10 THE GREEN RISING 



public domain of virgin, tillable land and the liberal 

 land policies of the government that rapidly trans- 

 formed the undeveloped areas from public to private 

 ownership; (2) the rapid increase in population, re- 

 sulting from the liberal immigration policy; (3) 

 the increasing use of improved machinery and farm 

 implements; (4) the importation of an increasing 

 number of breeds of live stock; (5) the development 

 and extension of transportation facilities; (6) the 

 extension of markets for farm products, which was 

 made possible by the growth of cities, and the ex- 

 pansion of industrial enterprise; and (7) the acqui- 

 sition of scientific knowledge relating to agriculture. 



Previous to the Civil War, most of the land be- 

 tween the Alleghenies and the Mississippi was set- 

 tled, and the advance tide of immigration was 

 extended over Texas and Missouri and was rapidly 

 penetrating into the vast areas of the far West. 

 The invention of the cotton gin and the larger 

 demands for cotton had increased the production of 

 this staple from 4,000 bales in 1790, to 7,300 bales 

 in 1800, and to 3,841,416 bales in 1860. The pro- 

 duction of tobacco, sugar, rice, and other crops had 

 also made enormous gains. 



This rapid increase in production was due to 

 several causes. The invention, for instance, of farm 

 machinery was an important factor. The first cast 

 iron plow was patented by Charles Newbold in 1797. 

 The McCormick reaper came into use between 1833 

 and 1844, displacing the grain cradle. From 1820 



