Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1871-06-24

" - n
is changed. Mater, Wind, s'fan
supply tho neeiell power; his task
is 10 mould aud gullo that poWvl
10 bensiiUenl ends, Ia my bDyhoos
tho man Who cut sn aCro oi heavy
grass, lil therein y goul dag
I work, WhiIh iaStl his phYs'FaI
energies 10 the uluiosl ana sent hm
weary and exhausted 10 bo'l, u E s'
stift anl s0ro for tho morraw's tl
ties now, any intelligent, rlsolu's
girl 0f fifteen, gnidlRg a span ol
horses, may cut ilyo acres ri l'n'
such grass before noon, cut Il hclgl
than tho best mower ever did, ald
allsht FROM her seat On tho In0Wii Z
mathino uhlirc,l and eager for 4
pichio or frolie amer dinner
Steam saws wood into fuel for Tie
kitchen fireplace and tho Par'oi
stove; cut stalks and straw into
half,inch pieces aud then cocks them
into n pnlpy mass slices roots
ehurns cream into butter wlth0u'
supervision; aud is just harnessins
itself to tho plow, resolved TO pull
yeriso tho soil more rapidly, more
ehcaply, to u greater depth, TO Il
more equal and perfect commina'
ton, than IL has ever been possible
TO attain by the forcB OF animal
power. Maniiestly, We stand but
on the threshold of the new age,
whereof steam is ut once tho har-
binger and the impulse but enough
has been developed TO assure us that
moro and better is at hand.
Nor should wo doubt that steam
itnelf is tho iorcrunncr OF agencies
still more potent and more cheaply
eiIicacious. Mighty as have been
its achievements, they onl y serve
TO render moro obvious aud lamcn-
table its limitations. OF tho power
actually generated by tho vaporiZa'
tion of water, / cannot say how
great is the share utilized by an or
dinary steam engine, but believe
the estimates of scientists all range
below twenty per cent. Then the
enormous weight of boiler fuel aud
water, that must be transported
with every form of locomotive, alb
serbs nearly half the power not
by imperfect devices for
and applying it, Mighty
rs steam assdredly is, it is only n
blind giant, but ,tc are dcplorably
blind with regard to its economy
and adaptation.
And why should steam, even in
its best estate, bs final? lntci!i-
gencc has already spurncd its tram
mels; Thought has far outstrippcd
it in the invention and operation of
Tho Magnetic Telegraph; why
should the wondrous powers we
havo evoked in Electricity bo lin
tied to the transmission Of ideas p
Why may not it not be employed
10 impel material substances as
we'll? True, we have not learned
now to transmit the power un-
luestionably generated by Elcctri-
:ity but our average ignorance and
pcapacity, resulting in obstruction
md defeat, arc constantly over
stepped and transfgured by the
ncn of genius and of prcsciencc
whom God bGnishantly sends to
cad us from achievement to achieve
nent, from triumph to triumph.
70 be conscious of II need or q de-
icicncy, is to be far on the way
wU shall at last overcome
t. Steam, rs q productive force,
in industrial factor, is barely cen
,ury old Electricity was harnesscd
o n wire ard made Il postboy hard
y Thirty yeAts ago. | do not be-
ievo this all, nor even the best,
hat this nll-pervading, Irresistible
power is destined to do for US. |
,elicvc that plants will yet be grown
~ its hid with II CELEBRITY never yet |
lttained that heat will lie profita-
,ly produced and ditfused by its
Igcncy! and that power will be
from electric batteries of
lid or new device, which will sup
Element, if not in time supcrsedc,
II other mechanical forces, liberia
ing man almost wholly from OBJ
truction aud defeat by material OBJ
taclcs, and rendering protective
industry n matter ofapplication and
rarely or never taxing |
luman sinews to achieve n result !
which invokcs the employment of
Material force.
If | do not speak here of what,
n my section, as in Europe, is the |
'asis of all thorough culture-I re-
cr to underdraining--it is not be-
nuse | deem it inapplicable to your |
jtate, but simply that tho time
vhen it caf be expected to command |
.cheral attention here has not yet |
rrived. You do not need to warm |
our soil, lengtlien your season or
erdure, or hasten the growth and
of your crops, as we do;
nd there are but few square miles |
f your State on which a network |
f undcrdrains three feet in average /
Icpth and but three rods apart, !
would not cost moro than 1t would |
&c worth. And yet, | have no
Ioubt that many gardens, nufse- .
les, etc, in this State ought to be I
hus drained, and would be to pro-
il, if only to relieve them OF exces-
i've moisture in spring and early |
ummer, remaining stagnant inand
curing the soil. By and by, you
will begin to underdr;tin grain fields
md meadows as We do; bat that
opic can wait.
The drainage Of BoEs and marsh
.. by widening, deepening, and
frightening the channels wherein
vater now flows from them-Often
making new ones in part, if not
sholIv-prOfTers more obvious and
Instant advantages. The. lands
vaitinp 10 be thHs reclaimed are