Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-04-17


epce. We will notice brisny facts accom-
plished on four continents. There lies
before us late copy of the Rocky Noun
tain Leader, from which we learn that the
Evans Colony" has nearly completed an
irrigating canal long enough to water pro-
perry one hundred thousand acres of very
fertile land in Colorado. This is new
colony, whicl has an enterprising clergy
man for its President, the Rev. A. C. Todd.
This pastor who is scientific farmer, is
putting in one thousand acres of spring
wheat at this time, to be irrigated by water
brought many miles in a rive,
made wholly by human labor. Nor
is that small river which carries water
enough to irrigate sufficiently one hundred
thousand acres of cultivated groand to pro-
dnce crops with no rain. Deprive any one
thousand acre farm In Tennessee of rain
seven or eight months in spring, summer
and autumn, and render irrigation from
distant mountain Indispensable, and the
property would be regarded as valueless.
but decade will not elapse before at least
one half of all the wheat raised in the Uni
tod States, win grow on land watered Who'll
l., or mainly, by the man who cultivates
the soil. One irrigating canal which is to
be nine hundred miles in length, has forty
five miles of the distance completed. 1t is
a lleao enterprise. Al ~
Let US go from the Rocky Mountains, on
this continent, to Scotland, land of gran
lite mountains and of brave, industrious
men. Its Highland and Agricultural Soci-
ETY. is over 100 years old; but We notice
only facts developed at a recent meeting.
In 1856 Mr.. John Fowler, of Essex county,
England, started the first steam plow; now
one firm employs no less than 1900 hands,
aud vast amaunt of machinery in the ex-
elusive manufacture of steam plows, COM
plete for service. These tillage machines
are generally purchased by companies, and
work for hire, at stipulated price per acre.
The contract also fixes the depth to
which the ground shall be per-
fecily comminuted or cultivated. One
enterprising farmer had five thousand acres
broken up and made fine three feet deep
TO give the small and deep roots of his
crops a chance to do their very best in the
way of development. This tract had been
regarded as worthless by any system Of
horse blowing and c,od-crushing. 1t was
an agricultural experiment on pretty large
scale. The result was "luxurient and as
tonishing crops" The results in Scotland
do not differ from those in England. A
tract of 500 acres near London so unpro-
ductiye that it could not be rented for So
an acre, was bought by an enterprising far
mer, who removed the fences, underdrain-
ed, and with tie steam plow, put the whole
in grain crops. Last year, after
allowing 10 per cent on money
invested in land aud improvements,
there remained a clear profit, over all ex-
penses, of eighteen thousand dollars.
In Germany steam tillage is working
revolutionin agriculture. An instructive vol.
ume might be written describing the agri-
cultural thought and practice Of Europe in
1878; but that is not our task. So we will
take the reader a short trip southwark
across the Mediterranean sea into Africa,
and land him in Egypt, where Joseph laid
up grain enough in seven years of great
plenty 10 meet the wants of unknown mil
lions during seven years of scarcity and fam
inc. II will be remembered hat Joseph
took all the land from the people and gave
it to The government-3 right to the
soil which the Pasha still holds.
The head of the government, although not
a Joseph, is really doing wonders, which
Joseph, if living, would find it difficult to
comprehend. Long before Abraham or any
of his race visited Egypt, farmers drove
their hogs over wheat sown in the mud of
the Nile, after an overflow, 10 tread in the
seed and prevent the hot sun killing the
young and tender plants, sprouting on the
surfaces of the ground. Flows aud harrows
were then unknown. To-day the Pasha
as between 400 and 500 huge steam plows
at work cultivating some of the richest bot
oms in the world. He is laying down 40
miles of narrow gauge railway on bis arabic
lauds,mainlyto transport cane to sugar mills.
It is interesting to see that where human
muscle is worth next to nothing, steam
lifts water out of the Nile for irrigation,
cultivates the soil, carries millions of tons
of sugar cane to the mills fer grinding it,
and performs thousand other useful SER
vices on well managed plantation. Ex-
tremes have met ard kissed faces in the
valley of the Nile, from time immemorial.
Just now the world is interested in The do
ings Of DR.. Livingstone at the sources of
the wonderful Nile, and of the Pasha near
its mouth. Africa is truly great CONT
nent, and is capable of supporting at least
five times the number Of people now on the
globe.
Land surveying and regular farming with
titles TO estates were probably first born in
Africa. We once thought agriculture in
the valleys of the Euphrates and other Ash
attic rivers was developed in a measure be-
fore any farming was done on the banks of
the Nile. But passing by the builders Of
Tbebes and of Babylon, let US notice what
the British are doing for their nearly 200,-
100000 subjects in East India. They have
introduced steam pIowing, and are con-
structing more miles Of railway (narrow
gsuge) than can be found in all Asia outside
Of their dominions. What English gold,
science and enterprise will achieve with In
dia soil, climate and labor, we shall
know in the near future. In
Australia beef and Eic9 are manufactured
very cheaply, and are so put on ships in
that warm climate that cargo of fresh
beef has arrived in good order in New
Orleans from the other side of the earth.
This fact is very suggestive to the intelli-
gent farmer. 1t shows possible combina-
tons in marketing provisions which are
likely to result in great industrial revolu-