The works of Horace : with English notes, critical and ... - Cristo Raul

684 EXCURSUS in.
—
preparation of the Mtrsr^
plo oo^Btenction, consisting of little more than an upriglit frame, in wbicb
was fixed a long beam, or lever ^elum)j commoiiy loaded with stonea
to give it greater weight, and having thonga and ropes attached to the
handle, by which it could be more easily worked^' Another simple mode*
of pressiBg the grapes, if we may coni^de in the authority of an ancient
painting, was by placing them in a trough, fixed in the bottom of an upright
square frame, in which were three cross-beams moving in grooves,
and having a row of conical wedges between each beam, which could be
driven in by mallets.^ When the mechanical powers became better understood,^
the screw and windlass were introduced, by which means a
more steady and vigorous pressure was supplied ; and subsequent inven