Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1876-05-11
THE HUMAN HAND.

amused % curious and wonderful ey.
hibition of skin and ingenuity, adap-
ting It to its position upon the body,
and enabling It to supply the wants Of
the body. We propose to leave all
such things to philosophy, where il pro-
perly belongs, and examine the human
hand merely 40 IN implement for gen.
Grating, or using, Or transmitting pow.
er.
Look at the hand a. On implement
for grasping objects Of all sizes. The
most difficult, a we'll - the most use.
full tool used in mechanism, 10 the pin
GERS, tool to pick up and grasp and
held work while in process Of construc-
tion. They are of al sizes and shapes,
each fitted to do it, own particular piece
of work. But the thumb and either
one, or all Of the four fingers are so ar
ranged opposite to each other a to form
q pair Of pincers for picking up and
holding greater number Of articles Of
different sizes than any dozen pairs Of
pincers ever made. Attempt to pick
up needle from any plane surface with
any pincers, even the most delicately
made, and the thumb and fore6nger Of
. child will do it far better. From the
minutsst to the greatest object capable
of being grasped, the human hand will
grasp ! greater number, will hold to
them with greater tenacity, will adapt
itself to them with more fexibility, and
will manipulate them with greater dex.
terity than any half-score Of the best
implements ever made to do the same
work.
Look ut the human hand 40 Q lifting
machine. Taken together with the arm
and its muscular attachments, if the
arm be extended horizontally, and q
lO-pouud weight laid upon the palm Of
the hand, the muscular power needed
to support it is equal to the support of
several hundred pounds, if applied to
it with the least mechanical disadvan.
tage.
Take the hand and arms as q push
ing and pulling machine. Nearly all
machine movements are resolvable into
two-the "push" and "pull" movement.
In how many thousand ways, at every
conceivable angle, in all directions. up,
down and horizontal, does this little
machiue do its work, and do it rapidly
and perfectly. To simply enumerate
them would be to give catalogue Of
human industries from the beginning
of time to the present hour. As IN ex-
ample Of the vast amount of work which
il is capable Of doing in q given time,
take the familiar example Of an erdina-
~ laborer shoveling sand into cart
If the sand be mellow and free from inn.
pediments il would not be difficult to
throw ten shoveis full, of Ave pounds
each, each minute through ten hours.
A. the left hand must give ~ much re-
sistance at the handle - there 10 weight
upon the blade, and the right hand must
sustain the weight Of both, the right
hand lifts and carries through net less
than six feet about sixty thousand
Pcunas o. thirty tons, -whieh- ID. more
than equal to raising two hundred tons
QUE foot perpendicular BY The anaided
hand for one day's wosk. n IN imple-
ment Of simple power, the hand 10 worth
the study which Ne ask for il.
Take the hand - . self.lubricating
machine. Friction u the great draw.
back on machinery. How TO get rid Of
it, q reduce it 10 q minimum, has been
the study Of ages. Toproduce some 9TH
er substance between surfaces brought
into contact 10 considered the best meth.
Cd, aud oil 10 the best substance yet dis
covered for that purpose. But, 20 eve
" Joint In the human hand is attached q
separate arrangement for supplying thia
0ecessary lubrioasion, and day aud night
through half . century the httle cup Of
oil never runs dry, and NOT . joint fails
for want Of ie The famous "Widow's
Crust" which kept the Prophet alive,
in good old Bible times. il nothing to
this. When this begins 10 fail. - it
does in old age. il is The sign that the
machine has finished its work and 10
ready for il long rest
But, once more. look at the almost
in6nite variety and perfection Of the
work done By the human hand. ALI
other machines do but one thing
seving-uaeAins doss nothing but sew;
il does not knit, Or spin. or weave; .
printing peess enly psiatS b does not
feld, Or bind the paPsrs Or. books; .
plough does not plant, orreap. or thresh
out or transport the grain. And the
same is true Of every other machine.
except one. They never do but one
thing unless two distiuct machines ara
Joined for double purpose. and then
they are really two machines. But the
human hand does many things. aud
does sll equally well. II cuts, Il ban.