roadstead, a place where ships Nile, a river in Egypt, near one of the mouths of which the battle of the Nile was fought, Aug. 1, 1798, between the English, under Lord Nelson, and the French, under Admiral Brueys the former gaining a complete victory. Leonidas, King of Sparta, noted for his defence of the pass of Thermopylæ against Xerxes, 489 B.C. Marston Moor, a plain near York where the Parliamentarians gained a decisive victory over the Royalists in 1644. Bannockburn, a town in Scotland famous for the great victory gained near it, 1314, by the Scots under Bruce over the English commanded by Edward II. Armada, the Spanish fleet, intended to act against England, 1588. KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL. 1. Surrounded, as we are in our own country, with the wonderful achievements of industry in alliance with knowledge and skill, we must look to other parts of the globe for evidence of what labour, unaided by knowledge and skill, is able to accomplish. An exploring excursion to a few of the departments of industrial employment will throw a strong light upon the mighty difference between what labour, aided by knowledge and skill, is able to produce, and what is only produced by labour alone, without the aid of these auxiliaries. 2. Let us visit a farm. We observe beautiful fields of wheat and other grain, and of roots and grasses. We happen to know that green food is abundant, while grain is somewhat scarcer than usual. In our ignorance, we ask the farmer why, under such circumstances, he has not grown more corn and less clover; to which he replies, "I had an excellent crop of barley last year, where you see that luxuriant clover. Had I sown the field with wheat or barley, I should now probably see a thin and sickly crop that would not repay the labour of reaping; whereas, yonder stack of clover has already come off this field, leaving the promise of another nearly as good, and a fair bite for the sheep afterwards.” 3. Our inquiries make us acquainted with the attention he pays, not only to the rotation of his crops, but to the selection of his seed and manures, and to the breeds and the feeding and housing of his cattle. 4. He points out to us the man upon whom he relies for the care and management of his live stock. This man is fond of the animals, and they are as much attached to him. He understands their habits, and everything essential to their keep in health, and to their treatment in disease. At the plough and at field labour he is not to be compared to the man whom you see at the other si le of the hedge. What a furrow that man draws! You could not make a straighter line with your pencil and ruler. 5. The farmer would laugh at us if we were to ask him why he does not grow beetroot for sugar, and coffee, tea, and cotton. He would think we ought to know that a larger quantity of sugar can be obtained, with the same. amount of labour, in a different manner; and that the growth of coffee, tea, and cotton, being unsuited to our climate, the thoughtless man, who should attempt to act in defiance of the peculiarities of plants and climate, would have to suffer the penalty of his ignorance or recklessness. 6. While we contemplated and admired all his tools, from the humble spade and rake up to the ploughs of various shapes and sizes, to the harrows and rollers, to his drilling and thrashing machines, and to his movable steam-engine, our thoughts could not but wander back to the crops gathered in by the ancient Britons, who may have occupied the same spot-of ground, and we could not avoid making a comparison between them and those of the well-informed skilful man whose farm we had the gratification of visiting. 7. Turn in what direction we will, after quitting the farm where we have observed the methods adopted by industry, knowledge, and skill in combination, to produce abundance of the raw material, out of which are extracted and manufactured the necessaries and comforts of life, we are met by never-ending proofs of the increased power imparted to industry by knowledge and skill. 8. We want our wheat transformed into palatable food. Knowledge comes to the aid of industry at the mill, the revolving stone in which is moved by water, wind, or steam. The wheat is ground, the flour is separated from the bran, and the baker, with his oven, completes the work. We want our wool and flax transformed into garments. Again knowledge and skill enable industry to apply the motive power of steam to the processes of spinning and weaving, preparatory to the labour of the tailor and sempstress. 9. In like manner we may follow the skins of the various animals slaughtered for food to the tanners and curriers, who, respectively armed with their special knowledge and skill, hand over to the shoe and harness maker the material on which their intelligent and skilful labour is to be exercised. 10. But we have other raw material besides that coming from the farm. There is the produce of the mines and of the clay-fields and sand-beds: of mines, that would be inaccessible if the power of steam could not be brought to drain them; of stiff fields and sandy wastes, which would be despised but for the knowledge and skill that are able to convert clay and sand into earthenware and glass. 11. Many of the articles of dress and furniture in daily use are made from materials which are only to be found far apart from one another, and which accordingly must be brought together. Wind and steam again lend their power, under the guidance and control of knowledge and skill, to bring this about by moving our ships and railway trucks. There are difficulties to be overcome in order to make materials unite after they have been brought together. The chemist and electrician come to the rescue. 12. The researches and experiments made in their studies and laboratories have shown where union can, and where it cannot be effected, and the combining proportions of different materials. Finally, the magnetic needles communicate the wants and transmit the information, without which success would be deferred, or might even be prevented. 13. Even this very cursory glance at the part played by knowledge and skill in industrial life must be more than sufficient to convince all reflecting persons that twenty millions of inhabitants could not exist in this island if past labour had not been greatly aided by knowledge and skill. The same aids to labour are just as much required to enable this number to live in the future. There are many, unfortunately, whose participation in the general knowledge and skill is exceedingly slight. Their labour is inadequate to replace the whole of what they consume. 14. Of these, some, through defective organization or other causes, have never been capable of acquiring either knowledge or skill; others, through the neglect of which they were victims in infancy or childhood, have never been taught, nor even trained to the capacity of learning; and they may be considered almost as much shut out from knowledge and skill as if they had been born defectively organized. The means of subsistence for individuals and classes thus unfavourably circumstanced must be provided, partially, at all events, by the knowledge and skill of their more fortunate countrymen. 15. When the industrious man directs his work to useful objects, and in the best manner, we call him instructed and skilful; we say he possesses the qualities of knowledge and skill. We admire these qualities in others and are glad to encourage them; and if we would participate in the wellbeing derivable from an abundance of the necessaries and comforts of life, from the affection and esteem of our neighbours and friends, and from our own self-respect, we ought to cultivate these qualities in ourselves.-Dean Dawes. farmer show knowledge and Why does the farmer in our What advantage has the of beneficial labour? How does the skill in the management of his farm? country not cultivate tea and coffee? farmer at the present day over the ancient Briton, who perhaps cultivated the very same ground? Name some ways in which skill and knowledge enable us to make the raw material into the manufactured article. Why should we always encourage industry? |