The Monjula

During all the limo that Brazil r&mained a depcndcncy of Portugal, the "fathcrland" introduccd butone laborsaving machine into the empire. No race of peoplc on the globe could better any meclianical contrivanee devised for tho saving of physical exertion. The Brnzilians are, constitutionally and religionsly, opposed to everythirig having the least nppearanco of labor. If they could live their time in entire, uninterrupted idloness, and pay thcir undivided attenüon to the proper consumption of villainoua cigarettes, unalloyod happincss and contentment would be theirs. Tho pcople must have possessed tho samo trait of character while under the rcign of tho ürst Dom Pedro, yet tho Portuguese werc so negligent of the weal of their South American foster childrcn, and so disregarded the demands of the race which desired labor savers and waa so saving of labor thoy couldn't mako tho labor savers, that but one idea was exported into the empire. From tho oarliest days of tho country the pcoplo had ground their mandioca flour by pounding the roots in a rude mortar. This requires considerable physical exertion, even for a slave, and the'introdueiion of a cheap Rubstitute was probabiy hailed with delight. Tho monju'.a is !ho name of the contrivance designed to do this work and to-day you will sec numbers of the things over tho empire, doing their work with an appearanee of lazincss very much in keeping witli tho natives. Shall I describe this great labor saver? Here it is: A beam twenty or thirty feet long is balanced horizontally on an upright post which may be of any hoijfht from six to ten feet. One end of this beam terminates in a sort of a hammer or pestlo, which is in juxtaposition with a rudo woodcn mortar sol upon the ground. At the opposite end of the bea'm is a shallow wooden box that is filled with water directed into it by a series of water-works, ditches and troughs. Tho water pou:s into tho box until it is fil.ed when it ovcrbalances tho pcstlc end and f:ill=. This movcment empties the ju n c. ii.e beam returns to it-s posilion and drops into the mortar, dealing a heavy blow to the mandioca roots piaccd there to bo pulverized. Tho box lilis again and by this alternato fillin and emptying and consequent lifting r.nd dropping ol the wooden trip-hammer tho mandioca is finally ground with no more nianv.a] exertion than is needed to place tho raw material into the mortar and take the finished ilour thcrefrom aftcr the monjula has done its work. In this way this intricato piece of machinery thurops avvay, killing time and crushing mandioca. The patent on this machino has probabiy expired so yau nood have no fear of prosecution for infrino'cnaent if you should chooso to