Evening star., 1900-12-22
WITHIN A CENTURY
Improvements That Have Been Made
in Agricultural Methods.
FARMING ON SCIENTIFIC LINES
A Brief Consideration of a Few
Selected Features.
BREEDING AND FEEDING

Written for The Evening Star by Prof, Fred. s.
Cooley Of the Massachusetts Agricultural College.
Marvellous as the discoveries OF the
century in the domains of science, manu-
facture and commerce, they by no means
eclipse the contemporary achleVements III
agriculture. Antedatng every other indus
try of the race, the barometer OF the
worlds progress during all the ages OF the
past, doing with other arts, Of peace, OF
times and peoples long departed. agriculture
has awakened with a start, and in great
leaps and bounds placed herself In the front
ranks of the century's progress.
The breadth and scope of husbandry place
difficulties in the way of its discussion With
in the limits Of this paper. A book might
easily be filled with the changes and i'm
provements effected in the plans and con-
veniences of farm buildings, or in many
other phases of agricultural development.
A catalogue of the many changes in the
agriculture of a century Is not the purpose
of this effort, but rather BRIEF conslderd-
ton of few selected features.
The division of labor in agriculture has.
as in other productive occupations, become
a feature of the age Although the farmer
should still be somewhat of an all-arouho
man. he no longer requires to De prov.
wright, farm-implement maker, harness
maker woodman, etc, but may devote MS
entire attention to the more immediate de-
manGs of his vocation.
But farming itself has come very extern
sively under the influence of this division
of labor and each successful husbandlnah
deyotes his attention to particular branch.
rather than attempt the cultivation OF every
farm product needed for home consumption.
One is a wool grower, another preeds noi ses'
or raises beef or devoteS his attention 10
dairying or market gardening, or frult
growing or some other specially. Often
single crop as tobacco onions, potatoes or
wheat, receiving his principal EFFORTS
Improved Methods.
Among a great variety Of new and inn
proved methods in tillage and soil improve
ments belonging to the century, tile DRAIN
ing and subsurface irrigation by means OF
pipes are instances Of marked advance over
old practices.
Ensilage of forage has been long stride
in the economical preparation and conser-
vation Of cattle food. BY its means not
only is it possible to furnish farm animals
with palatable and succulent food at all
seasons but an important saving of forage,
and of labor in securing 1t, is affected. The
Introduction of silage as cattle food marks
the dawn of an intensive huSbandry hither-
to unknown, making 1T possible to greatly
increase the number Of live stock kept on
a given area, and to correSpondingly in
crease the food supply for the human fam
lily.
The winter feeding Of farm animals is no
longer the task of a century ago, but has
become a simple problem. Indeed SO easy
has winter feeding become. pasturage, the
blessing of our fathers has by compari-
son become difficult, and feeders are becom-
ing keenly alive to the needs of a better
system of summer feeding than pasturage
alone affords.
Soiing. or the feeding of green forage to
farm animals, becoming rapidly an indis-
pensabe branch of the business, would
have been ridiculed by our farmer ancestors
of the last century
Farm Live Stock.
Ever since the patriarch, Jacob, outwitted
his father-in-law in the division of their
focks and herds by the use Of "peeled
rods the art of breeding has been more
or less faithfully pursued. If we may judge
of the results, however, the present century
has witnessed more progress in many di-
rections than the 5000 years preceding.
Practically all the improved breeds of
swine belong to the more recent period
Sheep have undergone a marked transition
in f1eshing properties, and certain breeds
have made no less conspicuous gains in the
quality of their fleece. A sheep producing
fftytwo pounds of wool in thirteen months
was unheard of a generation ago.
The beef breeds of cattle would hardly
recognize their ancestors of century ago
as of the same race, While dairy cows of
that time would forget their cud in con-
temptation of a Pieterje H. with a record
of over 10000 pounds Of milk in single
year.
Better Horses.
The instances Of remarkable development
toned the American trotter and the Ken