The experiment has been tried in the Tuilleries Gardens in Paris. Three carriages filled with children are drawn by two goats without any fatigue, and in the ordinary goat carriages at least twelve of the animals would be necessary—that is, four to each carriage. The economy of this mode of transport is therefore incontestable. The usual rate is about three-and-a-half to four miles an hour, so it is not adapted for travellers, but for merchandise.
The system might be applied to numerous vehicles on all kinds of roads for horses and oxen, in mines and factories, and in colonial plantations. M. Ader, the inventor, intended the system to be applied in the Landes, where the rails would lie close upon the sandy soil, and the expense of “metalling” roads would be entirely done away with. The adoption of the endless rail method of conveyance would prove a fortune to the Landes, where pine forests abound, and the wood and resin which is lost for want of transport could be removed and sold to advantage.
The endless rail may also be used upon the ordinary road in places where the highways are out of repair.
Fig. 904.—The Nina.
The Smallest Steamboat in the World.
The picture (fig. 904) shows us the Nina, the tiniest steamer afloat. The keel is somewhat over twelve feet in length, and about three feet wide, the depth of water ten inches. A speed of about five-and-a-half miles an hour can be obtained with a pressure of one hundred pounds. It is a twin-screw “ship” with propellers of three blades. The Nina was built on the lines of the Nautilus, of cedar and oak, and coppered. It is stated to be a marvel of solidity and lightness. The chimney is movable, and can be lowered at pleasure if a bridge be too low. There is ample room for provisions for the occupant in a frame which can be attached to the sides or fixed astern. The boat is easily carried in sections, and can be transported easily from place to place.
The weights of the various portions are as follows:—The hull 90 lb., boiler 80 lb., engine 25 lb., machinery 20 lb.; total, 215 lb. Forty pounds of good charcoal can be packed into the sides of the boat in racks. The rudder can be so connected by wires that the feet will perform the function of steering, thus leaving the hands free to attend to the engine, so the occupant is perfectly at liberty to go where and how he pleases.
Fig. 905.—An old chaise.