Rocky Mountain husbandman. [volume] (Diamond City, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1880-10-14

now what do we see? The use of the most
effective agricultural machinery and the
mechanical facilities for transporting these,
now SO cheaper products, that the whole So
cial fabric Of the oldest civilized nation of
the world is threatened with revolution and
reconstruction and it is the reaper. the
self-binder. the steam threshing machine,
the locomotive, the steal rail and the steam
ship that have, in their combined effect,
brought dismay and dread to every man in
Europe who lives on the fruits of the labors
Of his fellow men, the land owners who live
on rents. The .landorl'is not now the
who commands an army Of farmers, with
briga'lcs ofplows, reapers, and other ma
chnery upon the plains Of Western Ameri-
ca. He makes laws for countries thousands
OF Mles away, and his products rule the
worlds market. The genius of agriculture
to-day is the mechanic the soul of agricul-
ture Is the inventor.
One farmer can now, with the help OF ma
chinery, feed a hundred men with greater
ease than at one time he could feed himself
for stocks rise and fall with the good and
indifferent reports Of what the harvest shall
be. He supports lines OF steamers with his
wonderful freights of brcadstuff>, provisions
meats, cattle, and sheep. He maintains the
millions Of artisans who clOthe and shelter
him and who provide for every one of his
wants outside the field
The mechanical power Of the age is like q
series of concentric and eXcentric circles, OF
which the farmer stands out in the princi-
pal centre. These all revolve with about
agriculture. and the same force sets all in
motion. 1t is the farmers duty now to
make the most of his opportunities. He
SHOULD be the foremost man OF the age. His
influence should be felt everywhere. 1t is
felt everywhere, for the wealthiest mer-
chants and capitalists and the most active
politicians all ask themselves how far the
farmers can be depended upon, before they
make q movement in their special pursuits.
But the farmer should feel this himself. 1t
is one thing to have power and another
thing to be cognizant of the possession. Let
the farmers consider now their position,
and as they take view Off let them con-
slider what they owe to the power and in
huence OF machinery.
In conclusion, one most CONSPICUOUS ex-
ample Of the results pointed out may be
noted. A few years ago Minnesota spring
wheat was graded very low in grain mar
kets and brought a low price. Unfortunate
ly for the Western farmers this grade of
spring wheat was the only one they could
produce. "A ''new process in milling was
introduced. Elaborate machinery was in
vented to perfect the process. The best
wheat by this process was the grade known
as minnesota sprng," Heretofore despised
rejected-litcrally rejected" in fact, in the
markets. Afterwart this grade becams
sought by mllers, and the value advanced
to a point equal to and sometimes more than
that of the previously sought winter wheat.
If Minnesota farmers produce forty millions
bushels of wheat annually, this advanced
value, due to tn. new process, puts several
millions of dollars yearlo into their pockets :;
and what vast amount of comfort and hap
piness may be secured by the right use of
SO much money. Here we have but one
instance only of the vast concatenation of
circumstances which points the moral here
alluded to.-Scientifc american.
--n-e-R
ERuTT TN NORTHERN MINNESOTA AND