THE DIVERSIFIED FARM. 



In diversified farming by irrigation lies tne salvation of agriculture 



BIG HORSE CONTRACT. 



One of the busiest places in all Texas 

 at this time is Polk Bros.' stockyards at 

 Forth Worth, where the British govern- 

 ment is receiving the purchases of horses 

 and mules made for the army in Africa. 

 The present contract is for 2.100 head of 

 horses, and on Saturday last over 900 of 

 this number had either been accepted and 

 shipped, or were in the pens waiting in- 

 spection. The agents of the British gov- 

 ernment are at present inspecting and re- 

 ceiving 300 animals a week, the amount 

 paid out being from $12,500 to $14,000 on 

 each of the two pay days. This money 

 finds its way to a number of counties iu 

 Texas, and some of it goes to people out- 

 side of the state. At the present rate of 

 progress, it will take four or five weeks to 

 complete the contract. 



The Polk yards now have quarantine 

 pens, and all arrangements have been com- 

 pleted for handling cattle north of the 

 line. All the Jersey cattle, save one have 

 been sold, and the lone Jersey has been 

 put in a stall so that no possible contact 

 with cattle coming in can occur. It is 

 understood that the inspectors who have 

 been operating at the Union stockyards 

 will also look after the Polk yards. 



Arrangements have been made at the 

 yards for a sale pavilion, and the intention 

 is to have thoroughbred cattle, horses 

 and mules sold there at specified times, 

 but for the present Mr. Polk and all 

 hands are kept busy looking after the 

 Tiorses for King E'dward VII. 



FARMING CHEAPENED 

 Between 1855 and 1894 the improve- 

 onent in agricultural implements and ma- 



chinery was such that the time of human 

 labor required to produce a bushel of corn 

 on the average declined from 35| cents to 

 10i cents. The greatest advance was 

 made in the shelling of the corn, formerly 

 done by hand. In this case the machine 

 operated by steam shelled a bushel of corn 

 a minute, while in the old way the labor 

 of one man was required for 100 minutes 

 to do the same work. The amount of 

 human labor now required to produce a 

 bushel of wheat from beginning to end is 

 only ten minutes, while in 1830 the time 

 was three hours and three minutes. Dur- 

 ing the interval the cost of labor required 

 to produce those results declined from 

 17 cents to 3J cents. 



In 1830 a heavy, clumsy plough was 

 used, the seed was sown by hand, and was 

 harrowed into the ground by drawing 

 bushes over it; the grain was cut with 

 sickles, hauled to a barn, and threshed 

 with flails; the winnowing was done with 

 a sheet attached to rods, on which the 

 grain was placed with a shovel, and then 

 tossed up and down by two men until the 

 wind had blown out the chaff In the 

 year 1894 the ground was ploughed and 

 pulverized by a disk plough, the seed was 

 sown with a mechanical seeder drawn by 

 horses, the reaping, threshing and sacking 

 of the wheat was done by a combined 

 reaper and thresher drawn by horses, and 

 then the wheat was ready to haul to the 

 grainary. 



In the case of the corn crop the money 

 measure of the saving of human labor re- 

 quired to produce it in 1899 as compared 

 with its production in the old-time man- 

 ner was $523,276, 642; wheat, $79,194,767; 



