NEW CALEDONIA. 339 



committed some military oflence, are sent out to the colony 

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

 completed when convicted, in which case they are kept at 

 home. But those 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 Avork ; one young man was very good- 

 looking ; another working alongside of him had, though 

 rather gooddooking 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 — rinming 

 from one end to the other, and to which the other j^arts 

 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 this 

 ingenious plough consisted in the handle turning over from 

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

 furrow, the handle is turned over back again to the other 

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

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

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

 the coulter, which turned 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 fixture, whichever way it went. 



In the land under cultivation there were two ploughs at 

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

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



