St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1889-08-03
Agricultural Revolution.

Daniel Lee, in the Southern Cu1tiu0tor,
says: Without knowing the fact, the
farmers of Europe and America stand on
the verge of great revolution. The rev.
olution that is to come in the near future,
and is now in plain sight, has it's new born
life and power from large and recent
increase of agricultural knowledge. To
make an acre of farming land in NewYo
England, France, Holland and Germany
support four or five times as many dairy
cows by soiling as by pasturing may ap-
pear small matter to a superficial OBJ
server. But practice implying so large
gain is bound to grow and spread rapidly;
and Europe with it's $50, 900, 900 souls will
soon abound in milk butter and cheese,
not to name solid evaporated milk that
may be shipped round the world in any
desirable quantity Milk is the grandest
product of living nature. 1t is an incom-
parable compound of cream, curds and
sugar, with just water enough to circulate
them through tactical glands, veins and
means plenty of fat pigs, lambs, calves,
colts, kids and poultry. With this in
crease of live stock comes increase of ma
nure, grain, fruit and vegetables. Science,
which is despised by millions, has discov-
cred a new agricultural world in Europe
and America. The writer made this dis
covery fifty or sixty years ago, and Sir
Humphrey Davy at an earlier date. great
revolution is upon US, such as the human
race never saw and probably no one ever
dreamed of, for truth is stranger than fc-
ton. Why should Germany, in the heart
of Europe, send beet sugar by the million
tons to the farmers and mechanics of the
United States.
German beet fields of wide extent, and
large promise, have agricultural schools
within their domain, whose pupils divide
their time between learning lessons in lit
erature and science, and practicing the art
of tillage, beet culture and dairy hus-
bandry. This is quietly bringing man
culture, horticulture and sugar making,
in large way, close together. Man is
deeply social as well as an intellectual
being, and is just now crowding into and
building cities at a fearful rate. The
movement is part of profound revolu-
ton whose history has yet to be written
and studied. Industrious school-boys in
Germany raise ship loads of Irish potatoes
to feed in part half-idle school boys and
girls in the United States. Aristocratic
idleness will never restore virgin fruitful
ness to our quilted old fields. A bad sys-
tenn of common schools gives life and pow
or to worse system of husbandry in this
nation of farmers. That common school
education which gives Robert Toombs "a
good lawyer twenty times more for a
days legal service than it pays Robert
amount of labor, greatly needs the reform
ing influence of both evolution and revo-
luton in our system of government.
T'hi ns no proxun hv avolution into
condition that leads one-half of mankind
to live mainly by devouring the other
half. Out of this vitality and the laws of
nature come ali possible revolutions. 1t
is rot physically impossible for every man
and woman to be honest and do right
according to the golden rule but 1900
years. earnest preaching has made small
impression on the power and persistency
of evil. Wealth must steadily lose in
value every decade for the next 100 years !;
for it will be largely created by tools, ma
chimes, steam and water power, that cost
comparatively little, and work along with
out food, fuel or clothing in competition
with man.
Humanity has never been protected
while working in competition with steam
power and water power. You cannot
grant such protection without changing
the present relations of labor and capital.
Duties ON imported goods hardly touch
the question. The competition is born in
our own soil, and labor on the farm, in
the mine and workshop and factory is
capital in embryo. Trusts and large
Spectators often fail because protection
fails to protect system of growing rascal
ity. Honesty is the best policy for all
parties. Dishonest gains are bounties on
breeding civil war.