The Red Cloud chief., 1913-08-28


States At the same time. large irrigation canals.
built by the government, are liberating cultiva
tors from eternal worry over the prospects OF
rain. These changes are taking place with
startling rapidty.e The process IL proceeding at
q snails pace so slowly that 1t ia hard for for.
eigners to realize that the transition is going on.
However. each year more and more OF the Hitter.
ate farmers are sending their sons and daugh.
ters to school, and each year they show more In.
terest In the demonstrations held the expert.
ment farms. and display less opposition to limo.
vntions. In a few districts the advancement is
already quite marked This is especially true
Of certain parts Of the Punjab-the province Of
the Five Rivers. situated In northwestern india
which are known as the Canal colonies. There
several million acres OF land that twenty years
ago was barren waste. today have been con.
verted. thanks to . marvellous irrigation scheme.
into an important grain producing region spread.
Ing the fame Of india wheat far and wide In the
world.
The very arst farm that I visited in the col.
onies during . recent tour vividly revealed the
transformation Of Indian rural conditions. In the
courtyard. shaded by . spreading jujube tree.
stood q reaping machine In mud she'd erected
especially for the purpose OF protecting the farm
machinery. I wound four chilledsteel plows. two
Of them made in the United States. On the floor
Of the low-roofed verandah the farmers son. q
lad Of about twelve. at the highest reckoning.
clad as Dame Nature had dressed him at birth.
but for . scanty breech-clout. stood turning the
wheel Of modern fodderchopper. which cut
green chart (millet) In small shreds that fell
about him In q succulent shower
After further travel and investigation among
the cultivatOrs living round about Lyallpur. the
largest city In the erstwhe waterless wilder
ness. which now. In the wake OF the water car.
ried by the Chenab canal. has become q paradise
for farmers. ! found that the cultivator whose
homo I had hrst visited was not q whit more
enterprisng than scores Of others In the district
Who today are employing time and labor.saving
machinery to do al the work on their land Wher.
ever ! won't found agricuitursts galore who
owned their own steel p0ws. harrows cultvators
ana improved fodderchoppers. Occasionally
wouil como across Q reaper which was the prop
erty Ut . progressive individual who profted by
renting Il 70 bis neishbors at harvest time. At
one place I even found . steam threshing ma.
chine
Many causes have combined to make the farm.
ere In the Punjab colonies progressive. In tho
arst place they moro or less entirely have been
cut Oh from their old mo0rings. and have begun
have LETT some OF their ultra conservatism behind
them In the congested Punjab from which they
hailed. and the pioneer conditions that they
found confronting them In the new region di.
vested them OF some more OF their Unborn reac.
ton. Tho Lyallpur agricultural experiment farm.
located In the very heart OF the settlebent has
demonstrated to them the good results OF deep
plowing with chllled-steei plOws, and the advan-
tage OF using improved implements instead Of
farming In the cumbersome. bunglng. old'time
way. A still more potent factor that is encour.
aging these farmers to use modern machinery