crease or Decrease.-Effect of Economic, Industrial and

Social Life upon Inventions.-What Inventions have

Done for Humanity.-Thread of the Centuries.-The

Roll of Inventions too Vast for Enumeration....

CHAPTER II.

AGRICULTURE AND ITS IMPLEMENTS.

The Egyptians the Earliest and Greatest Agriculturists.—

Rome and Farming.-Cato, Varro, Virgil.-Columella.

-Pliny.-Palladius.-The Decline of Agriculture.—

Northern Barbarism.-Lowest Ebb in the Middle Ages.-

Revival in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries.-With

Invention of Printing.-Publications then, Concern-

ing.-Growth in Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries.

-Jethro Tull.-Arthur Young.-Washington.-Jeffer-

son. The Art Scientifically Commenced with Sir Hum-

phry Davy's Lectures on Soils and Plants, 1802–1812.—

Societies." Book Farming" and Prejudice of Farmers.

-A Revisit of Ruth and Cincinnatus at Beginning of

Nineteenth Century.―Their Implements still the Com-

mon Ones in Use.—The Plough and its History.—Its Es-

sential Parts and their Evolution to Modern Forms.-

Originated in Holland.-Growth in England and Amer-

ica. Small, Jefferson, Newbold.-Lord Kames' Com-

plaint. The American Plough.-Cutting Disks.-Steam

Ploughs: Implements for Preparing the Soil for Plant-

ing. Various Forms of Harrows..

CHAPTER III.

AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS.

The Sowing of Grain.-The Sower of the Parables.-His
Art and its Defects Lasted until Nineteenth Century.-
The Problems to be Solved.-Assyrian and Chinese
Seeding Implements.-India.-Italy First to Introduce
a Grain Sowing Machine, Seventeenth Century.-
Zanon's Work on Agriculture, 1764.-Austria and Eng-
land.-A Spaniard's Invention.-Don Lescatello.-The

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1

---

Drill of Jethro Tull.-A Clergyman, Cooke's Machine.

-Washington and Others.-Modern Improvements in

Seeders and their Operation and Functions.-Force

Feed and Gravity Feed.-Graduated Flow.-Divided

Feeds for Separate Grains and Fertilizing Material.—

Garden Ploughs and Seeders.-Gangs of Heavy Ones.-

Operated by Steam.-Corn Planters.-Walking and Rid-

ing.-Objects of Proper Planting.-How Accomplished

by Machinery.-Variety of Machines.-Potatoes and the

Finest Seeds.-Transplanters.-Cultivators.-Their Pur-

poses and Varieties.-Primitive and Modern Toilers.-

Millet.-Tillers of the Soil no Longer "Brothers of the

PAGE

23

CHAPTER IV.

AGRICULTURAL INVENTIONS.

Harvesting in Ancient Times.-The Sickle.-Pliny's Ma-
chine. Now the Clover Header.-Palladius' Descrip-
tion.-Improved in 1786.-Scotchman's Grain Cradle in
1794.-The Seven Ancient Wonders and the Seven
Modern Wonders.-The Modern Harvester and the Cot-
ton Gin.-Requirements of the Harvester.-Boyce.—
Meares.-Plucknett.-Gladstone and the First Front
Draft Machine, 1806. — Salonen introduced Vibrating
Knives over Stationary Blades, 1807.-Ogle and Recipro-
cating Knife Bar, 1822.-Rev. Patrick Bell, 1823, Cuts an
Acre of Grain in an Hour.-Mowers and Reapers in
America in 1820.-Reaper and Thresher combined by Lane,
of Maine, 1828.-Manning's Harvester, 1831.-Schnebly.
-Hussey.-McCormick, 1833-34.-Harvesters and Mowers
at World's Fair, London, 1851.-Automatic Binders.-
Wire and Twine.-Advances Shown at Centennial Exhibi-
tion, 1876.-Inventions Beyond the Wildest Dreams of
Former Farmers.-One Invention Generates Another.-
Lawn Mowers.-Hay Forks and Stackers.-Corn, Cot-
ton, Potato, Flax Harvesters. Threshing. - The Old
Flail. Egyptian and Roman Methods. - The First
Modern Threshing Machine.-Menzies, Leckie, Meikle.—

-

Combined Harvesters and Threshers.-Flax Threshers

and Brakes.-Cotton Gins.-Eli Whitney.-Enormous

Importance of this Machine in Cotton Products.—Dis-

placement of Labour...

-

-

CHAPTER V.

AGRICULTURAL INVENTIONS (continued).

Harvest Ended, Comes the Preparation of Grain and

Fruits for Food.-Cleaning.-Separating.-Grinding.—

Fanning Mills and Sir Walter Scott.-The Rudimentary

Mills. Egyptian. - Hebrew, Grecian, and Roman

Methods, Prevailed until Middle of Eighteenth Cen-

tury. The Upper and Nether Mill Stone in Modern

Dress.-Modern Mills Invented at Close of Eighteenth

Century.-Oliver Evans of America, 1755-1819.-Evans'

System Prevailed for Three Quarters of a Century.-

New System.-Middlings.-Low Milling.-High Milling.

-Roller Mills.-Middlings Separators.-Dust Explosions

and Prevention. - Vegetable Cutters. - Choppers.-

Fruit Parers and Slicers.-Great Range of Mechanisms

to Treat the Tenderest Pods and Smallest Seeds.--Crush-

ing Sugar Cane.-Pressing and Baling.-Every Pro-

duct has its own Proper Machine for Picking, Pressing,

Packing, or Baling.-Cotton Compress.-Extensive and

Enormous Cotton Crops of the World.-Cotton Presses

of Various kinds.-Hay and its Baling.-Bale Ties.-

Fruits and Foods.-Machines for Gathering, Packing,

Preserving, etc., all Modern.-Drying and Evaporating.

