Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1908-02-21
TWENTIETH CENTURY WEDDING
A Propitious Union Of Past and Present
of December and May.

! promises much for the future of the
| human race After long estrange
ment. many lovers quarrels and mu
! tual MISUNDERSTANDING, Miss Agri
i culture has been led to the altar by
! Sir MOdernus Scientia. They were
Kept apart for years, in verifcation of
! the maxim that the course of true love
never runs smooth. The old folks OBJ.
! Jected, ON one side sneering at the
would-be groom as Mr. Book Farm, =
fancy farmer" theoretical agricuI.
turist. and other opprobious names.
On the other side the aristocratic par.
ents looked down on the brides fam.
lily as ''clOdhoppers," "hayseeds." Jig
| norant jays" unworthy to enter the
household where genius and gentility
| reigned supreme But the difficulties
were finally removed. the friction wore
away with time, mutual prejudices
subsided as the parties came to know
each other better. and at last the nup-
tials were solemnized. Celestial Ceres
acted as bridesmaid: Fair Flora, as
lady in waiting, held the train. and
Princely Pomona gave the bride away.
Apollo. on his harp divinely tuned,
poured forth the strains of Mendels-
s0hns wedding march, the chorus
chanted Now We Are Married" to
the melody of Giroffle- -Giroffla, and all
rejoiced that Science and Agriculture
were at length united in indissoluble
union.
Spruce housekeeping and a general
overhauling signalized this happy con-
summation. Old Slipshod was immedi-
ately discharged; Neer-do-well was
given his walking papers. and Mr.
Take-it-easy was sent over the hills
far away. The bridegroom had brought
along an entirely new set of agencies,
children of the experimenter's brain.
the last complete product of inventive
genius. Instead of plodding across
the hummOcks to look after his men,
the new farmer went out seated in a
smart runabout, holding the reins over
his trotter or, for long distances. in a
touring car propelled by gasoline.
From his Office stretched wires over
which he talked with barns, dairies
and other buildings, called up the city
market people, exchanged greetings
with neighbors all over the county.
and ordered supplies from New York
and Chicago. All the business cor
respondence going out is typewriter.
The rural delivery brings all the mail.
including the leading paper, to the
door. No longer a drudgery, the man.
agement of the farm has become a d.
lightful scientific occupation. Hand
some and substantial concrete build
ings take the place of tumble down
shacks. unpainted barns and dilapi-
dated outbuildings. The former old
wooden structures with their earthen
flavor and damp. unwholesome sur
roundings, disappear The wand of
progress waves and all these are
changed into walls, floors and feeding
troughs OF concrete. kept clean by fire.
quent flushing Of water. The nasty
COW stables reappear as modern build
ings, with strong steel bars instead of
clumsy, old-fashiOned wooden stanch-
ions. Large windows let in a flood Of
light. making the place bright, cheer
full and sanitary.
Miss Agriculture that was. Mrs. Sci
entific Farming that is, at first rolled
up her eyes In some establishment.
but she soon caught on and entered
into the spirit Of her spouse. She
found that even her chickens. former
ly housed in rickety coops, now have
comfortable domiciles, whose smooth
walls offer no crevice in which vermin
may find lodgment. Rats, coons,
minks and weasels cannot enter in at
night to cut the throats of adolescent
pullets. Incubator houses, that mar
vel of the modern poultry world, are
kept at even temperature with very
little trouble and render effective serv-
ice in raising fries for the early spring
market. New wire fences with lines
of perfectly made concrete posts re-
place the ancient bars and stone walls
Behold the bridegroom cometh," the
twentieth century bridegroom, and
great IS the transformation resulting
from his advent. The methods of
working the land have undergone a
revolution. Steam has come to the
farmers aid In the shape of traction
engines and gasoline tractors. which
do all the work Of a team. They may
be filled with plows, reapers, planters
and cultivat0rs. all of which are de-
tachable. They can also be used for
running thrashing machines, saving
and hauling wood or for pumping.
More marvellous than all are the won.
ders wrought by electricity. Along
the traction lines many farmer has
installed a fifteen-horse-power motor
at small expense whose power is put
to almost every conceivable use. One
has been known to saw all the wood
needed and cut fodder for fifty cows
at an average cost of two dollars a
month. Small gasoline engines will
perform the same work and double
power windmills will run dynamos
connected with batteries that store up
enough water to illuminate the build
ings and do variety Of light work be-
sides. Small mills for grinding the
cattle feed and for crushing grain are
no unusual spectacle. Acetylene and
gasoline Illuminating plants now light
the homes Of many a modern farmer,
many Of their dwellings being ahead