The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-09-30
CHINESE FARMERS
PRIMITIVE TOOLS
oELEsT1ALs DO GOOD WORK
WITH QUEER IMPLEMENTS.
Water Raisers and Bucksaws Among
the Things Unlike Anything in
America -Queer Hardware Of q Chi
snese Gentleman Of the Old School.
Toronto World.

John Chinaman is poor farmer, be-
cause he is 100 years behind the times
in the appliances he uses to till the
soil. For instance, IN the collection of
the Peabody museum in Salem, Mass.
a Chinese pillow has q single handle,
and an iron shoe, but it contains wood
enough to build a. house, and the wood
is put together in such an awkward
puzzling manner that one opens his
eyes in wonder at it, especially long
curved arm that sticks out ahead Of
the shoe like an inverted bowsprit.
A rake with four iron prongs, and a
hoe, look like reasonable implements,
as does barrow, but water raiser is
a device that one would expect to meet
only in clumsy, slow moving China.
The water raiser looks something like
the endless belts used as conveyors in
many American factories. But it is
built entirely Sayy.G Of Teoa It's Snts sts
revolve, as it scoops up water, but a
small American boy, with a small
American pump, would drown that Chi
nese water raiser in about three min
utes.
Characteristic Chinese Implement.
A bucksaw is characteristic Chinese
! implement. It's teeth are set back
wards exactly opposite to the American
ways, it's frame is Of hardwood, but it
is stiffened up with twisted bamboo,
just as an old-time New England saw
4 used to be frightened up with twisted
hemp. A Chinese plane consists Of a
has been forced and is held fixed in
its place. Chinese rules and. squares
look like common sense tools, except
that they are marked with the queer
/ Mongolian hieroglyphics. A Chinese
Ratchet has a square head and altho
. it is fully ~ inches thick in its thick
est part, yet it is ground down to such
have little trouble to split the morning
kindling with it. And a New York
1 mason would have no trouble using a
Chinese trowel, except that he might
not find the union label beneath the
mortar that still sticks to the iron
!. One part Of the Chinese exhibit il
4 der is that containing the Chinese bar
i Der tools. A Chinese tonsorial artis
would skin an American mile for fact
not slang, or at least it looks as if thai
would happen if he got the unfortunat,
tMelican man into the chair. A typ
ical Chinese razor has a blade abou
two inches long and third Of an incl
thick at IT'S heel. This blade is joined
: to handle as thick as fat lead pen
ell. Possibly it's edge was once keen
| DuC the Dldu0 WAS ucVoT @COuCdV0u, dut
it now looks as if it would do a fai
Job for schoolboy. Other razors ar
much like it.
Not as Clumsy as Their Tools.
However, it must not be presume,
that the Chinese are clumsy becaus
1 their tools look SEQ. They can out
: carve any nation. Some beautiful speci
= mems Of ivory carving from China
boats, temples; flowers and other al
ticles-are contained in this museum
and, in particular is an ivory spher
: about six inches in diameter, contain
ing twelve and twenty movable sphere!
each one of the twelve and the twent
being inside the other, and each bein
Y carved with delicate tracings. How i
8 the world it was ever done is a Oh
nese puzzle; also a testimonial to Oh
n nese skill and patience.
f The ways Of the Chinese are peculia
T according to Bret Harte, but the d.
mand of the Chinese is for imoder
goods in the hardware and other line
according to George e. Anderson
IS United States consul at Hankow, Chin
e and other authorities. China is cree
It tied with originating the mariner
compass, printing, gunpowder, poke
: and many other devices, good and ba
e but despite her early start in civiliz
J. ton, her people are today sadly lac]
ing many Of the necessities Of an Vi