Report of Missouri Farmers' Week. 397 



The old-time prospector for gold used to wash it out from the 

 other material with which it was mixed, but with his crude ap- 

 paratus much of the precious metal contained in the sand was 

 washed away and wasted, but with modern equipment and ma- 

 chinery, it is all saved and the only machine that is satisfactory is 

 one that saves every grain and speck of it. So the cow that doesn't 

 convert her feed into milk or beef, but much of it into waste, is 

 unprofitable and should be replaced with the cow that saves it all 

 for milk. 



One of the first things a man, does when he buys a machine is 

 to examine it carefully, take it to pieces and study it thoroughly, 

 and acquaint himself with its construction and its needs. So, in 

 discussing this wonderful piece of mechanism and presenting her 

 claims as a machine, it might be considered essential to analyze her, 

 but I deem it inexpedient because this has been done so often, I 

 fear I might be like the preacher, who on his way to an appoint- 

 ment got soaking wet and when he arrived he said to one of the 

 deacons, "I'm afraid I'm too wet to preach," and the deacon re- 

 plied : "Oh, that's all right, you'll be dry enough when you get 

 into the pulpit." 



Have you ever stood and viewed with awe a mighty engine as 

 with perfect precision and regular strokes it moved the machinery 

 of a great manufacturing institution and did it impress you, 

 as it performed its wonderful mission, as being almost human? 

 Have you ever stood on the platform of a union station and watched 

 an approaching train and seen the man in the tower pull a lever 

 that directed it on the right track, and did you ever get tired of 

 looking at that wonderful iron horse as it came puffing and blowing 

 and snorting into the station with its load of human freight? Isn't 

 it wonderful? Did you ever stand at twilight in a city and see 

 the lights begin to glimmer and grow brighter and brighter, and 

 did you realize that the effect was produced by a powerful machine 

 under the control and direction of a human machine, and when you 

 have considered that all of these wonderful machines were con- 

 ceived in the minds and made with the hands of human machines? 



The estimate of the value of a machine, as indicated by the care 

 taken of it, is not high oftentimes, and it would seem that in many 

 instances poor judgment was displayed. 



A man will take a five-dollar watch and give it the best of care 

 for he realizes that it is necessary in order to get good service out 

 of it, while he will expose a $75 cream separator to all kinds of un- 



