[5]Several of the illustrations in this chapter are reproduced through the courtesy of the Boston Stove Co.
[6]Hold the end of a dry towel in a basin of water and watch the water rise in the towel. It rises by capillary action.
[7]Light a short piece of candle and place it in a tumbler, and cover the top of the tumbler. The experiment teaches that a flame must have a constant supply of fresh air and will go out if the air is shut off.
[8]J. R. Smith, "The Story of Iron and Steel," p. 3.
[9]From "Five Black Arts," p. 311.
[10]The old forge continued to be used by the side of the blast furnace for centuries, and of course where it was used it was still called a forge. Thus we are told that in Maryland in 1761, there were eight furnaces and ten forges. It is said that as late as twenty-five years ago in certain parts of the Appalachian regions the American mountaineer still worked the little primitive forge to make his iron.
[11]It was given the name of pig iron because when the molten metal ran into the impressions made for it upon the sanded floor and cooled, it assumed a shape resembling a family of little pigs.
[12]Daniel Webster was another great statesman who turned his attention to the making of plows. He planned a plow ([Fig. 11]) and had it made in his workshop on his farm at Marshfield. When the plow was ready for use, Webster himself was the first man to take hold of the handles and try it. The plow worked well and the great man is said to have been as much delighted with his achievement as he was with any of his triumphs in public life at Washington.
[13]To winnow grain is to separate it from the chaff by a fanning process.
[14]Matthew xxiv, 41. In ancient times nearly all the grinding was done by women.