AGEICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS. 421 



are astonished and awed. "While we survey with delight and 

 admiration, one of her recent combinations, another and still 

 another appears, more wonderful and pleasing still. Our wives, 

 whose mothers and grandmothers were obliged to card, spin, 

 weave and knit nearly every wearing fabric in use, are relieved 

 of such drudgery, by the invention of the power-loom. Ma- 

 chinery accomplishes the work, in a hundredth part of the time 

 and, I was about to say, with a hundredth part of the expense. 

 Our wives and daughters can now devote their time to other 

 employments, quite as useful as spinning or weaving, and far 

 less laborious and irksome. The old fashioned hand-cards, 

 spinning-wheel, and loom, are curiosities, at the present day. 

 I well remember the monotonous hum of the spinning-wheel, 

 and the delight I took in seeing my good old mother warp and 

 weave ; but little thought how tedious and severe was the labor. 

 Thanks to the "mechanic arts," for the safe package of the 

 whole paraphernalia in some dark corner of the garret ! 



All trades have received a new impulse, and are carried on 

 with comparative ease and despatch. We may cite the split- 

 ting and shaving of shingles; the manufacture of wheel-spokes 

 and felloes ; the shaving and shaping of axe, hoe, and broom 

 handles ; of barrel-heads and staves, — all which processes were 

 formerly done by hand; but are now performed by ingenious 

 and much admired machines, contrived by American genius, 

 Among the improved tools, we may name the axe, saw, chisel, 

 plane, and all kinds of carpenters' tools, which are less clumsy, 

 of better material, and of higher finish. While examining, not 

 long ago, some beautiful bench tools, manufactured by our own, 

 mechanics, we could not but revert to the "pod augur days" of 

 yore, — the contrast was so striking, between the olden and 

 modern implements. A pod augur ! Did you ever see one ? 

 And could you ever solve the problem satisfactorily to your 

 own mind, how any mechanic, though a Hercules in strength, 

 could penetrate twelve inches into seasoned oak timber with a 

 square-ended gouge, yclept a pod augur ? As for us, the hard- 

 est problem of Euclid were an easy task to it. 



In the olden time, travelling was done principally on horse- 

 back. It was not uncommon for a gentleman and lady to ride 

 upon the same animal, at the same time ; the gentleman upon 



