the age of invention-第19章

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


nty…five　acres　a　day　can　be　reaped　and　threshed。　Often　another　tractor　pulling　a　dozen　wagons　follows　and　the　sacks　are　picked　up　and　hauled　to　the　granary　or　elevator。

Haying　was　once　the　hardest　work　on　the　farm；　and　in　no　crop　has　machinery　been　more　efficient。　The　basic　idea　in　the　reaper；　the　cutter…bar；　is　the　whole　of　the　mower；　and　the　machine　developed　with　the　reaper。　Previously　Jeremiah　Bailey；　of　Chester　County；　Pennsylvania；　had　patented　in　1822　a　machine　drawn　by　horses　carrying　a　revolving　wheel　with　six　scythes；　which　was　widely　used。　The　inventions　of　Manning；　Hussey；　and　McCormick　made　the　mower　practicable。　Hazard　Knowles；　an　employee　of　the　Patent　Office；　invented　the　hinged　cutter…bar；　which　could　be　lifted　over　an　obstruction；　but　never　patented　the　invention。　William　F。　Ketchum　of　Buffalo；　New　York；　in　1844；　patented　the　first　machine　intended　to　cut　hay　only；　and　dozens　of　others　followed。　The　modern　mowing　machine　was　practically　developed　in　the　patent　of　Lewis　Miller　of　Canton；　Ohio；　in　1858。　Several　times　as　many　mowers　as　harvesters　are　sold；　and　for　that　matter；　reapers　without　binding　attachments　are　still　manufactured。

Hayrakes　and　tedders　seem　to　have　developed　almost　of　themselves。　Diligent　research　has　failed　to　discover　any　reliable　information　on　the　invention　of　the　hayrake；　though　a　horserake　was　patented　as　early　as　1818。　Joab　Center　of　Hudson；　New　York；　patented　a　machine　for　turning　and　spreading　hay　in　1834。　Mechanical　hayloaders　have　greatly　reduced　the　amount　of　human　labor。　The　hay…press　makes　storage　and　transportation　easier　and　cheaper。

There　are　binders　which　cut　and　bind　corn。　An　addition　shocks　the　corn　and　deposits　it　upon　the　ground。　The　shredder　and　husker　removes　the　ears；　husks　them；　and　shreds　shucks；　stalks；　and　fodder。　Power　shellers　separate　grain　and　cobs　more　than　a　hundred　times　as　rapidly　as　a　pair　of　human　hands　could　do。　One　student　of　agriculture　has　estimated　that　it　would　require　the　whole　agricultural　population　of　the　United　States　one　hundred　days　to　shell　the　average　corn　crop　by　hand；　but　this　is　an　exaggeration。

The　list　of　labor…saving　machinery　in　agriculture　is　by　no　means　exhausted。　There　are　clover　hullers；　bean　and　pea　threshers；　ensilage　cutters；　manure　spreaders；　and　dozens　of　others。　On　the　dairy　farm　the　cream　separator　both　increases　the　quantity　and　improves　the　quality　of　the　butter　and　saves　time。　Power　also　drives　the　churns。　On　many　farms　cows　are　milked　and　sheep　are　sheared　by　machines　and　eggs　are　hatched　without　hens。

There　are；　of　course；　thousands　of　farms　in　the　country　where　machinery　cannot　be　used　to　advantage　and　where　the　work　is　still　done　entirely　or　in　part　in　the　old　ways。


Historians　once　were　fond　of　marking　off　the　story　of　the　earth　and　of　men　upon　the　earth　into　distinct　periods　fixed　by　definite　dates。　One　who　attempts　to　look　beneath　the　surface　cannot　accept　this　easy　method　of　treatment。　Beneath　the　surface　new　tendencies　develop　long　before　they　demand　recognition；　an　institution　may　be　decaying　long　before　its　weakness　is　apparent。　The　American　Revolution　began　not　with　the　Stamp　Act　but　at　least　a　century　earlier；　as　soon　as　the　settlers　realized　that　there　were　three　thousand　miles　of　sea　between　England　and　the　rude　country　in　which　they　found　themselves；　the　Civil　War　began；　if　not　in　early　Virginia；　with　the　〃Dutch　Man　of　Warre　that　sold　us　twenty　Negars；〃　at　least　with　Eli　Whitney　and　his　cotton　gin。

Nevertheless；　certain　dates　or　short　periods　seem　to　be　flowering　times。　Apparently　all　at　once　a　flood　of　invention；　a　change　of　methods；　a　difference　in　organization；　or　a　new　psychology　manifests　itself。　And　the　decade　of　the　Civil　War　does　serve　as　a　landmark　to　mark　the　passing　of　one　period　in　American　life　and　the　beginning　of　another；　especially　in　agriculture；　and　as　agriculture　is　the　basic　industry　of　the　country　it　follows　that　with　its　mutations　the　whole　superstructure　is　also　changed。

