1!I21.] 



The Hvman Machine on thk Land. 



•29 



Also he has lateral action; by a heave from his hips and a 

 shoulder jerk, he can pitch a sack of wheat sideways some feet 

 clear of himself. He also has linked action tlnough the arms 

 by which he gets arm swing in association with body swing, 

 and so can use a scythe or an axe, and throw heavy bodies 

 from side to side by hand grip. Again, when using a tool 

 he can get an up and down action from arms and body, as 

 in pumping or threshing with a flail. He can also pull with 

 the arms, using body weight. He can utilise the back swing 

 over the hips, together with the leg drive, as in rowing, hoeing, 

 or tug-of-war. He can lift upwards as in digging, or pitch 

 sheaves, or swing a long hedging bill. In fact there is 

 practically no action or combined action he cannot perform. 

 His hinges at the ankle, knee, hips, shoulders, wrists and fingers 

 are under the influence of muscles and tendons, which flex and 

 give rise to powerful actions, which are often assisted by dead 

 w^eight, and their proper use takes advantage of leverages; more- 

 over, with tools in hand a man finds leverage from these as 

 well as from outside conditions. \A"e do not think of ourselves 

 as machines until we go in for sports; yet a skilled athlete is 

 but an expert artisan in an unproductive calling. A man with 

 skilled training takes little out of himself as compared with 

 one untrained. It is the same in all farm work; brute strength 

 is helpful, but a w^eaker man who has got the knack can beat 

 the unskilled any and every time, just as an old man who is 

 skilled is worth more on a farm than a young one unskilled. 



Putting one's back into w^ork " means much more than 

 mere exertion, it means using one's force and dead weight to 

 the best advantage. The greater part of al! heavy work should 

 be done by the back and legs through leverage and momentum 

 obtained throuoh the joints or hinges, and to a large extent 

 these are obtained merely by skill in actuating them, viz., 

 learning how to apply them to the best advantage. The arms 

 and hands are convenient means through which the power is 

 transmitted to tools, they give " finish " of work, and add 

 to celerity. Knack is merely a proper «;'0-ordination of mind 

 and muscle brought to the position where elYort is not needed 

 to work them together; but one may have a bad knack so it is 

 necessar}' to learn the correct method of working. 



When the best method of working is decided upon, it will 

 be found that it comprises a certain number of actions to com- 

 plete an operation: and these actions will be repeated in the 

 same se(juence in each operation. T have analysed the vaiious 



