SIXTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART VIII. 827 



and there ought to be a monument erected for such a man, and that mon- 

 ument ought to rear its head far above its liind. where the morning's 

 sunbeams that stream over our beautiful Iowa, will first kiss it, and 

 where the evening's golden tints will last dwell upon it. 



The discussion which followed was led by Mr. J. M. Heald, of Nashua. 

 Mr. Heald exhibited a model of the road drag used by him the past- sea- 

 son in caring for two miles of road near his home. It was the same 

 style as is used in some places in this county, and has been described in 

 most of the papers of Iowa. He said that after a little practice anyone 

 could operate it successfully. He thought that a difference of soil would 

 probably make some difference as to how dry the road should become be- 

 fore the drag should be used; but in his case the work was best done 

 when the road was just dry enough to fill in the ruts and not puddle, or 

 the first wagon over the road would slush the wet ground out of the rut. 

 One would soon learn the besc time. He dragged these two miles 13 times 

 at a cost of $7.20 or $3.60 per mile. This had previously been considered 

 one of the worst roads in that section, but this season it was considered 

 the best. The road had but little if any grade at commencement, but 

 was left with a. pretty fair grade. Bradford township, in Chickasaw 

 •county, expended about $1100 in road work, which is about $13 per mile 

 •of road. This shows quite saving by the use of the road drag. 



FARMING MOST INDEPENDENT CALLING OPEN TO MANKIND 



BY X. C. FOWLER JR. EXCHANGE. 



In the world's dictionary the farmer is defined as a plain tiller of soil; 

 and the agriculturist or planter as one who has lifted the farm on to the 

 plane of business. The term farmer, however, covers that vast company 

 of workers who by the planting of the seed raise any kind of a harvest 

 or who breed and raise cattle and other stock. The planter of the south 

 and the agriculturist of the west are both farmers, but by right of 

 courtesy are described by other titles because they carry farming into 

 iDusiness, or rather apply the methods of business to planting and harvest- 

 ing. 



The railroad may cease running, and things will continue to live. 

 The stock board may board up its doors and the world will continue to 

 move as it has been moving for centuries, subject only to transient finan- 

 cial cloudiness. Most business may go out of business and the pro- 

 fessional money no longer continue to practice,yet the people will con- 

 tinue to live and to propagate. But when there is no longer any farmer 

 there will no longer be any people, for the world will have starved to 

 death. 



