The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-06-12


ments and machinery for a series Of
years is the subject of thorough study
and investigation by George X Holmes.
Of the Division of Statistics of the AEri-
cultural Department Speaking Of the
matter il pamphlet issued this morn
ing. AIT- Holmes says:
The manufacture Of agricultural i'm
pIemeuts and machinery has grown 10
enormous proportions IN this country, and
has been developed here in the investment
of capital in the employment of labor,
and especially IN the multiplication Of the
varieties and eXcellencies of products far
beyond any point reached in any other
country The latest available statistics
with regard to this industry were obtain
Cd in the census Of 1880 and these stats
tics are compared with those obtained in
she census OF ISSo. as follows:
Number of estabIishr~ ents. 1888 in 1850
and Gle in 1899, capital, So. 100 CTS in 1880.
and Zl45.31S,g97 in 1880: number OF en-
ployes. 1850 in 1850 and 42.5H in 1880,
wages. Sl5.S5e.G10 in 1850. and S2I.SlI76f in
$3.50; cost of materials, $3l,5S1.170 in 1880,
and SSI.G.t.26. IN 1S93: value Of products,
So, 6404S6 IN 1850. and SS1-27I.651 n 1890
AS relating TO changes in prices, only
a brief reference can be made to some Of
the more important results of the invcs-
LEGATION of hand and machine labor and
processes as applied to agriculture. with
contrast between farming as It was
praCticed forty to seventy years ago and
farming al it may now be carried on with
the advantage of the labor-saving and
.perfecting implements and machines Of
the present time. as wei. - with the i'm
plements. materials, and processes con-
tributed by the chemist, the book far
mer-' and the more enlightened expert
CnCe OF the -aSt half century.
Between 1850 and 1894 the following
changes took place IN the cultivation of
corn: The time # human labor required
to produce one busheI Of corn on an av-
erage declined from four hours aud thir-
ty-one minutes to fortv-one minutes. and
the cost of the human labor to produce
this bUsheI declined from 2J24 cents to I0la
cents
IN the earlier years the plow and har-
row Of that period were used; the check
rows were marked with the shovel plow;
the seed was dropped by hand from a
bucket or pouch carried by the farmer
and covered with Il hoe the cultivation
was done with shovel pillow; knives were
used for cutting the stalks from me
ground by hand: husking pegs were worn
the hand in huskinE; the stalks. huSks.
and blades were cut into fodder with an
old-time machine turned by hand. and
a
frying-pan handle or on a shovel or by
rubbing a cob against the unshelIed ears.
a radical change had taken place in
1884 The earth was loosened with gang
plOW. and disk harrow very thoroughly
pulverized it. y corn planter drawn by
a horse planted the corn and the top soil
was pulveTiZed afteTwaTd with a four
section harrow
When II came to harvesting the corn
ola I'D. =
stalks and bound them. and the checks
of stalks were then hauled 70 a machine
which removed the hUsEzs from the ears
and in the same process cut the husks and
the stalks and the blades into fodder. the
power of the machine being supplied by a
steam engine
Then came the Smelling Of the corn.
which is one of the most striking in
stances OF the changes that have been
wrought by machines In this case the
machine operated by steam shelIed one
busheI Of corn per minute while in the
old way the labor OF one man was required
for 100 minutes to DO the same work.
The use OF steam as a substitute for
horsepower in blowing. in harvesting. and
In thrashing wheat has not materially
contributed to economy. except from a
saving due to the elimination OF animal
power, SO the more common power sup
piled by horse is here selected for the
comparison. The years in contrast are
$50 and 1896
1t is one Of the marveIs Of the age
that the amount Of human labor now re-
CURED to produce bushel Of wheat from
beginning to end Is on an average only
ten minutes, whereas in 1890 the time was
three hours and three minutes. During
the interval between these years the cost
Of the human labor required to produce
this busheI OF wheat declined from 17s.
cents 10 Is cents
In the contrast thus presented the
heavy, clumsy pillow of the day was used
IN 1880; the seed was sOwn by hand and
was narrowed into the ground by the
drawing Of bushes over it; the grain was
cut with sickles. hauled TO a barn. and
at some time before the following sfring
was thrashed with fails; the winnowing
was done with q sheet attached 10 rus
on which the grain was placed with a
shovel and then tossed up and Gown by
two men until the wind had blown cut
the chaf-
in the latter year. on the contrary, the
ground was pIowed and pulverized n the
game operation by disk pIcw. the seed
was sown with mechanical seeder
drawn by horses; the reaping, thrashiag
and sscking Of the wheat was done With
the combined reaper and thrasher. dra WI
by horses and then the wheat was ready
to haul to the granary.
When men moved tx grass with
scythes, spread it and turned It over for
drying with pitchforl1s, when they raked
It into windows with d Mandrake. cc.cked
it with a pitchfork. and baIed II with
a handpress. the time IF human labor re
qUiTed per ton was 5jIz hours: but when
for this method was substituted q mower.
hay tedder. and ii hayrake and hay
EathereT and stacker drawn by horses.
and a press operated by 4 horse tile time
Of human labor was reduced to eleven
hours and thirty-fOuT minutes. while the
cost Of human labor from the earlier to
the later years was reduced from 2e6 20
-
The more noticeable economy in hay
making Is IN the moving and curing of
the grass Iu these TWO operations the
time OF human labor declined from 81 ID
cents 10 10 II cents The cOmps risOns
might be extended to many Of the grOps
produced by the farm. with a constantly
recurring Illustration of the saving Of
human labor and Of the resulting diYninu-
tiOu Of the cost Of production.
The potential saving ia the cost Of hu-
man labor on account Of improved imple-
ments. machines. and processes al the
rate per buShel or ton as the case may
be. has been computed for seven Of the
principal crops Of 1893 the COMPARISON is
between che Old-tiTne methods Of pro
dUction, in which hand Ia bur was ass st
ed only by the comparatively rude and
Inefficient implements Of the day, and the