San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1882-02-02
Who Invented the Flour Barr.,,

Few inventions, says the I,um,.
mems Gdkstte, have had wids.
more varied usefulness than the hs,.1%,
few give such promise of perpetr;,a
Unique in principle, simple vet SIM
larly perfect in plan and structure a.
barrel is little less than a stroke 'r :,
genius. Who set up the first o0ss
Who first conceived the happy thonoI.
of making vessel tight and strong on.
of strips of wood bound together will is
hoops? And when did he live? A
No history of inventions, none =,
the encyclopedias in great libraries No
historian of human progress, SO far a.
we know, gives any information on tbs
subject, unless we except the Roman
author Pliny, who mistak emily attributss
the invention to the Gauls who inboh.
tied the banks of the Pc. We ssy
mistakenly, since there is the best ~
good reasons for BELIEVING that the barrel
was in use long before the Gauls tool
possession of their italian home, per.
haps long before the Gauls existed as
people.
The monuments of Egypt furnish
proof of the early use of hoped YES.
sells, though no date in given of their
invention. In one of the inscriptions
copied by Wilkinson may be seen two
slaves emtying grain from wooden
vessel made with hoops, while scribe
keeps tally, and sweeper stands by
with broom to sweep up the scattered
kernels. Close by an unfortunate il
undergoing punishment by bastinado,
for short measures perhaps, or as Mr.,
Wilkinson suggests, for petty theft.
The measure is barrel shaped and pre-.
cisely like that in use in modern Egypt.
1t would hold, apparently, abouta peck.
Unfortunately the age of this inscrip-
ton is not indicated. Measures of the
sort would seem to have been in CON-
mon use very early in Egypt, though
not for the storing of liquids, for which
purpose skins and earthen vessels were
employed.
At first thought, Egypt would be the
last place to look for the invention Of
hoped vessels, its arid climate making
it especially unsuited for their employ.
ment. Possibly, however, that may
have been the compelling cause for
their invention. Throughout the east
the bamboo is largely used for making
hollow vessels, section of the stem
through a node securing a solid bot.
tom, and one between the nodes and
open mouth for natural tub or bucket
In we'll wooded regions, nothing would
be more natural than the employment
of hollow tree trunks for the same
purpose, or sections of tree stumps,
followed out by fire or otherwise. In
drying, such vessels would split and
spoil, and it would require no great
natural genius to repair them by means
of withes or wooden bands, the print
tive form of the hoop. ,a -
If the users of ouch natural barrels
should migrate to region where tim
Der was scarce, economy OF lumber
would be likely to suggest the building
of barrels from pieces artifcially split,
IN sholt, the use of slaves, by means OF
which the PRIMITIVE cooper would DO
able to make several barrels out OF q
block that would suffice but for single
dug-out.
But this is speculation merely. II
is enough to know for certain that the
cooper's art, like the potter's, is one OF
extreme antiquity. We had no suspi'
cion of its venerableness when we De-
gan to trace it's history in response TO
the inquiry-who made the first barrel!