the advantages of hydraulic apparatus, except positive movement, and evade the loss of power that occurs in the use of water. The elasticity of the steam is found in practice to offer no obstacle to steady and accurate movement of a load, provided the mechanism is well constructed, while the loss of heat by radiation is but trifling.Were it not that moral influences in learning mechanics, as in all other kinds of education, lie at the bottom of the whole matter, the subject of this chapter would not have been introduced. But it is the purpose, so far as possible, to notice everything that concerns an apprentice and learner, and especially what he has to deal with at the outset; hence some remarks upon the nature of apprentice engagements will not be out of place. To acquire information or knowledge of any kind successfully and permanently, it must be a work of free volition, as well as from a sense of duty or expediency; and whatever tends to create love and respect for a pursuit or calling, becomes one of the strongest incentives for its acquirement, and the interest taken by an [19] apprentice in his business is for this reason greatly influenced by the opinions that he may hold concerning the nature of his engagement.
