THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 375 



rails set against the fence, or on two stakes driven into the 

 ground, and bobs up and down, and wabbles sideways when 

 revolving, like an old rickety, "drunken" carriage- wheel, and 

 utters a mournful squeak, which sounds like the last requiem of 

 an old dilapidated New England ox-cart, he may be set down as 

 a slack, unskillful, unsuccessful, thriftless, penny-wise-and-pound- 

 foolish sort of a nonentity, who does not take an agricultural 

 journal ; and who always performs every job just as if he felt 

 that his time was consumed to no good purpose, and his money 

 thrown away. On the contrary, if the grindstone is a good one, 

 and neatly hung, we may rest assured that its proprietor will 

 eventually distinguish himself in the world if he has not already 

 done so as a thorough, successful and worthy citizen. The 

 grindstone is the most useful implement among all the tools of 

 the farm. How shall we put all our tools in order without a 

 good grindstone? Therefore, because of its great utility and 

 efficiency, it must of necessity be itself a good one, and be in 

 good order. 



HOW TO SELECT A GOOD GRINDSTONE. 



538. A good grindstone should not be too hard nor too soft. 

 If it is too hard, it will require a long time to grind a tool ; and if 

 it is too soft, itself will wear out much more rapidly than it will 

 grind a tool. For ordinary tools, the grit should not be too 

 coarse nor too fine. Very coarse stones are used for grinding 

 heavy tools with coarse edges. (See GRINDING TOOLS, Par. 

 548.) Grindstones often are full of hard spots and hard streaks. 

 Therefore, the young farmer should always purchase a grindstone 

 on trial, and if it should be found to have no hard streaks or 

 spots in it, if the grit is about right, it will doubtless prove to be 

 a good stone. Select one for ordinary use, which weighs about 

 two hundred pounds. It is impracticable to grind tools well on 

 a stone that is full of hard spots or streaks. Small ones may be 

 cut out with a cold-chisel, but as a general rule it is best to reject 

 every stone that has hard spots in it. 

 16* 



