Popular Technology Volume I Part 2

3. Gardens, for useful purposes, were probably made, soon after the waters had subsided; and the statement in Scripture, that "Noah planted a vineyard," may, perhaps, be regarded as evidence sufficient to establish it as a fact. If this were the case, the art, doubtless, continued progressive among those descendants of Noah, who did not sink into a state of barbarism, after the confusion of tongues.

4. Among savage nations, one of the first indications of advancement towards a state of civilization, is the cultivation of a little spot of ground for raising vegetables; and the degree of refinement among the inhabitants of any country, may be determined, with tolerable certainty, by the taste and skill exhibited in their gardens.

5. Ornamental gardening is never attended to, in any country, until the arts in general have advanced to a considerable degree of perfection; and it uniformly declines with other fine or ornamental arts. Accordingly, we do not read of splendid gardens among the Babylonians, Egyptians, Jews, Greeks, Romans, and other nations of antiquity, until they had reached an exalted state of refinement; and when these nations descended from this condition, or were overthrown by barbarians, this art declined or disappeared.

6. During the period of mental darkness, which prevailed between the eighth and thirteenth centuries, the practice of ornamental gardening had fallen into such general disuse, that it was confined exclusively to the monks. After this period, it began again to spread among the people generally. It revived in Italy, Germany, Holland, and France, long before any attention was paid to it in England.

7. In the latter country, but few culinary vegetables were consumed before the beginning of the sixteenth century, and most of these were brought from Holland; nor was gardening introduced there, as a source of profit, until about one hundred years after that period. Peaches, pears, plums, nectarines, apricots, grapes, cherries, strawberries, and melons, were luxuries but little enjoyed in England, until near the middle of the seventeenth century. The first _hot_ and _ice houses_ known on the island, were built by Charles II., who ascended the British throne in 1660, and soon after introduced French gardening at Hampton Court, Carlton, and Marlborough.

8. About the beginning of the eighteenth century, this art attracted the attention of some of the first characters in Great Britain, who gave it a new impulse in that country. But the style which they imitated was objectionable, inasmuch as the mode of laying out the gardens, and of planting and tr.i.m.m.i.n.g the trees, was too formal and fantastical.

9. Several eminent writers, among whom were Pope and Addison, ridiculed this Dutch mode of gardening, as it was called, and endeavoured to introduce another, more consistent with genuine taste.

Their views were, at length, seconded by practical horticulturists; and those principles of the art which they advocated, were adopted in every part of Great Britain. The English mode has been followed and emulated by the refined nations of the Eastern continent and by many opulent individuals in the United States.

10. Since the beginning of the present century horticultural societies have been formed in every kingdom of Europe. In Great Britain alone, there are no less than fifty; and, it is satisfactory to add, that there are also several of these inst.i.tutions in the United States. The objects of the persons who compose these societies are, to collect and disseminate information on this interesting art, especially in regard to the introduction of new and valuable articles of cultivation.

11. The authors who have written upon scientific and practical gardening, at different periods, and in different countries, are very numerous. Among the ancient Greek writers, were Hesiod, Theophrastus, Xenophon, and aelian. Among the Latins, Varo was the first; to whom succeeded, Cato, Pliny the elder, Columella, and Palladius.

12. Since the revival of literature, horticulture, in common with agriculture, has shared largely in the labours of the learned; and many works, on this important branch of rural economy, have been published in every language of Europe. But the publications on this subject, which attract the greatest attention, are the periodicals under the superintendence of the great horticultural societies. Those of London and Paris, are particularly distinguished.

13. It is impossible to draw a distinct line between horticulture and agriculture; since so many articles of cultivation are common to both, and since a well-regulated farm approaches very nearly to a garden.

14. The divisions of a complete garden, usually adopted by writers on this subject, are the following: 1st. the culinary garden; 2d. the flower garden; 3d. the orchard, embracing different kinds of fruits; 4th. the vineyard; 5th. the seminary, for raising seeds; 6th. the nursery, for raising trees to be transplanted; 7th. the botanical garden, for raising various kinds of plants; 8th. the arboretum of ornamental trees; and, 9th. the picturesque, or landscape garden. To become skilful in the management of even one or two of these branches, requires much attention; but to become proficient in all, would require years of the closest application.

15. In Europe, the professed gardeners const.i.tute a large cla.s.s of the population. They are employed either in their own gardens, or in those of the wealthy, who engage them by the day or year. There are many in this country who devote their attention to this business; but they are chiefly from the other side of the Atlantic. In our Southern states, the rich a.s.sign one of their slaves to the garden.

