The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-02-23


low such one to rake and bind the
bundles. One day, while about Is or
20 farmers were stopping at country
tavern little man came among US
who thought he could make machine
which, with Two men and four horses,
could cut eight or ten acres of wheat
or oats in day. That would shift
the cutting from man on to the horses.
He was derided and laughed at. The
next season the Virginia reaper was
put en- the market. It needed one
driver and a man, who rode back
wards, to rake off the bundles; next,
four or FIVE men to do the bind
ing and one or two more to dc the
shocking. Well, the Rock river
armers raised more wheat. Next
came Atkins self-raking reaper. At
kins, bed-ridden cripple, had in
vented an automaton, wonderful in
vention, making both a concentric
and eccentric motion, initiating both
the human arm and hand. It's work
ing was success, but it was horse
killer, which lamed almost every
horse hitched to it. The next i'm
provement was platform attachment
which carried with the machine three
men to do the binding, but that in
creased the weight Of the machine
and made it harder for the horses, Of
course. This also was soon super
seeded.
Now comes the inveation of the age,
viz, the self-raking and self-binding
reapers. With the advent Of this
machine, alas, music, jest, hiiarity
and song have gone out Of the harvest
field; and such is the isolation Of the
one man who works this reaper, that
he has hard work to keep awake while
cutting II acres Of grain in day; in
deed, there is no limit except to the
horse power and the endurance Of
herses and man.
On the Pacific Coast they have one
other harvest instrument called a
herder, which cuts only about six or
eight inches of straw below the head
Of the grain. In that climate it can
be used to advantage. This machine,
or one that can do the same work, is
so perfect that it includes a thresher
and sacker, and with this the reaper,
threshing and sacking are done, SO
that pile Of bags full Of wheat is
left in the fields until sold for mar
ket.
We cannot help but notice in this
connection the use of all sorts Of farm
machinery on the plains Of the great
Northwest. All the improvements
noticed above dwindle out Of sight on
the multi-thousand acre wheat fields
of Minnesota and the Dakotas. An
outfit there embraces peculiar-shaped
plows, harrows, drills, rollers, reapers
and steam threshers. 1t takes a
wealthy man who owns a drove of
work horses and all kinds of farm
tools to work farm like that of the
Dalrymples and others, costing ST.
900 or $1,000 for the outfit. These
opulent farmers leave the plains
when wheat is harvested and fall
plowing is done to spend the winter
III St. Paul or Minneapolis, or other
central cities eastward.
But the progress Of agriculture is
equally (or perhaps more than that
noticeable in it's brain work, its teach
ings, etc., at farmers institutes, at
agricultural colleges and at agricul-
tural experiment stations. These in
stitutions were devised by far-sigbtcd
men. Take superficial look only at
the physical conditions of our lands,
plains, mountains and rivers, and who
will deny that God made this country
Of ours par excellence the granary of
the world? And such it must ever
be. What an exalted position it is.
Is starvation staring ih the face of the
Irish people? We send them grain.
So it is with Russia, in Armenia, in
Cuba; yes, in any land where men are
suffering for the necessities of life
which our ships can reach and eur
benefactions rdieve.
10 return for little to urfarmers
institutes. There is scarcely a coun-
ty in Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Wis
consin, Kansas, Nebraska and Mime
sofa where there is not county So
ciety having the institute in charge.
Practical experience and wisdom are
brought out in rccitals, essays and
discussions. In these it often hap
mems that failures ara nf moro nracti-