-Sealing.- Transporting. -Tobacco. Its Enormous

Production.-The Interdict of James I., and of Popes,

Kings, Sultans, etc.-Variety of Machines for its Treat-

ment...

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45

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32

CHAPTER VI.

CHEMISTRY, MEDICINES, SURGERY, DENTISTRY.

Chemistry among the Ancients.-Egyptians.-Phoeni-
cians.-Israelites.-Greeks and Romans.-Chinese.-Be-

came a Science in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Cen-
turies.-Libavius.-Van Helmont.-Glauber -Tache-

-

-

-

PAGE

nius.-Boyle.-Lémery.-Becher.-Stahl.-Boerhaave.—

Black. - Cavendish. - Lavoisier. - Priestley. - Chemistry

of Nineteenth Century a New World.-Atomic and

Molecular Theories.-Light, Heat, and Electricity.—

Correlation and Conservation of Forces.-Spectrum

Analysis.-Laws of Chemical Changes.-John Dalton.—

Wollaston.-Gay-Lussac.-Berzelius.-Huygens' and

Newton's Discoveries in Light in Seventeenth Century.

—Unfolded and Developed by Fraunhofer, Kirchoff.—

Bunsen in the Nineteenth.-Young of America.--Com-

bination of Spectroscope and Telescope.-Huggins of

England, Spectrum Analysis of the Stars.-Heat and

other Forces.-Count Rumford.-Davy.-Mayer.-

Helmholtz.-Colding.-Joule.-Grove.- Faraday.-Sir

William Thomson.-Le Conte and Martin.-French Rev-

olution and Agricultural Chemistry.-Lavoisier, Ber-

thollet. Guyton.-Fourcroy.--Napoleon.-Sir Hum-

phry Davy. Liebig. Fermentation. - Alcohol.

Yeast.-Malt.-Wines.-Beer.-Huxley's Lecture on

Yeast, 1871.-Protein.-Protoplasm.—Evolution from

one all-pervading Force.-Alcohol and Pasteur.-Manu-

facture of Liquors.-Carbonating.-Soils and Fertilisers.

-Liquids, Oils, Sugar and Fats.-Bleaching and Dyeing.

-Aniline Colours.-Perfumes.--Electro-Chemical Meth-

ods.-Applied to the Production of Artificial Light.—

Abradants.-Disinfectants.-Pigments.-Mineral Anal-

ysis.-Purification of Water and Sewage.--Electroplat-

ing Metals.-Chemicals and the Fine Arts.-Redemption

of Waste Materials. —Medicines and Surgery. ―Their

Growth from Empiricism.—Anæsthetics.-Davy.—Morton.

-Jackson.-Innumerable Medical Compounds.-Antiseptic

Treatment of Wounds.-Vast Variety of Surgical Instru-

ments Invented. Four Thousand Patents in United

States Alone.-Dentistry.-Its Ancient Origin. -Account

of Herodotus.-Revolution in, during Nineteenth Cen-

tury.-Instruments.-Artificial Teeth.-Vast Relief from

Pain.......

58

CHAPTER VII.

STEAM AND STEAM ENGINES.

-

-

-

PAGE

Prophecy of Dr. Darwin in Eighteenth Century.-Review

of the Art from Hero to James Watt.-Pumping En-

gines.-Road Carriages.-Watt.-Cugnot.-Rumsey.-

Fitch. - Oliver Evans. - Read. -Symington. -Trevi-

thick.--Locomotives.-Blenkinsop.-Griffith.-Bramah.

-Horse Engine. — Hancock. — Blackett.—George Ste-

phenson.-Hackworth.-Braithwaite.-Ericsson.-Hus-

kisson First Victim of Railroad Accident.-Seguin.-

John C. Stevens.-Horatio Allen.-Peter Cooper.-

Symington.-Lord Dundas.-Fulton and Livingston.—

The First Successful Steamboat.-Transatlantic Steam

Navigation.-Scarborough of Georgia.-Bell of Scot-

land.—Cunard Line; Paddle Wheels.-Screw Propellers.

-The Age of Kinetic Energy.-Professor Thurston.-

Variety of Engines and Boilers.-Corliss.-Bicycle and

Automobile Engines.-Napoleon's Stage Trip and Pres-

ent Locomotion.-Daniel Webster's Survey of the Art.. 73

CHAPTER VIII.

ENGINEERING AND TRANSPORTATION.

The Duties of a Civil Engineer.-Great Engineering of the
Past.—The Divisions.-Steam.-Mining.-Hydraulic.—
Electrical.-Marine.-Bridge Making, Its Development.
-First Arched Iron Bridge.-Darby.-Telford.-Lead-
ing Bridges of the Century.-Suspension.-Tubular.-
Tubular Arch.-Truss.-Cantilever.-Spider's Web and
Suspension.-Sir Samuel Brown.-The Tweed.-Menai
Straits and Telford.-M. Chaley and Fribourg.-J. K.
Brunel and Isle of Bourbon.-British America and the
United States united in 1855-Niagara.-John A. Roeb-
ling. The Brooklyn Bridge.-Caissons and the Caisson
Disease.-Tubular Bridge at Menai.-"The Grandest
Lift in Engineering."-Robert Stephenson.-The Tubu-
lar Arch at Washington.-Captain Meigs and Captain
Eads.—St. Louis Bridge.—Truss System and Vast Mod-
ern Bridges.--Cantilever Succeeded the Suspension.—