NEW CALEDONIA. 339 



committed some military offence, are sent out to the colony 

 to work out their time uf service, unless this be nearly 

 completed when convicted, in which case they are kept at 

 home. But tliose that are sent out can never re-enter the 

 French army. 



There is a large carpenter's shop in which there were 

 several of them at work ; one young man was very good- 

 looking ; another working alongside of him had, though 

 rather good-looking too, no small amount of devilry in his 

 face. There is a large blacksmith's shop also. I saw a 

 plough invented by M. Boutan ; the centre piece — running 

 from one end to tlie other, and to which the other parts 

 are attached, — is of wood and therefore supposed to be 

 better than if of iron, as then it might get bent, and could 

 not be easily set right again. But the novelty in tliis 

 ingenious plough consisted in the handle tur]iing over from 

 one end to the other, so that on arriving at the end of a 

 fiurow, the liandle is turned over back again to the other 

 end of the plough, and thus there is no occasion to lilt and 

 turn the plough romid, but you merely bring round tlie team 

 or oxen from one end to the other, hook them vn, and change 

 the coulter, which tuincd on a hinge or pivot to cut either 

 backward or forward, accordingly as the plough was drawn 

 backward or forward ; there was a cutter to precede the 

 coulter, a lixtiu'e, whichever way it went. 



In the land under cultivation theie were two ploughs at 

 work, four oxen to each. The oxen were harnessed so as 

 to pidl with their heads. A strap was placed across their 



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