Progress of steam navigation in Europe—Clyde mechanics take the
lead—James Watt, 1766—Henry Bell, 1800—Correspondence between
Bell and Fulton—Letter from Bell to Miller of Dalswinton—The
_Comet_ steamer, 1811, plies between Glasgow and Greenock, and
afterwards on the Forth—Extraordinary progress of shipbuilding on the
Clyde—Great value and importance of the private building yards—J.
Elder and Company; their extensive premises, _note_—Steam between
Norwich and Yarmouth, 1813; between London and Margate, 1815—The
_Glasgow_—Early opposition to the employment of steam-vessels—Barges
on the Thames—First steamer between Liverpool and the Clyde—H.
M. steam-ship _Comet_—The _Rob Roy_ and other vessels, 1818—The
_United Kingdom_, 1826—First idea of iron ships, 1830—Proposals
of Trevethick and Dickenson, 1809-1815—The _Vulcan_, 1818—The
_Aaron Manby_, 1821—The Shannon Steam Packet Company, 1824—Mr. John
Laird and Sir William Fairbairn—The _Elburkah_, 1832, and _Garry
Owen_, 1834—The _Rainbow_, 1837—Messrs. Tod and MacGregor—The
_Great Britain_, 1839-1843—Advantages of iron ships—Action of
salt water on iron inconsiderable—Durability, strength, and safety
of iron—Affords greater capacity for stowage—Admiralty slow to
adopt iron for ships of war—Mr. Galloway’s feathering paddles,
1829—Story of the screw-propeller—Joseph Bramah, 1785—Mr. J.
Stevens, 1804—Richard Trevethick, 1815—Robert Wilson, 1833—Captain
Ericsson, 1836—The _Francis B. Ogden_, though successful, fails to
convince the Admiralty—Mr. T. P. Smith—The _Archimedes_—Her trial
with the _Widgeon_, Oct. 1839, and its results—The _Rattler_ and the
_Alecto_, 1843—The _Rattler_ not as successful as expected—Captain
Robert F. Stockton efficiently supports Ericsson’s views—His vessel,
a complete success, and the first “screw” used for commerce in
America—Superiority of Mr. Woodcroft’s “varying” propeller, 1832—In
building fit vessels, the trade in which they are to be employed must
be considered