3

Implements of Hufbandry.

<of employing, however imperfed they may be, in preference to fuch as have been re-cently invented or improved. This, in fome cafes too, may probably arife from thewant of capacity in the fanning labourer to make ufe of new tools with eafe and con-venience to himfelf; and in others from farmers themfelves being frequently unac-quainted with the inftrumental improvements that have been made, or not fufficientlyconvinced of the advantages that may refult from the ufe of them. <

In the conftrudion of every fort of tool for the purpofes of farming, as the chiefobjects ought to be the rendering the bufmefs of hufbandry more complete, eafy, andexpeditious, and the introduction of a fyftem of economy in refped to the labourthat neceffa' ily attends it, great care {liquid be taken that they be well adapted to thepurpofe for which they are intended, and not unneceffarily heavy, while they pof-fefs fufficient ftrength and firmnefs for the various ufes to which they may be applied.It is well obferved in an ingenious and interefting periodical publication, that there areno fort of implements that admit of greater improvement than thofe of hufbandry, on.the principle of diminifhing weight without in any degree abating ftrength. “ Everyman knows, ’ fays the author, “ that if a beam of any length be made of equal thick-nefs throughout its whole length, and a weight fufficient laid upon it, it will inevita-bly break in the middle, and never at either of the ends; yet, unlefs it be in thepoles of a fedan chair, he can fcarcely recoiled an inftance in which weight hasbeen diminifhed upon this principle. On the contrary, it is not at ail unufual, inthe conftrudion of fuch implements, to fee the thicknefs diminifhed nearly one halfat the very weakelt place by means of a mortife cut out in it there, while its thick-nefs in other places is four times greater than would enable it to bear an equal burden.No attention is paid to placing the wood in that pofition wherein it would be beltable to refill the preffure to which it mull necelfarily be fubjeded ; although it isvery well known, that the fame quantity of materials may be made to bear in one po-lition above ten times as much as it could do in another. It is well known, thatmortifes weaken the wood to an allonilbing degree when injudicioully placed ; yetit is no uncommon thing to fee two crofs-mortifes, each of them of twice the fizethat in any cafe could have been neceffary, made through a beam perhaps at thevery weakell parts of it, juft as accident may dired, without even an attempt to varytheir pofition, far lefs to avoid them entirely, which in many cafes might be donewithout the leaft inconvenience. It is well known that a fmall brace, judicioully ap-plied, may greatly augment the ftrength without adding to the weight of an imple-ment ; yet contrivances of this kind, which are obvious to the mereft tyro inmechanics, feem to be totally difregarded ; far lefs do the conftrudors of fuch toolsthink of adopting new devices of this fort, which a very moderate degree of inge-nuity might eafily fuggeft. The importance of having every part firm and compad,