Aug. 14, 1885.] 



♦ KNOWLEDGE ♦ 



133 



The arrangement of the Creation differs somevi'hat in 

 eacli of the series : in the York, where it fills a cycle of 

 six plays, God has made the earth before Lucifer's 

 expulsion, and since it grew dark when " the fendes fell," 

 he divides the darkness from the light, and then creates 

 the host of heaven and all living things, from " erbys 

 and also othyr thyng " to " man like vn-to me." In the 

 Towneley, the fall of Lucifer is interposed between the 

 creation of all things and of Adam and Eve, who are led 

 by the Cherubym to Eden and forbidden to touch the 

 " tre of life." In the Coventry variant, the creation of 

 everything, save the heaven where God and his angels 

 dwell, follows the expulsion, and to Adam and Eve are 

 given "paradys" with " flesche and ffysche and frute 

 buxum (obedient) at their byddyng." 



Here is pepry, pyan, and swete lycorys, 

 Take hem alle at thi lykyng, 

 Both appel and pero and gentyl rys (boughs) 

 But towcbe nowthe this tre that is of cunnyug. 

 There can be little doubt from the evidence of the 

 stage directions, and the references of opponents of the 

 plays, that Adam and Eve appeared V]un\ the stage 

 naked. In the Chester feries 1( Is st;ited tliiit Ihey 

 stahunt nudi, et non n i; r ii,,<l<il-inil iir, iiiid iiuotlier 

 marginal direction, when ihelr fall Is |]i'ifiii-ineil, is that 

 they shall cover genitalia sua cum foliif* 



INFLUENCE OF MECHANICAL 

 INVENTION. 



IN a recent issue of Bradstreet's the subject of " Pro- 

 gress in Manufacturing " is tnnched upon, and it is 

 shown byreference to vesc urelits df Mr. Edward Atkinson 

 to what extent the world is imlilileil to mechanical inven- 

 tion for the great abundaiiee .iC uscrul cemmndities. The 

 result is shown in a clear manner by tlie ;,1-1 of elmrts. 

 For the purpose of illustrating his art; ii in- in ^i tlc«ry, 

 Ml'. Atkinson selected, among other imliei li. . i li- inmu- 

 facture of cotton sheetings, comparinij- ilie juins and 

 other figures of 1840 with those of 1883 and 1885. The 

 data were obtained from two mills which have alwaj'S 

 been successful. 



In 18tO the product of cotton shectiii-s per bond per 

 year was 9,600 yards, while in 1883 it ^as L's. (':;■_> yards, 

 an absolute increase of 190 per cenl. in i Ha li la \ ef 

 labour growing out of impn.veiuents In maelinaav. " 



In 1840the'~namberorsi.iialles uas |-J,:.UO; in 1^83 it 

 has increased to 30,S0(i, an na rr:..-,r ,,r 1 Id per cent. 



The value of pr.Hliml |..r la.al in 1.^10 uasSGSdols.; 

 in 1883 it was 1,973.1-1.. an inn,, ase ,.f 1-J7 per cent. 



The rate of wages pi r h.nir In |s|o was 4-49 cents. In 

 1883 it was 8-80 cents, an inei-, a.se <•! 9G per cent. 



The rate of wages per year «as 175 dels, in 1840, and 

 in 1883, 287 dols., an increase of Ui per cent. 



The number of operatives in 1840 was 530, in 1883, 

 527 ; remaining about the same, while the increase in 

 machinery was about 186 per cent. 



The Innirs of labnur u. re lliirleeu in I.'^IO, and eleven 



the 1 



-- I'fi' 





;ent. 



* Some Blight covering must, however, have been wmn I \ ilia 

 impersonators of women's characters, as fomalo performers ih.l nc.; 

 appear on the English stage till 1629. Under date of Jan. ;;, 1001, 

 J'opys records : " To the theatre, where was acted ' Beggars 

 Bush,' it being very well done ; and hero the first time that ever I 

 saw women como upon the stage." 



Estimating the proportion of price to profit on fixed 

 investment at 10 per cent., the profits in 1840 were 1'18 

 cents, in 1883 0-43 cent, being a decrease of 80 per cent, 

 in the proportion of the ])roduct assigned to profit. 



Atkinson 



" Fifty years ago the ; 

 tives in a large cotton- 

 hours or more a day, and 

 much larger proporti 



the progress as 



of I 



'rage earnings of all the 

 11, who were V, I 





re older and tli-. - . 

 children, were 2-50 dols. and 2 62 dols, per week, Tb 

 quantity of machinery whicli each hand could tend we 

 much less ; the production of each spindle and looi 

 was less ; the cost in money of the mills per spindle c 

 loom was much greater, while the price of clot 

 was at times more than double the price 8 

 which it can now be sold with a reasunable in-'^fi 

 The average earnings of all the 

 tives in what purports to be the 

 at the present time, on the same i 

 ten or eleven hours a day, are 5 dols. [ 

 some cases even 6 dols. or more to the m 

 is to say, women now earn about twice 

 hours as men and women combined aver; ^ 

 hours then. The course of events has been as folL 

 A continuous reduction in the hours of ^'^jour, couj 



skilful. That 



much in ten 



thirteen 



.led 



nth : 



a the e 



I din 



of capital to production, coupled with an 

 its productive efficiency ; a constant increase 

 in the supply of cotton fabrics per capita, coupled with a 

 decrease in the price ; a continuous increase in the pur- 

 chasing of gold dollars in respect to almost all articles of 

 necessary subsistence." 



It is pointed out that these facts afford a complete 

 demonstration of the fallacy that high wages and high 

 cost of production are synonymous; that the rate of 

 wages is only one of many elements instead of the single 

 important element in determining the cost of production 

 any industry; that it is quite possible that the highly- 

 -lis ensts less per pound or 



paid labour in our best c 

 yard of product than tlm 

 mills, and that if the (ib.-,ia< 

 on sundry things whieli tin 

 away, American manufactu: 

 to hold their own. 



■ |ia,ll:e 



RAMBLES WITH A HAMMER. 



By W. Jerome nAURisON, F.G.S. 



THE ROCKS OF THE LICKEY. 



{Continued from page 71.) 



TWELVE miles south-west of Birmingham 

 ri.-es the little 1 

 Lickev,-' ulliel. il i.- the 



gliam there 



f iliis pai'i !■ to describe. 

 ,, -I, am (.\eu -street) to 

 -. ,he ^,a;i!.-east end of 



,„ i;„l,..ry. .\ --.1 ilan •> to go by Great Western to 

 Kiiliiiv, tsaniine llie eminiry, and retui'tt from Barnt 



Getiii'ig out at Uubery [see Map (1)], the visitor finds 

 himself in front of a grand section exposed by the rail- 

 way-cutting, which shows the typical rock forming the 