16. In the United States, almost every family in the country, and in the villages, has its garden for the production of vegetables, in which are also usually reared, a few flowers, ornamental shrubs, and fruit-trees: but horticulture, as a science, is studied and practised here by very few, especially that branch of it called picturesque, or landscape. To produce a pleasing effect, in a garden of this kind, from twenty to one hundred acres are necessary, according to the manner in which the ground may be situated. In an area of that extent, every branch of this pleasing art can be advantageously embraced.

17. Delicate exotic plants, which will not bear exposure to the open air during the winter, are preserved from the effects of the cold in _hot_ or _green houses_, which may be warmed by artificial heat. A _hot-house_ is exhibited in the representation of a garden, at the head of this article. It is composed chiefly of window-gla.s.s set in sashes of wood. A green-house is usually larger; and is designed for the preservation of those plants requiring less heat.

18. The vegetables commonly cultivated in gardens for the table, are,--corn, potatoes, tomatoes, peas, beans, squashes, cuc.u.mbers, melons, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, gooseberries, currants, beets, parsnips, carrots, onions, radishes, cabbages, asparagus, lettuce, grapes, and various kinds of fruits. The flowers, ornamental shrubs, and trees, are very numerous, and are becoming more so by accessions from the forests, and from foreign countries.

19. The scientific horticulturist, in laying off his garden, endeavours to unite beauty and utility, locating the flowers, ornamental shrubs, and trees, where they will be most conspicuous, and those vegetables less pleasing to the eye, in more retired situations, yet, in a soil and exposure adapted to their const.i.tution.

In improving the soil of his garden, he brings to his aid the science of chemistry, together with the experience of practical men. He is also careful in the choice of his fruit-trees, and in increasing the variety of their products by engrafting, and by inoculation.

[Ill.u.s.tration: MILLER.]

THE MILLER.

1. The Miller belongs to that cla.s.s of employments which relates to the preparation of food and drinks for man. His business consists, chiefly, in reducing the farinaceous grains to a suitable degree of fineness.

2. The simplest method by which grain can be reduced to meal, or flour, is rubbing or pounding it between two stones; and this was probably the one first practised in all primitive conditions of society, as it is still pursued among some tribes of uncivilized men.

3. The first machine for comminuting grain, of which we have any knowledge, was a simple hand-mill, composed of a nether stone fixed in a horizontal position, and an upper stone, which was put in motion with the hand by means of a peg. This simple contrivance is still used in India, as well as in some sequestered parts of Scotland, and on many of the plantations in the Southern states of our Union. But, in general, where large quant.i.ties of grain are to be ground, it has been entirely superseded by mills not moved by manual power.

4. The modern corn and flour mill differs from the primitive hand-mill in the size of the stones, in the addition of an apparatus for separating the hulls and bran from the farinaceous part of the grain, and in the power applied for putting it in motion.

5. The grinding surfaces of the stones have channels, or furrows, cut in them, which proceed obliquely from the centre to the circ.u.mference.

The furrows are cut slantwise on one side, and perpendicular on the other; so that each of the ridges which they form, has a sharp edge; and, when the upper stone is in motion, these edges pa.s.s one another, like the blades of a pair of scissors, and cut the grain the more easily, as it falls upon the furrows.

6. By a careful inspection of the following picture, the whole machinery of a common mill may be understood.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

A represents the water-wheel; B, the shaft to which is attached the cog-wheel C, which acts on the trundle-head, D; and this, in turn, acts on the moveable stone. The spindle, trundle-head, and upper stone, all rest entirely on the beam, F, which can be elevated or depressed, at pleasure, by a simple apparatus; so that the distance between the stones can be easily regulated, to grind either fine or coa.r.s.e. The grain about to be submitted to the action of the mill, is thrown into the hopper, H, whence it pa.s.ses by the shoe, or spout I, through a hole in the upper stone, and then between them both.

7. The upper stone is a little convex, and the other a little concave.

There is a little difference, however, between the convexity and the concavity of the two stones: this difference causes the s.p.a.ce between them to become less and less towards their edges; and the grain, being admitted between them, is, consequently, ground finer and finer, as it pa.s.ses out in that direction, in which it is impelled by the centrifugal power of the moving stone.

8. If the flour, or meal, is not to be separated from the bran, the simple grinding completes the operation; but, when this separation is to be made, the comminuted grain, as it is thrown out from between the stones, is carried, by little leathern buckets fastened to a strap, to the upper end of an octagonal sieve, placed in an inclined position in a large box. The coa.r.s.e bran pa.s.ses out at the lower end of the sieve, or bolt, and the flour, or fine particles of bran, through the bolting-cloth, at different places, according to their fineness. At the head of the bolt, the superfine flour pa.s.ses; in the middle, the fine flour; and at the lower end, the coa.r.s.e flour and fine bran; which, when mixed, is called _canel_, or _shorts_.

