374 THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 



ting wood, cool it just as the sky-Hue begins to cover the end. 

 Should it be too hard or too soft, try again. Great care should 

 be exercised in heating the steel, not to get it too hot. Steel is 

 often injured very materially by being heated to a white heat ; 

 and sometimes if steel is heated a little too hot, it is spoiled com 

 pletely for good edge tools. 



535. If a farmer has many tools to be tempered, whoever 

 tempers them should use charcoal instead of mineral coal for 

 heating the steel, because with charcoal, steel is heated more 

 gradually and uniformly entirely through it ; whereas, the heat of 

 mineral coal fire being so intense, the steel is heated too hot at 

 the surface he/ore it is sufficiently heated in the middle. Conse 

 quently, it is quite liable to be injured or " burned " by too 

 intense heat. No good manufacturer of edge tools will work in 

 mineral coal fire : he will use charcoal. 



536. Our common blacksmiths usually work in mineral coal 

 fire, and they seldom get half as good temper in drills, picks, 

 and such like, because it is impossible to do it without charcoal. 

 I can always obtain a better temper in small tools by heating 

 them in a common stove, than our ordinary blacksmiths can in a 

 fire of mineral coal. Although grinding tools is the next opera 

 tion after tempering them, it is necessary to have the grindstone 

 in good order first. Therefore, although rather out of place, I 

 shall notice here 



THE GRINDSTONE. 



" Noiselessly the grindstone's standing 



In the willow's cooling shade ; 

 O'er it now no workman 's bending, 



Grinding up his tempered blade. 

 Faithful grindstone ! useful grindstone I 

 Who does not thy service prize." EDWARDS. 



537. Allow me to see a farmer's grindstone, and I will not ask 

 to see him, nor his tools, nor his farm, nor his gates, nor his fences / 

 and I will " grind out " for you his traits of character with infal 

 lible certainty. If it is " as hard as a nether mill-stone," and 

 hung upon a wooden crank, and supported by a couple of old 



