Page images
PDF
EPUB

has brought in the clover and other rich forage plants, and my cows have had that to eat which is rich with those elements that go to make bone and muscle and rich milk in generous quantities. Outside my barn I have a cistern with a liquid measure capacity of two hundred and forty barrels. From under the line where my cows stand, a trough leads to the cistern. The liquid contents of this reservoir I sprinkle over my land with a wagon fashioned after the manner of a sprinkling cart. I believe this investment will pay handsomely, for I have faith to believe it will increase the productiveness of my land; and it is faith, supplemented with work, that makes farming in Massachusetts pay equally as well as anywhere else in this country.

Mr. Clemence's essay was discussed by several members of the Board. Mr. Newhall of Conway gave his experience in the warming of water for cows, which confirmed the views expressed in the essay. Mr. Bowditch of Framingham stated that his herd of twenty cows had given two hundred pounds of milk extra per week after using water warmed up to eighty to ninety degrees, and the increase in butter yield was in like proportion. President Goodell stated that the results of careful experiments by Professor Alvord of the Maryland Experiment Station, formerly of the Massachusetts Agricultural College, showed the same results as those from Mr. Bowditch's experience.

THE FARMER; HIS RELATIONS TO THE MANUFACTURER AND MECHANIC.

BY J. G. AVERY OF SPENCER.

The farmer, manufacturer and mechanic, a trio, the embodiment of all our manual and mechanical labor industries; each dependent upon the other. The manufacturer and mechanic are dependent upon the products of the farmer for the sustenance of life, and every cycle of the sun calls for a fresh supply. The farmer is assured of a continuous demand. His risk is limited to climatic causes, he is seldom overstocked, and he can always find a demand for his products somewhere at a price. The manufacturer of domestic articles which are for use in every-day life finds a ready sale. If competition is sharp, his margin of profit is small. There are many manufacturers who are subject to the whims and caprices of fashion. Some are made millionaires, and more are made bankrupts. The mechanic is always busy studying the wants and necessities of the manufacturer and farmer. If he can see wherein their machines can be improved, be it a plough or a loom, he is on the alert to work out the problem. His tools are as a rule the best that can be made, and are kept in order. His aim or purpose is to accomplish a certain object, and, if successful, he is sure of his reward. The farmer criticises the manufacturer and the mechanic, and the mechanic criticises both the manufacturer and the farmer, and there is no law to prevent it. Neither would have this blessed privilege suppressed if they could.

The oft-repeated remark, that the agricultural industry is the key-stone to all our greatness, is as true to-day as it was a hundred years ago. If any one can be found that doubts the saying, let him take a trip to the west, north-west and

south-west, and witness the developing of our agricultural industries. Look at the cities of the great west, which have grown to such prominence that it excites the envy of the old world. See their magnificent buildings, State capitals, court houses, churches, school buildings, with private residences equaling in splendor and decorations any to be found in the world. Look at our labyrinthic system of railways, which are a marvel of engineering skill and thought, that have been built even to the remotest corners of our country, so that the products of the farmer may easily and cheaply reach the markets of the world. What a grand sight it is to behold the thousands of acres of grain and corn just before the harvest season; with what pride the farmer points out its beauties to the observing traveler. One is lost in wonder and admiration at this vast area which has been brought to such a high state of cultivation by the industry of our farmers.

The pioneer farmers, who pushed their way to the west, and made the beginning for this great and rapid growth of our country that followed in their track, are deserving of great credit for their unfaltering perseverance. Their sufferings were necessarily of that character that none but the boldest and strongest could have survived, and their deeds of heroism must have been countless. Soon the wilderness was subdued, and a town was laid out; the school-house erected, and social life enlivened by their tales of wonderful preservation. What a glorious record to hand down to those who are now living upon the fruits of the pioneer farmer, who spent the best part of his life in subduing the soil, with a hope that his children might make a still brighter record. And how well they are fulfilling the fond wish, history proclaims in astounding figures from the department of agriculture.