9. The best material of which mill-stones are made, is the burr-stone, which is brought from France in small pieces, weighing from ten to one hundred pounds. These are cemented together with plaster of Paris, and closely bound around the circ.u.mference with hoops made of bar iron. For grinding corn or rye, those made of sienite, or granite rock, are frequently used.

10. A mill, exclusively employed in grinding grain, consumed by the inhabitants of the neighborhood, is called a _grist_ or _custom_ mill; and a portion of the grist is allowed to the miller, in payment for his services. The proportion is regulated by law; and, in our own country, it varies according to the legislation of the different states.

11. Mills in which flour is manufactured, and packed in barrels for sale, are called merchant mills. Here, the wheat is purchased by the miller, or by the owner of the mill, who relies upon the difference between the original cost of the grain, and the probable amount of its several products, when sold, to remunerate him for the manufacture, and his investments of capital. In Virginia, and, perhaps, in some of the other states, it is a common practice among the farmers, to deliver to the millers their wheat, for which they receive a specified quant.i.ty of flour.

12. The power most commonly employed to put heavy machinery in operation, is that supplied by water. This is especially the case with regard to mills for grinding grain; but, when this cannot be had, a subst.i.tute is found in steam, or animal strength. The wind is also rendered subservient to this purpose. The wind-mill was invented in the time of Augustus Caesar. During the reign of this emperor, and probably long before, mules and a.s.ses were employed by both the Greeks and Romans in turning their mills. The period at which water-mills began to be used cannot be certainly determined. Some writers place it as far back as the Christian era.

13. Wheat flour is one of the staple commodities of the United States, and there are mills for its manufacture in almost every part of the country, where wheat is extensively cultivated; but our most celebrated flour-mills are on the Brandywine Creek, Del., at Rochester, N. Y., and at Richmond, Va.

14. In our Southern states, hommony is a favorite article of food. It consists of the flinty portions of Indian corn, which have been separated from the hulls and eyes of the grain. To effect this separation, the corn is sometimes ground very coa.r.s.ely in a mill; but the most usual method is that of pounding it in a mortar.

15. The mortar is excavated from a log of hard wood, between twelve and eighteen inches in diameter. The form of the excavation is similar to that of a common iron mortar, except that it is less flat at the bottom, to prevent the corn from being reduced to meal during the operation. The pestle is usually made by confining an iron wedge in the split end of a round stick, by means of an iron ring.

16. The white flint corn is the kind usually chosen for hommony; although any kind, possessing the requisite solidity, will do. Having been poured into the mortar, it is moistened with hot water, and immediately beaten with the pestle, until the eyes and hulls are forced from the flinty portions of the grain. The part of the corn which has been reduced to meal by the foregoing process, is removed by means of a sieve, and the hulls, by the aid of the wind.

17. Hommony is prepared for the table by boiling it in water for twelve hours with about one fourth of its quant.i.ty of white beans, and some fat bacon. It is eaten while yet warm, with milk or b.u.t.ter; or, if suffered to get cold, is again warmed with lard or some other fat substance, before it is brought to the table.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BAKER.]

THE BAKER.

1. The business of the Baker consists in making bread, rolls, biscuits, and crackers, and in baking various kinds of provisions.

2. Man appears to be designed by nature, to eat all substances capable of affording nourishment to his system; but, being more inclined to vegetable than to animal food, he has, from the earliest times, used farinaceous grains, as his princ.i.p.al means of sustenance. As these, however, cannot be eaten in their native state without difficulty, means have been contrived for extracting their farinaceous part, and for converting it into an agreeable and wholesome aliment.

3. Those who are accustomed to enjoy all the advantages of the most useful inventions, without reflecting on the labour expended in their completion, may fancy that there is nothing more easy than to grind grain, to make it into paste, and to bake it in an oven; but it must have been a long time, before men discovered any better method of preparing their grain, than roasting it in the fire, or boiling it in water, and forming it into viscous cakes. Accident, probably, at length furnished some observing person a hint, by which good and wholesome bread could be made by means of fermentation.

4. Before the invention of the oven, bread was exclusively baked in the embers, or ashes, or before the fire. These methods, with sometimes a little variation, are still practised, more or less, in all parts of the world. In England, the poor cla.s.s of people place the loaf on the heated hearth, and invert over it an iron pot or kettle, which they surround with embers or coals.