Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1880-11-20
FARMING AND TRANSPORTATION.

rived SO many or so great advantage
from recent Improvements i'll trans
porfation as farmers. Most of the
articles they produce are bulky and
many of them are Of comparatively
small value. A q consequence, they
can net be carried long distances over
ordinary dirt roads i'll wagons drawn
by animals. The case ia very differ
ent with small manufactured articles
or with the products Of the mines OF
the more valuable metals. Watches.
the various kinds of jewslry, laces,
furs, light cloth of all descriptions.
silks, stationery, gold, silver plati-
NUN, precious stones, aud a thousand
other small but valuable articles may
be carried very long distances, over
territory destitute of reads, on the
backs of horses, mules or camel' for
very small percentage OF their value
at the market where they are dis
posed of. 1t matters comparatively
little to the manufacturer of camePs-
hair shawls whether he makes his
goods OH the line of a railway, Oh the
banks Of a navigable river, a n
seaport, OF in some valley surround
cd by mountains and shut nj from
the rest of the world by a tiackless
desert, siuce one camel cal transport
the articles that required the labor o!
q thousand persons during = year to
produce. One horse can carry the
laces that represent the labor OF n
person for q thousand years. Que
donkey can bring to r o JaneirO all
the diamonds dug by u thousand men
in the interior Of Brazil during an
entire season. One mau can carry in
his pockets all the emeraids and rubies
annually taken from the ground i'll
any country.
During many centuries Switzer-
land prospered by supplying other
countries with her products, though
the country was situated remote from
the sea. and was destitute OF river
communication. 1t manufactured
small. light articles Of great value.
that cenld be conveyed long distances
on pack-horses or i'll wagons for 3
very small proportion of their Cost
at the cities i'll eastern aud southern
Europe where they were disposed OF.
Many Of the people engaged in the
manufacture OF watches, jewelry.
ribbons aud laces because they would
pay the the cost of transportation
very long distances. They could not.
however, compete with the people OF
France, Belgium and Great Britain
in the manufacture of heavy and bulky
articles made of wood and iron. Thu
manufacture of shawls and light
cloths was also successfully carried
on In Persia, northern India ana
Asiatic Turkey, though it was neces-
sary to transport them to CONSTANT
nople by means Of of horses
aud camels, guarded by soldiers. Ex-
pensive gums, resins and medicina!
plants were also gathered i'll Arabia
aud carried with profit 10 ports on
the Red sea and the Persian gulf. The
cost of carriage was great, but they
sold for q high price.
Many agricultural products were
disposed Of at q large peculiarly adj
vantage in portions OF the world that
were quite remote from the sea or
any navigable river Among. these
we're dates, raisins, olive oil, cream
OF tartar, silks, hides and wool. None
Of these rank as perishabIe articles.
A ton Of either of them represents q
large snm of money. AT the present
time, woolis=a profitable crop when
produced III the interior of Australia,
South Africa or the Argentine re-
public in South America. 1t is use
less, however, to attempt the produc-
ton of corn or any forage crop i'll
any OF the countries with a view OF
disposfng Of them in any of the great
at tie nearest shipping point would
not pay for bringing them 20 it by
tho present means of transportation.
EAs-nA ~
Themselves with the production Of
such crops ~ will bear long and cost
~ transportation by very primitive
modes. There the sell and climate
admit Of raising q great variety OF
products, but if they are not wanted
for home consumption it ID useless to
produce them, as their value would
be exhausted in moving them a com
p%arativsly few miles from the place
where they were grown.
In thu early history Of this country
land Was> valuable Ter commercial
farming according to its nearness to
the seacoast or t o some navigable
river.EOn these all the commercial
cities were situated, as from the state
Of transportation at that time, they
were the only points at which large
commercial enterprises could be car
ried on. Hence land along the banks
Of the Kennebec, Hudson, Potomac
aud James rivers became valuable for
commercial farming. Iu most parts
OF the country only domestic farming
could be profitable carried on one
hundred miles from q place where
boats of some kind could land and
take away the products Of the soil.
Enormous crops could be produced
in the valley OF the Geuuessee river,
butt did not pay to haul them tt
the Hudson in farm wagons drawn
ever bad Roads by horses and oxen.
The farmer who raised corn III the
valley Of the Shenandoah did not re-
ceive enough for it to pay him fol
hauling it to Chesapeake Bay. Pota'
Dos raised in central PennsyIvanis
rotted in the ground, though the!
were scarce and high in Phil ,delphla
Apples were not gathered i'll Iaany
parts of Massachusetts, though they
were in active demand in Boston.
In all places semewhatreinote from
water communication only domestic
farming could be carried on with all,
considerable degree OF profit. Thu
domestic farmers who, from the ia
tnre Of things, could sell very little
studied to see how few thing obtain
ed for money or barter they coult
got along with. AS a rule they rIiset
everything for the supply OF theiI
tables except tea, coffee, pepper anC
spices. Indeed, some produced sub
stitues for the last two articles. Bee
or maple trees supplied the household
with sweets. Vinegar was of domes
tic manufacture. The material TO
cloth was obtained from The flock Q
sheep or from the flax grown i'll til,
field. The cloth for clothing the lam
lily was manufactured at home. Tn,
only outlay was for materials Tor col
sring it.
In many parts Of the country farm
ers carefully studied what crops the,
could raise for sale to the best adj
vantage. All arrived at the conclus
ion that it was better to produc
those articles whose value at the near
est market was large as compares
with their bulk or weight. They &C
, cordingly raised those crops that bea
transportation well. In the southern
states cotton was the leading farm
product. In the states further mort
lhe production Of wool was the lead