Genre:

Essay, Drollery, Serial

Subjects:

Music, Invention, Medical Practitioners, Travel, Exploration, Ornithology, Discovery

    A series of disjointed stories of invention, most of which play on the similarity of the name of the invention and that of the alleged inventor. Claiming that John Blow invented the hand-bellows, describes how Blow presented his instrument to various dignitaries. It proved so popular that its manufacturer in 'Air Street' was 'overwhelmed with orders from all parts of he kingdom and the Channel Islands'. Similarly, describes how 'Dr. Farmer, one of the original writers of the Pharmacopoeia', explained his construction of 'a new and improved Sowing-Machine'. Notes the discovery by Christopher Columbus of 'canaries at sunrise on the morrow of St. Martin, in the lovely islands in the Platonic Ocean which derive their name from these favourite little warblers', and concludes by discussing various theories concerning the invention of horseshoes.