Page:On the economy of machinery and manufactures - Babbage - 1846.djvu/276

242

(298.) are many inquiries which ought always to be made previous to the commencement of the manufacture of any new article. These chiefly relate to the expense of tools, machinery, raw materials, and all the outgoings necessary for its production,to the extent of demand which is likely to arise,to the time in which the circulating capital will be replaced,and to the quickness or slowness with which the new article will supersede those already in use.

(299.) The expense of tools and of new machines will be more difficult to ascertain, in proportion as they differ from those already employed; but the variety in constant use in our various manufactories, is such, that few inventions now occur in which considerable resemblance may not be traced to others already constructed. The cost of the raw material is usually less difficult to determine; but cases occasionally arise in which it becomes important to examine whether the supply, at the given price, can be depended upon: for, in the case of a small consumption, the additional demand arising from a factory may produce a considerable temporary rise, though it may ultimately reduce the price.