The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1889-03-16

ment of cadet in the corps OF mechanical
engineers After six months study, when
only l2 years old, the boy was made leveler
on the great Swedish ship canal then being
constructed; and when he was IA he was en-
ployed to set out the work of a section en-
ploying coo soldier operatives. His leisure
time meanwhile he employed in making
drawings of the implements and mechanical
contrivances used in the construction Of tho
canal.
In 1890, at the age OF II, he entered the
Swedish army as ensign, and was soon made
lieutenant, but his active mind was applied
upon other matters than the duties OF a sol
dier. Besides engineering work he invented
Il machine for engraving. When % years old
he had invented condensing flame engine,
and went to England TO Introduce il, but it
was not successful. In 1897, after becoming
a captain, he resigned his commission In the
army. Then followed, in rapid succession,
machine for taking sen soundings, a hydro
static weighing machine, tubular steam boil
ers, centrifugal fan blowers for artificial
draught and other devices.
IN 1898 he made the first application in
navigation of the principle Of condensing
steam and returning the water to the boiler,
and In the same year submitted TO the British
admiralty self acting gun lock for dis
charging naval cannon at any elevation, not
withstanding the rolling Of the ship
When George Stephenson was building the
locomotive Rocket, Ericsson brought out
the Novelty. Ericsson's engine far sur
passed other competitors in lightness and
speed, attaining thirty miles an hour The
Rocket was superior In power, and received
the prize but in the Novelty there were feat
ures which are retained In the locomotive of
today. Steam fire engines are supposed to
have been invented about 1860, but Ericsson
introduced one in 1910, which excited much
interest In London, and won him a gold
medal of the Mechanics institute of New
York. Indeed, one cannot consider the num-
Der Of mechanical methods of different kinds
introduced by Ericsson without wonder The
Link motion" for reversing engines was in
vented by him. and is in use on locomotives
today. His caloric engine was perfected in
1888 and astonished the scientific world of
London; but it was chiefly noted for the in
genuity of its conception, for it was not Of
practical Use. Twenty years later the prn-
ciple was applied for moving the caloric ship
Ericsson, but even this engine was found
not capable Of competing with steam. The
inventor, however, afterwards found that II
could be applied TO light mechanical pur-
poses, and in this field it has been successful.
A good illustration OF the stupidity against
which inventors have to contend is the re-
ception of Ericsson'S screw propeller in 1886
He towed the admiralty barge, bearing the
lords of the British admiralty, behind his
screw vessel but failed to convince them
that the screw was practical, since these wise
acres were unable TO understand how the
vessel could be steered since the power must
be applied to the stern. Doubtless many of
them lived 10 see the absurdity of their OBJ
lection, and today for ocean traffic paddles
have been almost entirely abandoned
Ericsson constructed a screw steamer in
1888 which crossed the Atlantic the next wear
under sail, and was used us tug boat for
twenty-five years ON the Delaware river.
The same year 1880 Commodore Stockton,
OF the United States navy, induced Ericsson
TO come over, and in l8il he furnished de-
signs for the screw war ship Princeton, the
first vessel having its propelling machinery
below the water line and out of reach of the
enamy's shot From this time forward till
his death he continued to furnish devices for
the American navy the greatest of which
was the Monitor, which he completed in 100
days and hurried her off TO attack the Merri-
mac Before she could get to Hampton
Roads the Confederate ironclad had sunk the
large wooden ships, but once there the
Monitor drove her off into shoal water. where
she was destroyed by her crew. This is by
far the most important Of Ericsson's naval
devices for it revolutionized the naval ar
chitecture Of the world, and the manner in
which 1t was introduced forms one of the
most dramatic incidents in American history.
In his old age Ericsson produced the De-
stroyer, war vessel, and his 'sln MOTOR
which is designed TO utilize the suns radiant
heat for motive power, and expected to be
especially valuable in tropical countries,
where coal and wood are scarce.
} Ericsson came 10 New York when that CITY
was chiefly confined to district lying south
OF Canal street When others moved north
Ericsson remained. lie lived in an old fash
Toned house in Beach street, which was once
fashionable quarter before st. Johns park
was built over by the freight depots OF the
Hudson River railroad Around it now are
factories, warehouses, stables and tenements;
noise and dirt and smell. His life there WAC