THE WISCONSIN FARMER.  458



MECHANICAL AND COMMERCIAL.

       Meebanies Master of the World.
  A fine field for speculation and sober reflec-
tion as well, is afforded in the adoption of



machinery in doing the work of the world.
Paragraphists never tire of recounting the
wonders of steam; essayists exhaust their
rhetoric in recounting the wonderful dee Is
performed by iron and steel arms ; stat-
isticians enumerate and detail at length the
saving obtained by the use of quick working
and powerful tools instead of the slower
methods of hand labor. But each and all of
these fail of conveying that vivid and intense
appreciation of the indispensability of ma-
chinery to the world, as exhibited in the daily
economy of society. No more striking proof
can be found of the rapid innovations men-
tioned, than the vessels of war now in use,
compared with the bluff-bowed, dull-sailing,
heavily-armed frigates of old. We do not
claim it as an original assertion, but it is
none the less true, that the naval battles of
the world will soon be performed by engin-
eers and machinists; and the brave captains
and admirals will find their occupations gone.
In place of the gallant frigate standing down
upon her adversary, turning heavily in her
course and full of shot holes, we have a long,
low, lithe vessel, unsightly to the eye, but
deadly to the foe. She draws near with in-
credible swiftness, delivers a crushing fire
from one or two guns, every shot of which
tells upon her adversary; instead of fighting
for hours demolishes her antagonist in a few
minutes or is disabled herself. In proof of
which, witness the conflict between the rebel
craft Atlanta and the Monitors in Warsaw
Sound. No exhibition of seamanship avails
against twin screws, which allow a vessel to
turn almost upon her keel, and manoeuvre
with the celerity of a dancing master; and it
is not too much to say, in view of the contin-
ual improvement going forward, that in a
short time our artillery will be so perfected
that it will be impossible to render a vessel



It is, therefore, true that the art of sucoesful-
ly resisting the encroachments of foreign
powers, or of prosecuting aggressive measures,
rests in a great degree upon the skill, energy,
intelligence and inventive talent of the en-



gineering and mechanical professions.  Of
what use is it for a mariner to safely navigate
an iron-clad ship through perils by shoal and
storm, if he falls into an enemy's hand at
last through faults of construction?'
  Great guns are peace-makers. If they dis-
turb public quiet they also aid in restoring
it; the long arm of the 800-pound Parrott
gun at Charleston reached over all the forts
and struck heavily in the very citadel of the
enemy. Here, again, are the science and
skill of the engineer and mechanic made
manifest.  The enemy, in fancied security,
lurked behind the protections his science
taught him were secure: when lo! a stronger
and greater than he reached over his guird
and destroyed the illusion. So engineering
science progresses. Possibly, in turn, the ag-
gressor may learn from the assailed and be
driven out; but now the engineer and the me-
chanic are the masters of the world, and in
either event, the result will be due to a more
perfect and thorough knowledge of-the true
principles of science and art.-Seientitic An'n.

             The First Saw Mill.

  The old practice of zpaking boards was to
split up the logs with Wedges; and inconven-
ient as the practice was, it was no easy mat-
ter to persuade the world that the thing could
be done in a betterway. Saw mills were used
in Europe in the fifteenth century; but so
lately as 1655 an English ambassador having
seen a saw mill in France, thought it a novel-
ty which deserved a particular description.-
It is amusing to see how the aversion to la-
bor-saving machinery has always agitated
England. The first saw mill was established
by a Dutchman, in 1663, but the public out-
cry against the new fangled machine was so
violent that the proprietor was forced to de-
camp with more expedition than ever did
Dutchman before. The evil was thus kept
out of England for several years, or rather
generations; but in 1798 an unlucky timber
merchant, hoping that after so long a time
the public would be less watchful of its in-
terests made a rash attempt to construct an-



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