302 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



THE FIRST SAW MILL. 



The old practice in making boards was 

 to split up the logs with wedges; and 

 inconvenient as the practice was, it was 

 no easy matter to persude the world the 

 thing could be done in any better way. 

 Saw mills were first used in Europe in 

 the 15th century; but so lately as 1555, 

 an English ambassador, having seen a 

 saw mill in France, thought it a novelty 

 which deserved a particular description. 

 It is amusing to see how the aversion to 

 labor-saving machinery has always agi- 

 tated England. The first saw mill was 

 established by a Dutchman in 1663; but 

 the public outcry against the new fangled 

 machine was so violent that the proprietor 

 was forced to decamp with more expedi- 

 tion than ever did a Dutchman before. — 

 The evil was thus kept out of England 

 for several years, or rather generations; 

 but in 1768, an unlucky timber merchant, 

 hoping that after so long a time the pub- 

 lic would be less watchful of its own in- 

 terest, made a rash attempt to construct 

 another mill. The guardians of the pub- 

 lic welfare, however, were on the alert, 

 and a conscientious mob at, once collected 

 and pulled the mill to pieces. Such pa- 

 triotic spirit could not always last, and 

 now, though we have no where seen the 

 fact distinctly stated, there is reason to be- 

 lieve that saw mills are used in England. 



PASTE. 



" Next to scissors," says an exchange paper, 

 paste is an invaluable editorial assistant," 

 and we find the following recipe going the 

 rounds for the best compound of this necessary 

 accompaniment to the tables of all newspaper 

 mongers, be they readers or manufacturers 

 thereof. As we prefer the first sharp, and the 

 latter sweet, says the North American, we 

 look upon any scientific philanthropist who 

 promulgates a new theory of paste as a God- 

 frey, a Franklin, a Fulton, a Davy, or a 

 Morse. " You all do know," as Mark Antony 

 said, that when paste is made in the ordinary 

 manner, it soon becomes mouldy, and by fer- 



menting in warm weather, loses its sticking 

 power. To make some to keep, dissolve an 

 ounce of alum in a quart of warm water; 

 when cold, add as much flour as will make it 

 the consistence of cream; then stew in it as 

 much powdered rosin as will stand on a shil- 

 ling, and two or three cloves. Boil it to a 

 consistence, stirring all the time. It will keep 

 for twelve months, (so says the newspaper,) 

 and when dry may be softened with water. 

 Think of this, ye who have a paste pot under 

 your nose from one year's end to another; 

 think of the flavor of cloves perfuming your 

 room, instead of the villainous odor from fer- 

 mented rye flour. 



This is, doubtless, a very comfortable sort 

 of paste. We have never tried it, but have 

 no doubt such a compound will have all the 

 good qualities promised for it. But all kinds 

 of flour pastes have a defect which cannot be 

 gotten over. When a piece of newspaper is 

 covered on one side with it, and pasted down 

 in your scrap book for future use, instead of 

 a smooth, readable sheet ? you find on opening 

 it when dry, a dingy ill-looking surface, so 

 much wrinkled as to be almost illegible, — "a 

 sorry sight" indeed. This is owing to the 

 irregular manner in which flour paste dries. 

 Gum tragacanth is the right thing. This is 

 a cheap article that mayvbe obtained from 

 any apothecary, and a very small quantity 

 goes a great way. The proper method of 

 preparing it for use is to place a few chips,— 

 say half an ounce, — in a pint cup, and fill the 

 cup about two-thirds full of water. In twenty- 

 four hours, the tragacanth will have risen rap 

 to the top, and with the water will form a 

 very clear and beautiful paste. About a tea- 

 spoonful of gum arabic placed in the cup 

 with the other gum will be found an improve- 

 ment, rendering it clearer and harder when 

 dry. Of all pastes this is the best. It is clear 

 and almost transparent when spread upon a 

 surface, and does not wrinkle the paper in 

 drying by one-half as much as any other 

 slicking substance. As to the other matter, 

 it certainly will not keep twelve months; but 

 we have some on the table upon which we 

 write this, which has been there nearly three 

 weeks and is still perfectly good. And even 



