INTRODUCTION. 17 



or handle with skill and efficiency, such a variety of implements 

 and tools, a man needs an eye like a serpent, an ear like a roe, 

 the perception of an elephant, and the skill and acumen of a 

 honey-bee. He needs to have a good knowledge of the strength 

 of materials which lies at the very foundation of successful 

 engineering that he may be able to determine, without hesi 

 tancy, whether the various parts of a tool are of the correct pro 

 portion, (see next vol.,) or * whether one part of a machine is 

 made four times lighter, or heavier, as the case may be, than is 

 required, or is necessary. It is important for him to know 

 whether, in erecting buildings, the stress on the different parts is 

 so great, or so small, as to need a timber one foot square, or six 

 inches square. He should have a perception so acute when run 

 ning any kind of machinery as to determine, in an instant, by 

 the sound and clatter, whether the motion is too high or too low, 

 or uniform, or variable, or when anything is not in complete run 

 ning order. He should be able to tell whether he is hauling 

 with his team a number of hundred pounds of redundant mate 

 rial in a given machine ; and whether his team moves, or the 

 parts of machinery run, at the most effective velocity or not. 

 (See VELOCITY OF SAWS.) A farmer should understand well the 

 principles of draught, (see next vol.,) that he may not break his 

 tools unnecessarily, nor use up the energies of his team to no 

 good purpose. These are but a very few of the qualifications 

 which ought to be prominent characteristics of every successful 

 cultivator of the soil ; and besides these, it is of primary im 

 portance that a farmer should understand, well, 



THE PROPER APPROPRIATION OF THE FORCES OF THE FARM. 



" The prudent foreman now, with timely care, 

 Forecasts his labors ; gives to each his share, 

 No force is misapplied ; he keeps in view 

 The faithful, trusty, and the idle, too, 

 With plans well formed for every future day, 

 His forces execute without delay," EDWARDS, 



Why does one farmer often accomplish as much, or even more 



