The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1881-04-28
PROGRESS OF TIE CENTURY.
BT REV. JOHN 5. PARK.

Louisville Christian Observer. 1t is an
extract from a lecture delivered at
st. James Hall in Bolivar, by Rev.
Jno. $. Park, pastor of the
Presbyterian church, and will repay
perusaIl:
It is natural'tor old persons to say
that things nowadays are not so well
done as when they were young. And
on the other hand, it Is natural for
young persons to think that the world
never made much advancement until
they came upon the stage and began
to have an influence. Endeavoring to
set aside all prejudice, let us ask our
selves the question. Is the world max
Ing progress?
I. N AGRICULTURE.
I can remember the time when far
mers used wooden mould boards to
their plows, threshed their grain
with a wooden fail, or trod it out with
horses, after having cut it 7yith a
sickle such az was used four thousand
years ago. In those days farmers stayed
at home, for there were few railroads.
There were very few books or pcriodi-
Gals devoted to farming. And even
those few were read very seldom, lest
the readers should bo accused Of being
"book farmers" There were no agri-
cultural fairs, colleges, or lectures.
Farmers wanted none Of your fine
stock. The scrubs were good enough
for them.
The plan of farming was to wear out
the land as speedily as possible and
immigrate to new country where the
soil was fresh. But such reckless
waste soon converted a new into an
old country, with CALLED hlll-sides and
sand covered bottoms. The introduc-
ton of improved machinery into farm
ing has changed it from the merest
drudgery into q science. The day has
come when skillful farmer, with a
sulky plow, can cultivate as much
corn as four men could formerly 90;
when a machine, driven BY one man.
can reap and bind as much grain as
hundred men could reap with the
sickle and bind with the hands, and
when steam thresher can clean as
much wheat in day, employing ten
men, as a thousand men could thresb
with fails.
a few years ago the farmers wife
devoted all of her time to making
clothing for her family, and butter and
cheese for market. Now ready-made
clothing can be purchased much
cheaper than the cloth can be made at
home. Butter and cheese factories
have relieved her of the greatest
drudgery of the farm and have en-
abled her to snatch few hours every
day from her wqek and devote them to
the improvement of her mind. Scarce
ly farm house can be found without
its periodicals, its books Of fashion,
its musical instruments, its religious
and political newspaper, and its Ii
brary, large or small, in which are
found some standard works.
II. IN MANUFACTURES.
When we look at the progress made
within the last few years in manufac-
lures, the subject is boundless. I re-
member the time when tulIow- candles
were commonly used instead Of kero-
sene lamps; quill pens, instead of
steel or gold pens; narrow-guage mules
instead Of narrow-guage railroads;
fint-lock guns, instead cf breech-
leaders; when matches were too ex-
pensive to be used, except on rare
occasions; when the telegraph was
unknown, except to a few scientists;
when there was no sewing machine, no
steam engine, no sand-blast, no cotton
compress; when boots and shoes We're
made by hand, and even nails were
forged; when plouchs were hammered
out by the village smith; when wagons
and carriages were made by hand en-
tirely; when ali cloth, except the
coarsest fabric, was imported; when
our cutlery came from Sheffield; our
silk from China; our railroad iron
from England; our thread from Scot
land; our carpets from Brussels; our
shawls from England or Persia; our
watches from Switzerland; cur toys
from Germany; our fine leather from
France, and eur pianos from Germany.
! A: the present time most Of these arti-
cles are sent to the countries from
which we once received them, because
we can manufacture them more
cheaply by machinery than they can
do by-hand.
Previously to the worlds fair held in
London in 1851, the Americans had
no idea of the superior cheapness Of
their manufactures rs compared with
those of other countries, where labor Is
plenty. But what surprised them still
more was their own superiority IL
! workmanship. There are six piano.
Il 4