There are many improvements which suggest themselves to a manufacturer or mechanic, as he rides through a farming community. One thing particularly noticeable is the absence of a suitable building for the storage of farm implements and small tools on too many of our New England farms. It is not an agreeable sight to one who has system and method in his business to see the mowing machine, the

tedder and the horse rake left where they were last used, or under a tree, to battle with the elements until wanted another season. These tools should be cared for as much as the carriage in which the farmer takes his family to church on the Sabbath. If they are in a proper building, where they can be looked after in the winter, the wood-work repainted, the iron-work kept well oiled or greased, to prevent rust, they will last twice as long as those left out in the field. And, further, if any misfortune should overtake the farmer, and his property have to be sold by an executor, his family would recover more than double the benefit. A manufacturer of mowing machines has said that a good mowing machine, well cared for, ought to last a farmer his lifetime, if he died in any kind of season.

Another improvement which suggests itself is to have more attractions about the home grounds. Little labor is required to prepare the ground for a few flowers, shrubs and foliage plants, and the delight the mother and daughters will take in beautifying is worth all the time expended in preparation of artistic beds to be bordered with foliage plants; a terrace for dahlias and asters; a mound for verbenas, not forgetting a place for the favorites of our mothers, the marigold, poppy and sun flower; a rustic summer-house, covered with climbing vines, where the farmer can sit in the twilight and reflect upon the unrivaled picture before him, and see a beginning in solving the problem, how to keep the boys on the farm.

--

To be a successful manufacturer, a man must be educated to his business. He must thoroughly understand every detail, and, when his business is so large as to require it, he must have trusted foremen in every department, to look after the interest of the employer, and see that there is nothing wasted. Such a man seldom fails in what he undertakes. He is constantly on the lookout for improved machines which are required in his special industry. To-day there are large savings to a manufacturer, which but a few years ago were a waste. Scraps of leather about a boot and shoe factory, called gimpins, were formerly used as fuel in the stoves of the shop. Now a large and prosperous industry is carried on, in extracting the grease and oil from the

smaller pieces of this scrap, while the larger pieces are used for manufacturing heels for ladies' shoes. The dust and shavings from the trimming machines are carried directly to the boiler room by means of a flue. The shavings from the box shop are also blown to the boiler room. In a factory employing 1,500 hands, the saving in fuel from these sources is estimated to equal a ton of coal per day.

-

There is an enormous amount of capital invested in the manufacture of farm machinery, — larger than for any other industry, as the selling season is limited to about two months. The first plough that history mentions is the Egyptian plough, a crooked stick. The first recorded great improvement of this implement was made one hundred years ago by a Connecticut boy, then living in the wilds of central New York. He had become tired of the old wooden mold-board plough, and took it to the blacksmith and had the mold board covered with sheet iron. He found he could do much more work, and do it better. Farmers flocked to see it. Here was the beginning of improvement that has culminated in the iron and the steel plough of to-day.

I do not think the farmer realizes the large amount of money that has been expended, and is yearly expended, in introducing agricultural implements. The very best talent has to be procured to approach the farmer and set before him in glowing terms the benefits to be derived by adopting that particular implement. The eloquence is irresistible, and before the farmer is aware of it he has ordered one of those

labor-saving machines. This salesman possesses a talent that there is a demand for, and commands a salary equal to our most favored clergymen.

Arkwright, the inventor of the cotton-spinning machine, was the youngest of thirteen children, the son of a barber, and he followed that business until he was twenty-eight. The first suggestion of the idea was by seeing a red-hot iron bar elongated by being made to pass between rollers. He experimented with the rods until he found he could draw out the fiber to the required degree of fineness. Popular animosity was excited against the man who was said to have abridged labor, but in reality had increased its sphere. His first factory was destroyed by a mob, in the presence of a

« PreviousContinue »