ADDRESSES 207 



ones as an "insidious Popish contrivance." History only 

 repeats itself; and it is this same conservative spirit that 

 Sir Walter Scott satirizes in his "Antiquary," when he puts 

 into the mouth of Mause Headrigg the following objections 

 to winnowing machines: "It is a new-fangled machine for 

 freeing the corn frae the chaff, thus impiously thwarting 

 the will o' divine Providence, by raising wind for your 

 leddy ship's use by human art, instead of soliciting it by 

 prayer, or patiently waiting for whatever dispensation 

 of wind Providence was pleased to send upon the shieling 

 hill." 



The other implements of husbandry are very simple and 

 primitive. The ox-yoke is made of two straight pieces, one 

 above, the other below the neck, the top piece alone being 

 hollowed. Two straight pins serve instead of the yoke to 

 inclose the neck, a strong trunnel in the middle taking the 

 place of staple and ring. 



The plough is absurdly ridiculous. Take a pole about 

 ten feet long, four or five inches in diameter at the butt; 

 and by mortise and tenon unite this at a slightly acute angle 

 to another piece of about equal size, sharpened and shod 

 with iron to plough the earth, and variously provided with 

 some sort of a handle for the ploughman's hand, and you 

 have an Oriental plough. It does not turn a furrow, it 

 simply scratches the earth to the depth of four or five inches, 

 and then the ground must be cross-ploughed in order to 

 secure anything like an adequate preparation for the sowing. 

 European ploughs, to which several pairs of buffaloes were 

 attached, have been introduced at various times, but were 

 soon given up on account of the difficulty of finding animals 

 strong enough to draw them. The hope of success lies in 



