8. Coal-mining and Smelting. These machines were made of iron, and coal was needed to run the engines and to smelt the iron.  There was plenty of coal in England, but very little was mined until the steam pump was brought into use to keep the mines clear of water.  When this was done, more men went to work in the mines to get out the greater amount of coal that was now needed.  There was also plenty of iron ore in England, and before this it had been smelted by means of charcoal, which is made from wood.  This slow and wasteful method was followed until Roebuck invented a process of smelting by coal, and thus made possible a plentiful supply of iron for the manufacture of the machines.

9. The Safety Lamp. Coal-mining was a dangerous occupation, because of the fire-damp that is generated in mines.  The open lamps used by the miners often caused this gas to explode and many men lost their lives thereby.  To remedy this, Sir Humphrey Davy invented the safety lamp in 1815, which gave the miners the light they needed and prevented these explosions.

10. Transportation. Now that there was so much manufacturing carried on, people turned their attention to ways of transporting the goods to where they were needed.  The roads were generally wretched, and in many parts of the country goods had to be carried on the backs of horses, as the roads were not fit for wheels.  Macadam, by using broken stone to form the road-crust or surface, brought about a great improvement in road-making. (Show pictures of old-time roads and of the roads to-day.)

Transportation by water was difficult by reasons of the obstructions in rivers.  To overcome these, canals were dug.  The first one was made in 1761 between some coal-mines and the town of Manchester.  Before 1800 many more were dug, and transportation became much easier.

11. Agriculture. The number of people engaged in the factories was increasing and these could not grow their own food.  This made it necessary for the farmers to increase their output.  Farms became larger; better methods of cultivation were used; winter roots were grown, making it possible to raise better cattle; fertilizers were used in greater quantities, and the rotation of crops was introduced to prevent the exhaustion of the soil.

12. Social Conditions. Out of the factory system grew the division of classes into capital and labour, the struggle between which is the great problem of to-day.  It was then that labour unions came into existence.

We see, as a result of these inventions, that England was changed from an agricultural country to a land of large manufacturing cities, and became the chief manufacturing centre of the world, able to supply money to defeat Napoleon Bonaparte, who is credited with the statement that it was not England’s armies that defeated him, but her “spindles.”