SOME COMMON MACHINES 521 



found upon every farm. Moreover, many farms are now 

 supplied with a power house in which a gasoline engine fur- 

 nishes the power which runs the pump, cream separator, churn, 

 corn sheller, feed grinder, and possibly a dynamo for generat- 

 ing the current for electric lighting, and a circular saw for saw- 

 ing wood (Fig. 322). Many farmers now own automobiles, 

 and these machines require a good knowledge of mechanics if 

 they are to be handled with safety and economy. If all auto 

 drivers were familiar with the laws of mechanics, many acci- 

 dents would be avoided. 



616. This, An Age of Machinery. The farmer and the 

 housewife need to learn a lesson from the factory and the well- 

 organized industrial plant. There, one man often operates a 

 machine which does the work formerly requiring the labor of 10, 

 100, or possibly 1000 men. Rapidly the farmer is learning 

 to avail himself of the advantages of using machinery. As 

 yet, the housewife has made little use of machinery to aid her in 

 her household duties. The cleaning of the house, washing and 

 ironing, skimming of the milk and churning of the butter these 

 and many other processes are carried on by hand with little 

 thought of using easily obtained labor-saving devices. 



Make a list of the labor-saving machines for use on the farm 

 and in the home. 



II. SOME COMMON MACHINES 

 THE SEWING MACHINE 



617. Earliest Sewing Machines. The first sewing machine 

 of which there is authoritative record was invented by an 

 Englishman, Thomas Saint, in 1790. It is not known that he 

 made more than one machine. This machine, as well as 

 others made during the following 50 years, was intended for 

 embroidery and fancywork, not for practical purposes, such 

 as the making of garments or other useful articles. All of the 

 earlier machines were run by hand and were awkward, clumsy 

 affairs constructed chiefly of wood and having many serious 



