Rough and Tumble Engineering

A threshing engine throws up a black plume visible ten miles away—and its fireman is working harder, burning more coal, and still worrying the steam will fall. Across the field, another man feeds his fire in small, quick shovelfuls and barely needs his poker.

In the age of farm and traction engines, James H. Maggard turns the work of the firebox into a lesson in attention, judgment, and economy. He guides the inexperienced engineer through coal and wood, dampers and grates, showing how small habits can waste fuel, damage a boiler, or even start a fire in the field. His advice is blunt and practical: bad coal is no excuse for bad firing, and carelessness can cost more than a day’s work. Can you learn to keep the steam up—and the smoke, ashes, and danger down?

With centuries of literature, it's inevitable that some will fall through the cracks. We hunt down public domain works and restore them so they're not lost to the world.

Who are we? We're Cairn Press. Our background is in design, publishing, typography, and technology. These skills fuel our mission to create the highest quality Public Domain eBooks available online, at an affordable price. We give them the treatment they deserve; our proprietary process restores books for a better overall user experience in design, readability, and e-reader compatibility.