Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 1, 1802).djvu/114

po] APP Gathering. — This fruit should be gathered with the hand, and • illy placed in baskets » reject- ing those which spontaneously fall, as unfit for long keeping. Moving the apples, in order to examine them whether sound, is likewise injurious to the ir preservation. APPLICATION, in a general sense, signifies the art of bringing ether, in order to disco- ver their mutual a jreement or n la- tion to each other. It is also fami- liarly used to express the study or consideration of ahy subject, and includes the idea of assiduity and persevering attention. In the ;. f Human Life, we meet with the following short sentence, in ptaise of application : " Since the days that are past, are gone for ever, and those that are to come, may never appear, it be- hoveth thee, oh ! man, to employ the present time without vainly re- gretting the loss of that which is past, or too much depending on that which is to come. This in- stant is thing; the next is in die womb of futurity ; and thou know- ot what it may bring forth." APPRENTICESHIP, is th bind- ing of a person by covenant, to serve his master for a limitted pe- . on condition of being instruct- ed in his trade, or occupation. Its usual duration is for the term of seven years, after which the ap- prentice himself is entitled to be- come a teacher, and to engage pu- pils to serve under him. The statute concerning appren- tices was first ena&ed by Queen Elizabeth, but its i was limitted to market towns ; as in country villages a person may ex- ercise several trades, though he may not have undergone a seven years" servitude. APP In Scotland, there is no general law to regulate their duration. The period varies, accordin -to the estab- lish^ I custom in different towns, and may frequendy be shortened, by paying a small fine, which in many places is also sufficient to purchase die freedom of any cor- poration. In Prance, the duration of ap- prenticeship is different in various trades. Five years was the time ge- nerally required in Paris ; hut, be- fore a person can be qualified to .become a master, he was in many instances obliged to serve five years more as a journeyman, and during this term hewas called a companion. Apprenticeships were unknown to the ancients. The Roman law makes no mention of them ; nor is there any Greek or Latin word which expresses the idea now an- nexed to diis appellation. Dr. Adam Smith considers long apprenticeships as altogether unne- cessary; because those arts which are superior to common trades, such as clock and watch-making, are not involved in so much mys- tery as to require a long course of instruction. Their first invention must, doubtless, have been die re- sult of deep reflection and close ap- plication ; but, since their princi- ples are well understood, the les- sons of a few weeks, perhaps, even of a few days, might be sufficient for the purpose of complete ex- planation. Manual dexterity, it is true, cannot, even in common trades, be acquired Without much practice and experience. On the other hand, a young man would be more attentive and diligent, if fron. the commencement ot a new pur- suit, he were employed as a Juli- an, and paid in proportionto the quantity of his labour. 7he Htfi$ei*i