the form of a steam 'water-lifter.' When the tank requires replenishment, the water has to be poured in from a bucket or can, unless a hose be available, but the water-lifter does this work by steam from the boiler, and completely fills the tank in five minutes, and heats the water to 140° F. in so doing.
The Car.—We do not deal here with the car itself, nor with the transmission, as the latter has a special chapter reserved to it, and the cars, beyond their light tubular framing and generally light build and very simple transmission, are, broadly speaking, similar to the petrol carriages. It should be understood that the makes we have mentioned are cited as examples. No attempt has been made to mention numerous interesting types which do not differ in their main essentials from the cars we have described. The novice who first examines a steam car may possibly be somewhat appalled at its apparent complication, but if he examines the pipes and connections generally, and ascertains their exact mission, he will soon see that the apparently bewildering multiplicity of parts is not very formidable after all. There is no mystery whatever about the mechanism; it merely needs a short study to be easily appreciated.
As compared with a petrol car, the main advantages of a steam vehicle may be summarised in its quietness and evenness of running, ease of starting and restarting, and the great range in the power of the engine, which stops and starts with the car, and can also when necessary be used as a very powerful brake. Steam cars do not put such hard work on the tyres as those driven by petrol, as the engine power is softer in action, and nearly all of the steam cars are lighter in weight than the others. The transmission of the power from the engine to the road wheels is much simpler than it is in the case of the petrol car, but the boiler, burner, &c. make up for this simplicity. It needs more attention on the road in the way of looking after the water level and the steam pressure, but this soon becomes automatic, and is quite as unconsciously performed as the
