Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-11-24
FARM AND GARDEN.
A sTUPENDOUs Project OF COM
W0D0RE MAURY. -


Memphis, to gige our readers some idea
the immensity Of the work he proposes, i
order to obtain reliable report of the crop
grown throughout the world. The yer
conception of such plan shows the practi
cal nature of the man, and the deliberate
ness and soundness of his judgment, as we
as the comprehensiveness of his intellect
Thai the thing is practicable no man cal
doubt, and of its value to the ag1iculturist
of the land there can be no question. Il,
proposes, with the aid of the various Cover
ments Of the world, and the use of all thu
facilities now established for intercom
munication, such as telegaphs and steam
vessels, to establish vast system O
weather and crop observations and reports
which shall keep the farmers all over the
world well informed as to the prospects Of
the growing crops, and also as to what
prices they may expect on the ingathefing
of their crops. We are glad to see the
New York papers showing an interest inthe
matter. The smallest farmer, says the New
York World, in speaking of this vast pro-
ject, on the bleak hills of New England i:
engaged in competition with all the world
in growing his small crop of wheat or corn
and yet be hardly knows what is going on
beyond the small circle of his own horizon
nor is any one wise enough to tell him I'M
til his crops are sold and the final reports are
made up on the years labor. The
value of wheat at Chicago or cot
ton at New Orleans depends as well on the
Q uantity of those staples grown in the
regions of the Baltic and Black seas or on
the plains of Hindostan as on that which is
gathered in from the prairies and the sa-
vannas, and yet the growers have to let
them go at whatever price the buyers may
fix, based on crude estimates or false reports
of the coming supply. There is no certain
ty regarding the quantity of the fruits of
the earth which are ripening for the
gamers of mankind. A blight may fall
on the crops of Southern Russia, and
nothing is known of it in the Mississippi
Valley. The cotton crop of India may
be failure, and yet the growth of Alabama
goes into the market on the supposition
that there will be millions of bales from
over the Eastern seas seeking purchasers in
the same emporiums. Hence prices are low
when the grower harvests the results Of his
labor and high before his products reach the
consumer, and the middlemen and specula-
tors sweep in an enormous share Of the
profits. 1t will be easily seen how vast is
the loss to the producing class, springing out
of their ignorance of what the earth is
bringing forth, and how utterly powerless
they are to help themselves with no means
or appliances for obtaining the knowledge
which they need.
The scheme of Prof. Maury proposes to
supply this great deficiency. He believes
that man has already in his hands powers
and agencies which will enable the grain
grower of the West and the cotton-planter
of the South to know, as the season pro-
crosses, the probable supply of the staple in
which he is interested in all quarters of the
globe, and when the times of harvest come
in the different chimes to be informed with
approximate precision Of the actual quanti-
ties sent into the market. The benefits
of the scheme are apparent; its practi-
cability is no more doubtful than
that of many other great under
takings which have been carried through
to success, seemed to be when they were first
projected. The experiment Of making wealth
er observations which is already in progress
gives earnest of the great things that may
be done. 1t is only necessary to enlarge the
scale upon which the present work is done
to proportions fitting the magnificent plan
of Professor Malry. Observers and re-
porters would be employed in different dis
tricts, in all countries the telegraph
and postal systems would be utilized
to convey information to commercial
centres and redistribute it, international
arrangements would be necessary for the
exchange of reports, and a vast but subtle
and silent machinery set to work all the
world over, gathering and disseminating
knowledge on important variations Of the
weather and the condition of the growing
Or the garnered crops. The scheme is as
benefcent as it is vast, and is worthy of the
age that tunnels mountain ranges, spans
continents with iron roads, and lays tele-
graph lines through the depths Of the sea.