into new
territory, after something entirely unknown, he was quite prepared for
hard work and exploration. He encountered both in unstinted measure, but
kept on going forward until, after long travel, he had found all that he
expected and accomplished something more beside. Nature DID respond to
his whole-hearted appeal, and, by the time the hunt was ended, revealed
a good storage battery of entirely new type. Edison not only recognized
and took advantage of the principles he had discovered, but in
adapting them for commercial use developed most ingenious processes
and mechanical appliances for carrying his discoveries into practical
effect. Indeed, it may be said that the invention of an enormous variety
of new machines and mechanical appliances rendered necessary by each
change during the various stages of development of the battery, from
first to last, stands as a lasting tribute to the range and versatility
of his powers.

It is not within the scope of this narrative to enter into any
description of the relative merits of the Edison storage battery, that
being the province of a commercial catalogue. It does, however, seem
entirely allowable to say that while at the present writing the tests
that have been made extend over a few years only, their results and the
intrinsic value of this characteristic Edison invention are of such a
substantial nature as to point to the inevitable growth of another
great industry arising from its manufacture, and to its wide-spread
application to many uses.

The principal use that Edison has had in mind for his battery is
transportation of freight and passengers by truck, automobile, and
street-car. The greatly increased capacity in proportion to weight of
the Edison cell makes it particularly adaptable for this class of work
on account of the much greater radius of travel that is possible by its
use. The latter point of advantage is the one that appeals most to the
automobilist, as he is thus enabled to travel, it is asserted, more than
three times farther than ever before on a single charge of the battery.

Edison believes that there are important advantages possible in the
employment of his storage battery for street-car propulsion. Under the
present system of operation, a plant furnishing the electric power for
street railways must be large enough to supply current for the maximum
load during "rush hours," although much of the machinery may be lying
idle and unproductive in the