SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENTS IN THE UNITED STATES. 35 



attempted until the endowment of Agricultural Colleges 

 began; and but little has been done even at those institu 

 tions, except in a crude and confused way. In the practical 

 application of science to agriculture, however, and in the 

 invention and introduction of labor-saving machinery of the 

 most diversified kinds, our people have become celeW&amp;gt;*4 all 

 over the civilized world. 



In the construction of machinery for steam-plowing we 

 do not yet compete with our English brethren, for the sim 

 ple reason that our virgin soils, where steam-plowing is 

 practicable, can not be advantageously worked by steam, 

 except when an extraordinary depth of furrow is required, 

 such, for instance, as in the cultivation of root crops; and 

 these crops in our country, where corn is so cheap, can not 

 be made profitable unless it be in special localities or sea 

 sons. Nevertheless, of late attention has been turned in 

 this direction, and I confidently believe that in the Parvin 

 motor will be found the principle which will eventually 

 compete successfully with horse-power, not only in plowing 

 our soils, but in all the operations of the farm where steam 



