New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1853-03-08
MECHANICAL INVENTIONS.
The Tepftf.


beautifully simple and effective than apt to i'm
.sipe Some are such science glad 10 adopt many
which che i slow TO supersede. and others, a. the
Boomerang that she Is puzzled TO explain Barbarian
uasrsrcks Of our the parents Of the arts
spinning and weaving with them elemental
metalsYgy and earthenwsre theirs the chisel ana
Srill, the hstchet and adze, they gave and from
Shern was received the valuable of human discov
eyies-tbe of producing FIRE and The uses Oh H.
In their condition they evnced fine talents for IN
yertion have their descendants under more fsvor'
able circumstances. With them every device was
original and the arts Of civilization are IN the main,
but improvements on their neutrality-suspicious. Of
their ideas We build on foundation which they laid,
and cultivate garden which they began TO plant
Amid the faror attending modern inventions print
tive ones are neglected much letters by those
who have learned TO read We inherit the mechanical
alphabet from barbarans, and considering the times
places and circumstances In and under which the ele
pents Of the worlds machinery were disclosed, &C
count of their origin and early applications would form
brilliant chapter In the Of history and OF the
FIRST rude struggles Of genius they 70 the arts what
letters in writing the organs Of voice in speech
But scholars can learn nothing more from chidrens
First Lessons." the wild mans hornbook OF inven-
tons may be consulted with advantage by those who
are In quest Of new IDEAS new principles. Inc
Teptn Is an example. 20 far a. we know 1t Is pecar
10 Indians Of this hemisphere-a very ancien. con'r
button Of some mechanical Csdmus Of the tropics.
On the discovery the red race was found in posses
zion Of two great staple materials of vegetable food;
one the seeds Of grace MAIZE the other roots OF
shrub, nandioca The first was cultivated in the tenn
perate the second In the warmer zones and through
out the same parallels they still prepared and used
by Indians a. by their ancestors mmemorably. Every
one knows how Northern Indians pounded their corn
In mortars and how often among relics powed up
In cur fields stone implements for that purpose occur
The treatment of the Southern product different
The mandoca root Is a species Of potato resembling
In its long irregular figure aud Dimensions the sweet
potato. IL cuts like MERGERS, white, firm and
watery but IL somewhat hbrous. It lie grown as ez
tensively maize with US throughout Spanish and
Portuguese America. FarinhG--prepared from it-re.
sembles in appearance and qualities, our Indian Meal
tits "The Bread Of Brazil" There, slaves live chiefly
On it. and planters and merchants always have it
their tables In the process Of converting the root into
-four O higher and more varied order of mechanical
resource displayed by the primitive mlIers Of the
South than is revealed In the " Corn Crackers" or
bread poundeTs" Of the North.
The principle parts of the apparatus mill or
rapp and preft The first consists Of board sag o
foot or fifteen inches wide and two feet long One face
y smearcd over with thick coating of gum natural
glue tina, hsrdens like stone and in Is inserted often
In regular and fancy fgures multitude of sharp part
ces Of granite selected from pieces broken up for the
purpose. When proper not at hand tborns,
those akin to the prcky aloe, used, and some
times both these and the stone teeth let into the
board two thirds Of their depth On this board each
root after being washed and the skin scraped Off is
ahead m puin NV rphhinD and ovar tactb
When the desired quantity Is rasped down the next
thing is compress in order get rid of the Juice
. poisonous, milky looking liquid and after II is
PEELED, the Is laid heated stone griddc and
stirred till dry, when IL might readily be taken for
Indian meal
But the Press possesses the most interest Imagine
scosrse basketke tube made OF split cane the slips
thin Of IN inch wide aud rather loosely plated or
interviewer. common size Is five feet in length five
six inches diameter at the mouth open end aud
three four the bottom closed large loop
couple Of strong withes s left at cachen When
10 be used the fret thing s,o wet 1t, Il dry The ope
raior then grssps the edges Of the mouth with both
hands and resting the bottom the ground throws the
weight Of HE body the basket till he has crushed
down to about half lite previous height the lower por
nons meanwhile swell out in diameter larger than the
mouth. A smooth stick like of our broom handles
10 now introduced held upright in the middle and the
pulp put In and packed round IL till the tube is nearly
ficd II is next suspended by the upper loop from
hook at proper elevation, often the limb OF tree)
and heavy stone or basket Of stones fastened 10 the
bottom loop withes, that the weight may gradu
ally stretch the tube till becomes six feet In
length the internal capacity diminishing nth the
tension, and the contracting sides powerfully forcing
the pulp against the unyiedng central stick and
queptly driving out the liquid Instead Of stones
end of heavy log sometimes inserted through the
lower loop and loaded with apapoose two or any.
thing else hand lndsns again viii put foot
both in the loop as In stirrup, and themselves
o. the weights.
Such the original mandiocs OF Casssva Press twas
scommon among the Csrbs Of the Islands il and
swiih Indians the Oronoco and Amszo through
out the immense regions between those rivers and the
Plate In Brazil there those who prefer II TO the
massive and clumsy screwpress imported from Lisbon
end Malaga at a cost Of $500 to $500 each We have
heard planter assert that II powerful ex.
:Tacted more water, and the operation rapid a
charge being repeated about every 20 minutes. The
cost Of this unique press IL but ftn ccass We pur-
chased at a venda for potacs-i6 cents-of the
dimensions given above, and for the Indian manuiac
turer probably received only three four certainly
not over five or six.
The Carboclos or tanned Indians OF Brazil supply the
vendors country stores with it in all the Provinces
This Basketpress is the Tspiri-and If there is
rent primitive invention evnoing closer and happier
reasoning out Of common tracks and which exhibits
heater and cheaper results, do not know were to
look for 1t. Instinct with untutsred men as with su
mals 10 often prompser and surer guide than reason
but this device Is not OF natures ready sugges
uons-it is too complex aud unobvioas-it could only
have been matured after much reelection and exper-
ment lis chance yenton-there does not sppesra
chance thought about L: Had remote people OF the
East possessed it, the inventor would have been
toned among those to whom the simple machines, OF
mechanical powers, sseribed Beautiful and Ell.
Gent without the central stick tho; added another
Characteristic feature and onethst renders still more
efhcscious Cannot some ofthe cunning men Of Con
nectcut turn this Bssket-prcss to ACCOUNT