AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS. 237 



Mills for the manufacture of iron and for cutting nails 

 had been early introduced, but had been discountenanced, and 

 even suppressed by the British government, as had also the 

 exportation from that kingdom of many other kinds of ma- 

 chinery, it being the settled policy of that government to 

 force the colonists to buy their manufjictured goods in the old 

 country. 



In 1810, Judge Peters of Philadelphia, one of the most 

 eminent agriculturists of his day, and most patriotically 

 zealous in his attempts to improve the agriculture of 

 the country by his writings and practice, wrote an essay 

 on the propriety of establishing an " agricultural imple- 

 ment manufacturing company," urging the necessity of it 

 with great force, and saying that there was not in the coun- 

 try a manuftictory of agricultural instruments in general ; 

 that although such implements as we have are often hand- 

 made, and intrinsically good, yet Ihey were not easily ob- 

 tained nor readily multiplied. 



These wise suggestions, however, seem to have failed in 

 producing any practical results. In the process of time, 

 imperious necessity, aided by our system of patent laws, 

 began to accomplish great ends. The first law for the 

 protection of American inventions was in 1790. The first 

 patent on record was issued to Samuel Hopkins for the man- 

 ufacture of pot and pearl ashes. The first patent for spin- 

 ing cotton by power, was by Pollard, in 1791 ; for power- 

 loom, by Whittemore of Massachusetts, in 1796 ; and till 

 within a short time previous to this, all the spinning and all 

 the weaving of woollen, linen and cotton goods was by hand- 

 power. Among other famous inventions was that by Jacob 

 Perkins, of a machine for cutting nails, in 1786, but 

 patented in 1795. 



In 1776, in Sutton, in Worcester County, was a gun fac- 

 tory, which after the war was converted into a manufactory 

 of scythes, axes, and other tools ; and before 1790, there 

 were in that town five scythe, one axe, and one hoe manu- 

 factory. 



In 1790, in Amesbury, Essex County, several kinds of 

 agricultural tools were made in considerable quantities. In 

 1798, in Plymouth and Bristol counties, were fourteen blast 