The　United　States　which　fought　the　Civil　War　was　vastly　different　from　the　United　States　which　fronted　the　world　at　the　close　of　the　Revolution。　The　scant　four　million　people　of　1790　had　grown　to　thirty…one　and　a　half　million。　This　growth　had　come　chiefly　by　natural　increase；　but　also　by　immigration；　conquest；　and　annexation。　Settlement　had　reached　the　Pacific　Ocean；　though　there　were　great　stretches　of　almost　uninhabited　territory　between　the　settlements　on　the　Pacific　and　those　just　beyond　the　Mississippi。

The　cotton　gin　had　turned　the　whole　South　toward　the　cultivation　of　cotton；　though　some　States　were　better　fitted　for　mixed　farming；　and　their　devotion　to　cotton　meant　loss　in　the　end　as　subsequent　events　have　proved。　The　South　was　not　manufacturing　any　considerable　proportion　of　the　cotton　it　grew；　but　the　textile　industry　was　flourishing　in　New　England。　A　whole　series　of　machines　similar　to　those　used　in　Great　Britain；　but　not　identical；　had　been　invented　in　America。　American　mills　paid　higher　wages　than　British　and　in　quantity　production　were　far　ahead　of　。the　British　mills；　in　proportion　to　hands　employed；　which　meant　being　ahead　of　the　rest　of　the　world。

Wages　in　America；　measured　by　the　world　standard；　were　high；　though　as　expressed　in　money；　they　seem　low　now。　They　were　conditioned　by　the　supply　of　free　land；　or　land　that　was　practically　free。　The　wages　paid　were　necessarily　high　enough　to　attract　laborers　from　the　soil　which　they　might　easily　own　if　they　chose。　There　was　no　fixed　laboring　class。　The　boy　or　girl　in　a　textile　mill　often　worked　only　a　few　years　to　save　money；　buy　a　farm；　or　to　enter　some　business　or　profession。

The　steamboat　now；　wherever　there　was　navigable　water；　and　the　railroad；　for　a　large　part　of　the　way；　offered　transportation　to　the　boundless　West。　Steamboats　traversed　all　the　larger　rivers　and　the　lakes。　The　railroad　was　growing　rapidly。　Its　lines　had　extended　to　more　than　thirty　thousand　miles。　Construction　went　on　during　the　war；　and　the　transcontinental　railway　was　in　sight。　The　locomotive　had　approached　standardization；　and　the　American　railway　car　was　in　form　similar　to　that　of　the　present　day；　though　not　so　large；　so　comfortable；　or　so　strong。　The　Pullman　car；　from　which　has　developed　the　chair　car；　the　dining　car；　and　the　whole　list　of　special　cars；　was　in　process　of　development；　and　the　automatic　air　brake　of　George　Westinghouse　was　soon　to　follow。

Thus　far　had　the　nation　progressed　in　invention　and　industry　along　the　lines　of　peaceful　development。　But　with　the　Civil　War　came　a　sudden　and　tremendous　advance。　No　result　of　the　Civil　War；　political　or　social；　has　more　profoundly　affected　American　life　than　the　application　to　the　farm；　as　a　war　necessity；　of　machinery　on　a　great　scale。　So　long　as　labor　was　plentiful　and　cheap；　only　a　comparatively　few　farmers　could　be　interested　in　expensive　machinery；　but　when　the　war　called　the　young　men　away　the　worried　farmers　gladly　turned　to　the　new　machines　and　found　that　they　were　able　not　only　to　feed　the　Union；　but　also　to　export　immense　quantities　of　wheat　to　Europe；　even　during　the　war。　Suddenly　the　West　leaped　into　great　prosperity。　And　long　centuries　of　economic　and　social　development　were　spanned　within　a　few　decades。



CHAPTER　VI。　AGENTS　OF　COMMUNICATION

Communication　is　one　of　man's　primal　needs。　There　was　indeed　a　time　when　no　formula　of　language　existed；　when　men　communicated　with　each　other　by　means　of　gestures；　grimaces；　guttural　sounds；　or　rude　images　of　things　seen；　but　it　is　impossible　to　conceive　of　a　time　when　men　had　no　means　of　communication　at　all。　And　at　last；　after　long　ages；　men　evolved　in　sound　the　names　of　the　things　they　knew　and　the　forms　of　speech；　ages　later；　the　alphabet　and　the　art　of　writing；　ages　later　still；　those　wonderful　instruments　of　extension　for　the　written　and　spoken　word：　the　telegraph；　the　telephone；　the　modern　printing　press；　the　phonograph；　the　typewriter；　and　the　camera。

The　word　〃telegraph〃　is　derived　from　Greek　and　means　〃to　write　far〃；　so　it　is　a　very　exact　word；　for　to　write　far　is　precisely　what　we　do　when　we　send　a　telegram。　The　word　today；　used　as　a　noun；　denotes　the　system　of　wires　with　stations　and　operators　and　messengers；　girdling　the　e