Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1898-09-07
1r.A.< m FARM IMPLEMENTS

y
No Other Country in This Line Co
parable with the Unltcd StateA'
At the close Of the civil war reape,
now selling for SIS cost $120; steer
olow, now costing $12. sold for $Io: .
potato digger, now costing -, so'a io'
s25; grain scythes, now costing ~
dozen, cost 500; shovels, now costing
50 a dozen, cost $50; binders. now cost
Ing s13O, cost $40O; and moving ma
chimes, now costing $50. cost $llo. AS
this process of reduction has been go
Ing on, the product Of American rac.o
ries in the line of agricultural impie.
ments has been generally extehdea IN.
vastly improved. so that the oni'eu
states is now not only at the head OF
all other countries, but SO far at the
head OF other countries that there mas
practically ceased to be any serious
competition except in respect 10 tne
supplies sold by certain European coun'
tries to their colonies. Through the
free markets Of the world, without re-
strictions established by governments
the United States Is the great source
Of supply.
The Importance of the business car
ried on both at home and abroad by the
United States manufacture OF farming
implements is shown by the hgures oi
the last Federal census Of 1880. Inere
were at that time, approximately, 1,OOo
manufactures Of agricultural impie.
merits In the United States, the amount
invested In this line of manufacture be-
ing nearly $3.50, 1000. 600, the average
number Of persons employed In II being
As. 600, the materials used averaging IN
value S3OOOO,OOO and the output $SO''
OOO, 600. Since the summer OF 1888 the
American trade in agricultural impie-
ments has been subjected to a marked
prostration. The export trade OF the
country In agricultural implements mas
continued large and has even In
creased:
1893 fiscal year,. ......... .$4,6SI'UU
1894 fiscal year). .......... 6,oN'UO
1895 fiscal year,. ........... 0.4lO,OU
1896 fiscal year,. ).......... 0,Io,OO
1897 fiscal year,. ........... o.Z4o'OoV
The Argentine Republic has been the
chief customer Of the United States IN
this item of manufacture. and the
South American countries and West
Indies have been customers to a small
er extent. But while the foreign mar
ket has continued, the home market for
American agricultural products has
been curtailed greatly, in consequence
Of the failure of some crops, the dimin-
ished prices for cereals, the accumula-
ton, West and South, Of mortgages,
and the contraction Of credit to farm
ers, who. as q rule, buy their agricul-
tural machinery on credit, payments
being predicated on the success of the
crops and Of paying prices for them.
AS a result Of the agricultural depres-
sion In the West In 1893. 1894, 1895 and
1896, 1t Is hardly too much 70 say that
the farming implements used during
the past five years In the United States
have been literally wearing out The
large concerns have been carrying their
customers on credit. and with large
debts outstanding, the farmers, gener-
ally speaking, have been awaiting the
return Of better times and better prices.
The favorable conditions Of q year ago
We're not without their effect on this
branch Of business, and those Of this
year are being reflected in the enlarged
market for farming machinery. reap
ers, threshers, plows, rakes. binders,
scythes and harrows.
At the head of the States of the coun-
try in the volume Of its manufacture Of
agricultural implements is Illinois,
with an invested capital of nearly $780,
100000. Ohio follows. then New York
and then Wisconsin. Ohio supplies
most of the Southern market of de-
mand and New York the Middle and
Eastern States. OF recent years Call
fornia has developed its manufacture
Of farming implements largely.-New
YORK Sun.