The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1878-09-06
PARIS LETTER.

Paris, Aug Goth 1S7S,-There is no rea-
son why our own success, or excellence, in
the manufacture of agricultural machinery
should blind us to the splendid achieve
ments of other countries il, this department;
and after a few hours study Of the English
annex one cannot help being impressed by
the great progress made by the mother
country in the invention and perfection of
ponderous agricultural machines. The ap-
plication of steam to agriculture is Of COM
paratively recent introduction, and, indeed,
may be said to date from scarcely 30yeags
ago; but the idea is old, and many clear
sighted men seem to have foreseen its final
adoption. The reasons of the tardy appli-
cation of steam to a branch Of industry in
which it has proved so effective, and, in fact
the relatively recent leap, so to speak, which
all agricultural machinery made, about the
time steam blowing came into fashion, is
probably to be sought not so much III the
character of the machinery itself as in t
change of the social constitution of the
countries in which a demand for high class
machinery has arisen, When labor is
cheap and the cultivation Of the soil is what
writers call "intenSive" rather than "eXtcn-
sivc," the outlay Of capital for new inycn-
tons is our of the question owing to the
low price Of grain. But in the last few
years there have been, so TO speak, great
revolutions in the labor Of certain parts OF
Europe In Southern Russia, for instance
| the demand for agricultural machinery has
arisen chiefly from the emancipation of the
serfs, Il revolution which has resulted in q
state of things similar, it seems, to that OF
Ireland. The peasant is satisfied to live on
the little property that has fallen to his
share, and has left the great proprictors IN
the difficult position of having much land
and great demand for its products, but NJ
laborers. In Hungary there is also de-
mand for steam driven plows. In France
and parts of Germany the soil is so divdec
UP into minute farms that want of capita
prevents the purchase of expensive nipple
ments by individual holders England not
outstanding the fact that she has an adj
vanced system of working the land, is no
an agricultural country, and is becoming
every year less of grain growing one; bu
her implements have done much to rcvolu
tionizc the methods in other countries, ano
ut this exhibition they take in some re
spects the first position. II seems ms il
England, having satisfied her own wants
has turned her inventive faculty chiefly t
those of the foreigner. Nearly every cyhib
itor in the British Agricultural annex has
this or that apparatus adapted to the spccla
requirements of one country or another, anC
a visit to this annex, with the aid at differ
cnt stands of the representatives OF tn
firms exhibiting, is, need scarcely add
very interesting. Some of these gentlemen
have spent years in the countries for whicl
their several machines are made, and thei
explanations are, in many cases, ircs'
page in the history of husbandry, This
indeed feature of the department in qucs
ton, and added to the uniform courtes,
with when every inquiry is at once rcp'ic'
to by all from the chief to the porter, mucl
contrasts with the state of things in TIN
French branch, where II is rare to find TIN
person in charge of the machine, and who
when hc is found, is in filter state to re
ceive information than to impart It, Tn