198 



CHRONICLES OF A CLAY FARM. 



gression of the implement, made them perfectly sepa- 

 rate and independent, so that if you ceased to pro- 

 ceed, your " coffee-mill " would still be at work, and 

 only wanting fresh coffee to grind; then, and only 

 then, shall we have laid hold of the end of the clue 

 that leads to Cultivation by Steam ; for then, and only 

 then, shall we have begun to appreciate the real and 

 unique value of the new agent we possess. To sup- 

 pose that it would gear its noble faculty to the drag- 

 ging of ploughs, or the redoubled solecism of a roll- 

 ing spade-machine, is to transgress the elementary 

 axioms of natural law, the fundamental relations and 

 exactions that govern all physical progress and dis- 

 covery. 



'The willing giant stands idly panting and smoking.' 



