of paper should be covered
per day. But the real higher type of work cannot be measured in
this way. It requires the forethought, the close application, the
keen interest, and the comfortable idea building.

Designing by the square foot is, however, a good preparation, and
many a good brain has been developed by such work.

The importance of designing a machine to meet all the conditions
necessary to success from a mechanical and business standpoint is
fully recognized by every one. But the grouping of the ideas in
the mind while working out the various phases must not be hampered
by the bewildering picture of all of these problems, each
demanding consideration at every move. The phase in hand must have
the concentrated attention, and the best conditions for its
solution.

The harmonizing is an after-process which must be worked out by a
series of compromises after the various component elements have
been almost independently considered.

Problems to Consider.

In taking up the problems of design of a machine, there will be
found an almost endless number of elements to consider. The
strictly mechanical problem of the best machine for the purpose
never stands alone.

What is the measure of the best machine? How much can be spent on
its design and construction? How much work is to be done? An
endless variety of questions at once crowd into the mind for
answer.

It is doubtful if all the elements could ever be tabulated in any
form that would be a positive guide in shaping the final result,
but in a general way the designer should make a fairly good guess
at the kind of standard toward which he should work.

There are, doubtless, men capable of carefully weighing the almost
infinite number of variants, but such men usually lack the
intuitive scheme of work, on which the inventive side of a
designer depends.

For the ordinary mortal the best process of working is to keep a
vague picture of the whole requirement in mind while concentrating
on some one phase.

When the inventive qualities are to be called into use, the
economic side, the business side, the manufacturing, the selling,
the personal profit in cash or glory, all these must be absolutely
crowded out of the center of the mental picture. Even fleeting
thoughts of other elements seem to prevent the inventive
functioning of the mind.

In like manner the problems of manufacturing, selling, patents,
business organization, must each be given a separ