. The history of Boscawen and Webster [] from 1733 to 1878 . udemachine, composed of a series ofwooden knives placed in the break-er, which is lifted with one hand,and a handful of flax stalks placedbeneath it, and crushed by repeatedbumpings of the machine. The stalksthus crushed are swingled by adouble-edged wooden sword. Thisprocess separates the shives fromthe fibre. The next process is hatchelling, or the drawing of the fibres through a hatchel, and lastly through a comb. Twenty pounds of swingled flax is accounted a days work. With the opening of spring comes the plowing. The plow is
. The history of Boscawen and Webster [] from 1733 to 1878 . udemachine, composed of a series ofwooden knives placed in the break-er, which is lifted with one hand,and a handful of flax stalks placedbeneath it, and crushed by repeatedbumpings of the machine. The stalksthus crushed are swingled by adouble-edged wooden sword. Thisprocess separates the shives fromthe fibre. The next process is hatchelling, or the drawing of the fibres through a hatchel, and lastly through a comb. Twenty pounds of swingled flax is accounted a days work. With the opening of spring comes the plowing. The plow is still the same heavy, clumsy wooden and iron affair, made by the carpenter and blacksmith. Tristram Noyes is the plow-maker of Boscawen, residing on the turnpike. The mould-board is a curved piece of white oak, with bits of old saw-plate and ox-shoes nailed upon* it. Sixteen oxen are required to draw it, with one man to ride the beam and keep it in the ground, and another with a breaking up hoe to dig up the baulks in the furrow. Three teamsters, one plowman,. 174 CIVIL HISTORY. [1810. and two assistants, make up the complement of men. The plowis from twelve to fourteen feet in length. In a small field, sucha team reaches almost the length of the furrow. The farmer uses a wooden shovel, shod w4th iron. His pitch-fork, made by the neighboring blacksmith, is of iron, clumsy,heavy, requiring his vitmost strength to thrust it into the hay,and quite as much to withdraw it. His scythe is made from a barof Russia iron, edged with steel. Tlie handle of the pitch-fork,and his scythe-snath, are of his own manufacture, and so are hisox-yokes and bows. His cart-wheels are tired with strips of iron,nailed upon the felloes. Wagons are just beginning to make their appearance. Thebodies rest upon the axle. They are wholly destitute of thorough-braces are of a later date. The roads are rough;the stones have not been removed; and the noise made by thewagons in rattling over them
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Keywords: ., bookauthorcoffincharlescarleton, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870
