The herald., 1897-07-11

Evidently" said. these are pIowa.
but what drives themT'
"They are electric plows," replied the
doctor. do you see that snakelike cord
trailing away over the broken ground be-
hind each machine? That is the cable BY
which the force is supplied. Observe these
posts at regular intervals about the field.
1t is only necessary to attach one of those
cables to a post to have a power which.
connected with any sort of agricultural
machine. furnishes energy graduated from
mans strength to that of hundred
horses, and requiring for its guidance no
other force than the fingers of a child can
supply
And not only this. but it was further ex-
planned to me that by this system of fiex-
ible cables of all sizes the electric power
was applied not only to all the heavy tasks
formerly done by animals, but also to the
hand fnstruments-the spade, the shovel
and the fork-which the farmer in my time
must bend his own back to, however well
supplied he might be with horse power.
There was, indeed no tool, however small,
the doctor explained whether used In agri-
culture or any other art, to which this
motor was not applicable, leaving to the
worker only the adjustment and guidance
Of the instrument.
with one of our shovels,'' said the
doctor, IAN intelligent boy can excavate
a trench or dig a mile of potatoes quicker
than gang of men in your day, and with
no more effort than he would use in Wheel
ing a barrow"
CAPTURING WIVES OR HUSBANDS
Suppose man and woman in some for
mer age to have been, on the whole. phys
ically equal, sex for sex. Nevertheless,
there would be many Individual variations.
Some of each sex would be stronger than
others of their own sex. Some men would
on, md q
many women would be stronger than some
men. Very good; we know that well within
historic times the savage method of taking
wives has been by forcible capture. Much
more may we suppose force to have been
used wherever possible in more primitive
periods. Now. strong woman would
have no object to gain in making captive
weaker man for any sexual purpose and
would not, therefore, pursue him. Con-
versely, however, strong men would have
an object in making captive and keeping
as their wives women weaker than them
selves. In seeking to capture wives, men
would naturally avoid the stronger women
whom they might have difficulty in DOM
mating, and prefer as mates the weaker
individuals, who would be less able to re-
sist their will. On the other hand, the
weaker of the men would find it relatively
difficult to capture any mates at all, and
would be consequently less likely to leave
progeny. DO you see the inferenceY
"It is plain enough" 1 replied. You
mean that the stronger women and the
weaker men would both be Disseminated
against. and that the types which sur
vived would be the stronger of the men
and the weaker of the women"
The, progress science has made during
the last hundred years, and the present
well-satisfied belief that we are on the
very verge of still greater accomplish
ments, are certainly facts which no
writer intent on describing humanity as
it is to exist in the future could neglect.
The betterment of man is a noble topic,
no matter how approached, and the pur-
pose of Mr.. Bellamy's Equality" is to
approach it with reverence. The book
will raise many discussions, but these
will largely be repetitions or extensions
of those which were argued both for and
against in the case of Looking Back
ward" There is nthing more difficult
for an author to attempt than sequel
or a continuation, but the subject Mr..
Belamy writes about is inexhaustible.
and it has neyer-failing human interest.