252 THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 



fire quenched by dipping it in water quickly, will answer a good 

 purpose. 



THE HAMMER. 



" Here view the hammer, glory of our nation; 



The universal emblem of mechanics ; 

 The boasted empress of civilization. 



What thrilling, wondrous stories in dynamics, 

 Are told of hammers, back in bygone ages ! 

 How oft its feats fine laurels crowned ! Wise sages, 

 With their fair hands the chaplets round entwined, 

 And statesmen, kings, with glory it enshrined." EDWARDS. 



331. Fig. 116 represents a claw hammer ; and the face should 

 be of steel, so hard that it will not batter up, and not so hard 

 that it will cleave off, and the claws should be of the same mate 

 rial. The handle should not be round, but of an oval form, so 

 that it may be held in the proper postion, when in use, more 



FIG. 116. 



advantageously than if the handle were round. The face should 

 be ground smooth and true on a grindstone, and should be paral 

 lel with a line cutting the centre of the handle, as shown by the 

 dotted line. If the face stands inward too much towards the 

 handle, or in an opposite direction, or if the face be convex or 

 one-sided, or if the corners be knocked off, it will be a poor thing 

 to drive nails with. The face of a claw hammer should never 

 be used for pounding on chisel handles when mortising, because 

 the corners are so sharp that it will soon split them or wear them 

 out ; and it should never be used for hammering iron or stone, 

 lest the corners of the face be broken off or battered up. Make 



