THE FARMER AT HOME. 91 



posed of a great number of well-proportioned pieces of timber, nicely 

 fastened together by means of iron nails and bolts, and rendeicd so 

 tight with tow and pitch, that no water can penetrate into any part. 



To give motion to these enormous machines, lofty pieces of timber 

 called masts, have been fixed upright in them ; and sails of linen 

 cloth are placed for the purpose of catching the wind, and receiving 

 its propelling power. It has been requisite also to add vast quantities 

 of cordage and tackling. Yet all these would be insufficient for the 

 perfect government and direction of the vessel, if there were not 

 fastened to the hinder part of it, by means of hinges and hooks, a 

 moveable piece of wood called the rudder, very small in proportion to 

 the whole machine, but the least inclination of which to either side 

 is sufficient to give immediately a different direction to the enormous 

 mass ; so that two men may direct and govern this floating town, 

 with the same or with greater ease than a single man can direct a 

 boat. Even the vaulted part of the fabric, together with its sharp 

 termination underneath, is proportioned according to the nicest calcu- 

 lations ; and the length, width, and strength of the sails and tackling, 

 are all in due proportion to one another, according to certain rules 

 founded upon the principles of the art of ship-building. A violent 

 storm of wind will make us tremble with fear in a well-built house, 

 in the midst of a populous city ; but the seaman, provided he has a 

 good ship, rides with unshaken courage, amidst the enraged waves, 

 when the whole surface of the ocean presents to the eye an awful 

 scene of immense watery mountains and bottomless precipices. 



NATURAL HISTORY. This branch of useful knowledge is a 

 generic term, and presents topics of great interest and utility. It has 

 more commonly been used for a systematic description of that part j)f 

 nature which is immediately connected with man and human wants, 

 although formerly embracing a wider range of investigation. Thus 

 limited, natural history is a science both useful and entertaining. It 

 is intimately connected with all the other sciences ; and with all the 

 arts, from the simplest and rudest to the most complicated and most 

 elegant. We cannot well avoid becoming more or less acquainted 

 with the manners of animals, the economy of vegetables, and the 

 general appearance of nature. From an acquaintance with these, 

 many advantages have already accrued to man ; and, from a more 

 intimate knowledge of them, many more will doubtless be derived. 

 The husbandman ought to know the characters of the tame animals 

 which he employs ; what advantages are to be derived from them ,' 

 whether there are others that would suit his purpose better ; where 

 they are to be found ; how they maybe procured, and how supported ; 

 the qualities of the soil which he cultivates, and the means of man- 

 aging and of improving it ; the nature of the grains and grasses which 

 he raises, and whether he might not, with advantage, substitute a 

 different species for that in common use. Even the meanest mechanic 



