England, had first succeeded in getting his engine to work. The hard fight
to wrest from nature a manageable motive power and to harness fire for
industrial use was continued by this clever blacksmith, and he succeeded
when the more profound but less constructively skillful philosophers had
failed.

The success of the steam method and the fight necessary to perfect it to
the utmost absorbed the energy of most able engineers--Beighton, John
Smeaton--accomplishing much in applying and perfecting it before the
appearance of James Watt upon the scene.

It is interesting to note that in England alone over 2,000 horse power of
Newcomen engines were at work before Watt commenced his series of
magnificent inventions; he commenced experimenting on a Newcomen engine
model in 1759 at Glasgow University, and in 1774 came to Birmingham,
entered into partnership with Boulton, and 1781 we find his beautiful
double acting beam condensing engine in successful work.

From that time until now the steam engine has steadily advanced,
increasing in economy of fuel from 10 lb. of coal per horse power per hour
to about 1¾ lb. per horse power per hour, which is the best result of
to-day's steam engine practice. This result, according to the highest
authorities, is so near to the theoretical result possible from a steam
engine that further improvement cannot now be looked for. Simultaneously
with the development of the steam engine, inventors continued to struggle
with the direct acting combustion or gas engine, often without any
definite understanding of why they should attempt such apparent
impossibilities, but always by their experiments and repeated failures
increasing knowledge, and forming a firm road upon which those following
them traveled to success.