The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1901-08-20
STEAM IN AGRICULTURE
VsW INDUSTRIES SuRPAss FARMING
IN EXTENT OF MACHINERY.


The evolution of our agriculture
from horse to steaIc power is one of
the remarkable products of this ace
OF machinery, and probably few other
industries have surpassed farming i'm
the extent of machinery of various
types employed. The advent of ma
chlnery farming began practically
when the great Western grain fields
were opened by the transcontlnental
railroads. and inventors have buslly
spent their time in producing labor
saving machines ever since. Indeed.
American farming to-day could not be
conducted successfully without ma
chlnery, and the tendency is toward
the adoption OF more and more labor
saving devices. The early reapers
ana threshers operated by horse pow
er reyolutionized farming, but today
these are being displaced by the i'm
mense steam and electric machines
which do the blowing planting. reap
ing and harvesting in less than ono
quarter OF the time required by the
old horse machines
In the immense California wheat
fields the modern steam traction en-.
glnes, or automobiles" as they are
called, have cheapened the cost of
harvesting wheat on the Pacific coast
so that the grain can be raised there
at less actual cost than in the Argen-
t4ne Republic, where farm labor costs
only a fraction of dollar per day.
These large traction engines OF the
California wheat fields are q fifty
horse power, and are provided with
driving wheels sixty inches In diane
tor. They are made to do the plow-
Ing, planting and harvesting at the
proper season. In the spring they
drag across the immense wheat fields
sixteen ten-inch plows, four slx-feet
harrows, and a press drill for planting
the seed wheat. In this way one such
traction engine performs the triple
work Of blowing. narrowing and
planting all in one operation. The
saving OF time is so great that one
machine can plant with wheat from
fifty to seventy-five acres in a single
day, mounting hilly and rough ground
just as easily as when passing across
dead levels.
In the harvesting season the trac-
lion engines come in play again. The
enormous haryesters are pulled across
The fields as the plows and harrows
were In the spring. One OF these
mammoth harvesters is creation OF
modern genius. and its operation Is as
interesting to the expert as to the un-
initiated. Its cutters are often twenty
to twenty six feet wide, and IL takes
4 swath so broad that an enormous
highway IS moved straight across the
immense fields. When the cutters
rave performed their work automatic
rakers gather in the grain stalks and
carry them to rows OF knives, where
they are at once headed Then in the
same operation the wheat Is threshed
out, cleaned and sacked, and behind
the great combination harvester there
is left trail of sacked wheat ready
for the market. Another traction en-
CINE with train OF a dozen cars fol
lows In the wake of the thresher and
harvester, gathering up the wheat
and carting it to the granary. In this
manner fully seventy acres and more
Of wheat land are harvested In one
day.
But IN = smaller way the same
method Of reducing our farming to- q
scientific machine basis is going on I'm
all parts Of the country. Invested capital
In manufacturing agricultural machines
and implements amounts to many mil
lions of dollars. and one firm alone
produces annually reapers and har-
vesters valued at several millions.
We have succeeded in perfectlng our
agricultural machines so that we to-
day export them to all parts of the
world.
The introduction OF steam power IN
place Of horse power on the farm.
6owever. Is even more momentous I'm
results than the adoption Of machines
10 do the work of hand. The relative
!oss of operating a steam traction en-
CINE to do the blowing. planting and
harvesting can be measured only af
ter results have been figured M.
Half dozen men can operate trac.
Ion engine hauling across the Geld
lows, harrOws and planters. and the
work accomplished by the machine
represents the combined labor % sew
raj hundred men and as many horses
n order to make the steam power
machines Of value the farms must De |
large and extensive. On small farms
they would prove too costly either in
lhe operation or initial expense.
For this reason II has been said that !
steam power could never supplant |
horse power on the farms, for orr |
democratic notions demand that farm |
ing land shall never be consolidated I'm |
the hands Of a few. and farming on n |
gigantic scale can never represent /
more than very limited part of the /
industry In this country. Yet the ten |
aency in the West IS to operate cnor- /
nous farms. combining several rather /
than cutting them np into smaller
ones. Not only this. but cooperation |
by the farmers Is considered neces. |
sary for their success. Co-oparatrye /
croamcries, cheese factories and fruit /
farms have Jcen established I'm many /
parts os the country Likewise I'm the |
West the farmers arc co operating I'm |
Introducing steam power on their /
farms to do certain kinds q work.
The steam thresher has come 70 !
stay. and &c makes its appearance reg. |
ularly I'm the West every fan with. |
out it the great grain crop could not /
be harvested I'm tfrne dls,., &C.,. /