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He soon had plenty of work to do.
One of his friends was an English gentleman, who was called the Earl
of Stanhope.
The Earl was much interested in canals.
Canals, you probably know, are artificial rivers.
Boats are drawn on them by horses, which walk along a path on the
shore.
The path is called the tow-path.
Railways were almost unknown then.
So canals were very useful in carrying goods across the country.
They had been in use in Europe and Asia for hundreds of years.
Mr. Fulton invented a double inclined-plane.
This could be used in raising and lowering canal boats without
disturbing their cargoes.
The British government gave Mr. Fulton a patent upon it.
Mr. Fulton wrote a book about canals and the ways in which they help
a country.
He sent copies of this book to the President of the United States,
and other men in high offices.
He thought canals would help America.
But it was ten years before he could get people to think much about
it.
Then Mr. Fulton helped in planning the Erie Canal.
This was very successful.
You can see this canal now.
It is in the State of New York and is still used.
Mr. Fulton planned a cast-iron aqueduct which was built in Scotland.
An aqueduct is often made to carry water to cities.
He invented a mill for sawing marble, a machine for spinning flax,
another for scooping out earth, called a dredging machine, and
several kinds of canal boats.
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