236

Primitive Bellows of Asia.

[Book III

of two calabashes connected together by two hollow bamboos or reeds, in-serted into their sides, and united at an angle to another which leads to thefire, as represented in the figure. A large opening is made on the topof each, and a cylindrical bag or tube made of soft goats’ skins stitchedor otherwise secured round the edges. The workman seats himself onthe ground, and placing the machine between his legs, he grasps the endsof the bags, and by alternately raising each with the mouth typen, andpushing it into the calabash when closed, the air in the latter is forcedinto the fire, and a uniform blast maintained. The action is very similarto that of gathering in the hands the lower edges of two hat linings, andconstantly drawing one out and thrusting the other in.

The negroes of the Gold Coast are represented to have other kinds ofbellows. The principal tools of their smiths, are “a hard stone for ananvil, a pair of tongs and a small pair of bellows, with three or morepipes, which blow very strong—an invention of their own.” We havenot been able to find any description of these. See Grand Gazetteer,Art. Guinea ; and Histoire Generale, tom. v, 214.

Another species equally simple but more efficient, is common in Asia,Africa, and also in Wallac.hia, Greece and other parts of Europe . Thecontrivance for admitting the air is an improvement upon the last, but theorifice is still opened and closed by the fingers of the blower. Insteadof the mouth of each bag beirig drawn up in the hand, it is stretched outin the form of a long slit; to the lips of which two Strips of wood aresewed. The inner side of each Strip is made straight and smooth, so thatwhen brought together, they form a close joint. They are grasped inthe middle by the workman, who alternately opens them when he raisesthe mouth to admit the air, and closes them when he expels it.

No. 102 represents the assist-ant of a Hindoo blacksmith, urg-ing his fire with a pair of theseinstruments, (copied from thevolume of plates to Sonnerat’sVoyages.) From an inspectionof the figure, it will be perceivedthat the Strips facilitate the act ofcompressing each bag, by their ex-tending quite over it, as well as bytheir stiffness: in these respectsthey may be considered as thenucleus of the boards in the com-mon bellows. In this device, thevalve becomes further developed.To similar instruments, Mr.Emerson refers in his ‘ Letters from the Egean.’ The crew of a Hy-driot vessel having taken her ashore at Paros to repair the iron clasp ofher rudder, an opportunity occurred of examining their bellows. Mr. E.describes them as “a very antique device,” consisting of “two sheepskins,united by an iron pipe introduced into the fire, which were alternatelydilated with air and compressed, by an Arab slave who knelt abovethem.” With the exception of their not being made of bull’s hide but ofsheepskin, he observes they would completely suit the description of thebellows given by Virgil in the Fourth Georgic. Blacksmiths in Ceylonuse the same kind, but made of bullocks’ hides, and furnished with noz-zles of bamboo. The blower seats himself on the ground between thetwo bags, and Works them with his hands, pulling up one and pushing

No.-lüii. Primitive Bellows of Asia.