s all thought had
been directed toward the one goal, viz.: the perfecting of the _verge
escapement_; but practice demonstrated that no other arrangement of the
parts was superior to the original idea. For the benefit of our readers
we shall give a few of these attempts at betterment, and you may see for
yourselves wherein the trials failed.

Fig. 157 represents a _verge escapement_ with a ratchet wheel, the
pallets _P P'_ being carried upon separate axes. The two axes are
rigidly connected, the one to the other, by means of the arms _o o'_.
One of the axes carries besides the fork _F_, which transmits the
impulse to the pendulum _B_. In the front view, at the right of the
plate, for the sake of clearness the fork and the pendulum are not
shown, but one may easily see the jointure of the arms _o o'_ and their
mode of operation.

Another very peculiar arrangement of the _verge escapement_ we show at
Fig. 158. In this there are two wheels, one, _R'_, a small one in the
form of a ratchet; the other, _R_, somewhat larger, called the balance
wheel, but being supplied with straight and slender teeth. The verge _V_
carrying the two pallets is pivoted in the vertical diameter of the
larger wheel. The front view shows the _modus operandi_ of this
combination, which is practically the same as the others. The tooth _a_
of the large wheel exerts its force upon the pallet _P_, and the tooth
_b_ of the ratchet will encounter the pallet _P'_. This pallet, after
suffering its recoil, will receive the impulse communicated by the tooth
_b_. This escapement surely could not have given much satisfaction, for
it offers no advantage over the others, besides it is of very difficult
construction.

[Illustration: Fig. 162]

[Illustration: Fig. 163]

INGENIOUS ATTEMPTS AT SOLUTION OF A DIFFICULT PROBLEM.

Much ingenuity to a worthy end, but of little practical value, is
displayed in these various attempts at the solution of a very difficult
problem. In Fig. 159 we have a mechanism combining two escape wheels
engaging each other in gear; of the two wheels, _R R'_, one alone is
driven directly by the train, the other being turned in the opposite
direction by its comrade. Both are furnished with pins _c c'_, which act
alternately upon the pallets _P P'_ disposed in the same plane upon the
verge _V_ and pivoted between the wheels. Our drawing represents the
escapement at the moment when the pin _C'_ delivers its impulse, and
this having bee