The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1911-07-20
ZzlnERN RANNE M9UOYQP KHHH1Y q Nl1IZZ.,
/zARbZCT mr. an HLARGE EzRH 20

forgetting the disadvantages Of the harvest
season It has quite escaped his memory,
most likely, how he was routed out OF bed
nj dayhreak or earlier when there was har.
Vestng to be done and how he turned in with
the chickens and Slept like log from sheer
exhaustion. He has lost all recollection OF
the neryeracldng anxiety shared by every
member Of the family, lest It rain before the
harvesting was finished and he passes lightly
over the "reminiscences Of those weary hours
under a scorchinE sun with no protection save
broadbrimmed straw hat, its lofty peak
filled with leaves to help break the force OF
old Soils shafts
Harvest time on the farm, past and present,
marks the climax OF the year in hard work
and In worry-n short, in nerve and muscular
strain generally. OF course, It will be under.
stood that reference Is made TO the season of
the grain harvest TO be sure there are what
might be termed harvest seasons at intervals
all through the season, from the time the
strawberries are ripe in the spring. only the
farmer never thinks OF Identifying the garner.
ing Of these crops by the name of harvest In
the eyes OF the tiller Of the soil harvest time
mears the crucial juncture for gathering the
grain-particularly the wheat-and storing It
AWAY In barns and elevators, or mayhap load.
Ing II direct on the railroad cars that are to
carry It TO the flour mills or to the ship which
will carry 1t overseas TO supply the bread.
eaters OF Europe and the Orient
In the old days practically every farm in the
land had It's harvest time and II held the secret
of the profits of the whole years work on the
farm. That this is true no longer is due
simply to that tendency to specialization which
has invaded the farmers occupation as II has
every other field. Nowadays we have chicken
farms and truck farms and fruit farms and
other kinds of farms, where attention is so
concentrated upon the one product in hand
that the proprietors do not raise enough grain
for the needs OF their own stock On such
special farms the once universal harvest
time" is unknown But 10 make up for them
we have vast farms In the west and on the
Pacific slope, where wheat is the product
specialized, and in consequence we see on
these big farms harvesting operations which
in magnitude and picturesque features so far
overshadow the corresponding operations on
the oldiashioned farm east of the Mississippi
that there is literally no comparison.
One odd thing about harvesting is that al.
most all methods are yet in vogue In one
section or another Of the country The ex.
PLANTATION is found. of course, In the fact that
the first cost and the operating expense OF
the great steam harvesting outfits designed
for the bonanza farms of the west are such
as 10 make them impracticable for the farmers
controlling small areas. Consequently. these
farmers are getting along, and getting along
very well, with the old-time equipment, modern.
ized by the introduction OF some OF the i'm.
provements devised originally for the big
power machines. We are not any longer har-