IS THE SMALL FARMER TO DISAPPEAR? 79 



spects is equivalent to the landless peasant type of the 

 old world. Of course the existence of a type like this 

 necessitates the existence of the lord of the manor, or 

 the proprietor. There is scarcely any kind of farm 

 labor except that which is known as " chores," which 

 cannot be more economically done on a large than a 

 small scale. The plains of the Virginia valleys could 

 easily be plowed by traction power if the fields were 

 made somewhat larger. Of course there are areas 

 where the ground is so stony, both in the Shenandoah 

 Valley and in the Loudoun Valley, that traction plow- 

 ing is out of the question, but these areas are compara- 

 tively small. On my own farm, as far as the arable 

 land is concerned, I imagine that four-fifths of it could 

 now be plowed by a traction engine, and a good part of 

 the rest might have the loose stones removed so as to 

 make such plowing practical. In the harvesting of the 

 crops, also, the self -loader and the hay fork are already 

 supplementing the reaper and binder in making the 

 harvest one of large dimensions and economically con- 

 ducted rather than the saving of a small crop by the old 

 hand methods. It is only the harvesting of Indian corn 

 which so far has barred the progress of improvement in 

 agricultural implements. The harvesting of the Indian 

 corn to-day is practically the same as that conducted a 

 hundred years ago. Either the corn is gathered after 

 drying upon the stalks in the fields, or the corn, while 

 still green, is cut and shocked and afterwards husked 

 by hand. I have just introduced on my farm a corn 

 harvester which cuts and binds the stalks into bundles 

 of convenient size. It apparently gives satisfaction 

 for corn drilled for ensilage, but is not so time-saving 

 when grown in hills for cultivation both ways. 



The existence of improved machinery, especially of 



