Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1843-07-21
MONTPELIER, JULY Fl, 1913.

lied upon for the supply Of almost every article Of
use or ornament, except those edible productions
winch favored soil and climate yield even 10 the
rude agriculture Of the slave.
There are Two important economical principles
OF extensive application in the mechanic arts one
OF which, OF strictly mechanical character, is
entirely new, and the Other though not wholly
modern, has beed much extended in practice in
recent times. These principles are styled by me-
chhncal economists The identity Of product and
The division Of labor.
by the identity of product, is meant that prop.
erty OF accurate and precise repetition of action
in machinery, by which all the objects elaborated
Ivy particular machine shall be precisely simiIur
in weight figure dimensions aud nil other seDsi-
bic qualities. This principle is of immense i'm
portance and Of very various application, embra-
cling alike the graduation OF the finest mulhenali-
cal aud astronomical instruments the coinage of
the precious metals, and the shaping Of pins and
shoe-tacks. The application Of this principle has
lntey been extended with great advantage, to the
parts OF which compound implements, or other
manufactured articles are composed. Let us take
the case of the musket. II each of the numer-
Gus parts of every nlIsket is made by itself with
ont reference to any other musket, than that to
which il is to I've attached, it is obvious that be-
tween these parts there will be no close similarity,
and nueh time must he consumed in fitting TO-
gelhcr the different parts OF each lock, and alap-
ting the lock- barrel, and trimmings to their par
tcular stock: aud il in using the gun any one of
its parts is lost or broken, new one must he made
expressly 10 supply lis place, and it must be fitted
to the other parts 10y trial. But let every stock
every barrel, every lock and part of lock, man =
Ufnctured at II particular armory, he made by mn.
chnery, precisely similar each 10 each, ana accor
ding 10 prescribed pattern, so that any one part
shall perfectly fit all the Other parts, of The same
or any other muskei, and it is too obvious to re-
quire calculation, that vast saving of time and
&c T.i..:
cation Of the arms, and in facility of subsequent,
repair. 1t you carry the principal further. and
require exact conformity TO the pattern in all the
government work shops, the advantage is proper
llonaliy greater.
The other important principle, Of the division
OF labor, requires that each arlizan shall be EN-
plOyed in one simple department only, as for in =
stance in the manufacture of pins, before the in
venlion Of piu-iIachines, that one man shall be
exclusively employed in strengthening the wire
another of cutting it of the proper length, anoth-
er in preparing it for the head, another in coling,
aud another in fixing the head, another in sharp
ening the points, and so OF the rest. 1t may ill.,
deed happen, that in n series Of successive opera
tons, some one may occupy us much time as the
preceding or following two, and III that case, the
same individual may perform those two, without
violating the principle. The advantages accruing
from the application OF this principle are first the
much greater dextery, which will be acquired
u
par,ment aud secondly, the Swing of the loss Of
time Uccasioued by changing from one occupa.
ton to another. The division of labor has been
thought objectionable, as having The tendency to
reduce The man TO machine, by combining him
to TOO narrow II circle of thought aud action. This
objection is not without weight hut its force is
daily diminishing, by the substitution of machine
ry for almost all those processes, which for
merly accomplished by mere motions of the hui
man hand guided by fixed habit rather than ac-
tive aud conscious intelligence.
The general result of our observations appears
to be this The moderns have invented many en-
| tlrely new objects of ornament, convenience and
use, and discovered many new processes, and
some ndw principles. oil tending To facililne the
production OF the vast variety Of artificial objects
required for human CONSUMPTION, and thus both
to increase the supply OF these objects, and econ
onilse human time and life in their production
IN their adaptation to the purposes for which they
are Individually designed, in the perfection of the
execution and the grnceiulIness of their forms
there has been III gen sraI no Improvement withir
the period which authentic prolune history EN-
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