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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY.
tions are rarely toward self-improvement or useful learning. He blindly considers it his interest to induce his customers to allow him to use the greatest amount of material possible in his work, and the greater the complication of arrangement of pipes and fixtures with the consequent mystification of his patrons,
Fig. 1.—Showing the Actual Arrangement of the Waste-Pipes and Vents about a Group of Plumbing Fixtures in a House in New York City. There are sixty-three joints.
the more absolute becomes his power, with largely increased possibilities of extra charges.
Compare the plumber and his "helpers" with the young mechanics in almost any good machine-shop, and decide which occupation engages young men of greater intelligence and skill in manual work. Obstinately following tradition, our plumbers
