Practically all engines except locomotives and those known as "donkey-engines"—used on cranes—are fitted with some device for keeping the rotatory speed of the crank constant within very narrow limits. Perhaps you have seen a pair of balls moving round on a seating over the boiler of a threshing-engine. They form part of the "governor," or speed-controller, shown in principle in Fig. 33. A belt driven by a pulley on the crank shaft turns a small pulley, P, at the foot of the governor. This transmits motion through two bevel-wheels, G, to a vertical shaft, from the top of which hang two heavy balls on links, K K. Two more links, L L, connect the balls with a weight, W, which has a deep groove cut round it at the bottom. When the shaft revolves, the balls fly outwards by centrifugal force, and as their velocity increases the quadrilateral figure contained by the four links expands laterally and shortens vertically. The angles between K K and L L become less and less obtuse, and the weight W is drawn upwards, bringing with it the fork C of the rod A, which has ends engaging with the groove. As C rises, the other end of the rod is depressed, and the rod B depresses rod O, which is attached to the spindle operating a sort of shutter in the steam-pipe. Consequently the supply of steam is throttled more and more as the speed increases, until it has been so reduced that the engine slows, and the balls fall, opening the valve again. Fig. 34 shows the valve fully closed. This form of governor was invented by James Watt. A spring is often used instead of a weight, and the governor is arranged horizontally so that it may be driven direct from the crank shaft without the intervention of bevel gearing.