THE PURCHASE OF FARM MACHINERY 117 



The Purchase of Farm Machinery. Since the industrial revo- 

 lution in agriculture, the farmer normally buys most of the tillage 

 tools used on his farm. This fact is best appreciated when we 

 contrast the situation to-day with that of the time of George 

 Washington, when tillage tools and household supplies were made 

 on the farm. For instance, a neighbor of Washington's has left 

 us this description of the work done on a farm near Mount Vernon: 



"My father had among his slaves carpenters, coopers, sawyers, black- 

 smiths, tanners, curriers, shoemakers, spinners, weavers, and knitters. His 

 woods furnished timber and plank for the carpenters and coopers, and char- 

 coal for the blacksmith; his cattle killed for his own consumption and for sale, 

 supplied skins for the tanners, curriers, and shoemakers; and his sheep gave 

 wool and his fields produced cotton and flax for the weavers and spinners, 

 and his own orchards fruits for the distillers. His carpenters and sawyers 

 built and kept in repair all the dwelling houses, barns, stables, ploughs, bar- 

 rows, gates, etc., on the plantation, and the outhouses of the house . . . The 

 blacksmiths did all the iron work required by the establishment, as making 

 and repairing ploughs, barrows, teeth, chains, bolts, etc." 



As described elsewhere in this book, the division of labor be- 

 tween town and country has taken away from the farm most of 

 the processes of manufacture. This has given rise, at frequent 

 periods, to chafings and mutterings of discontent on the part of 

 the farmer, particularly as to the quality and cost of the imple- 

 ments purchased by him, and the high cost of repairs. As described 

 elsewhere, the "farmers, through the National Grange actually con- 

 templated entering upon the manufacture on a large scale of farm 

 implements, placing the factories near the centers of farm crop 

 production. This scheme however, finally fell through. The 

 manufacture of most forms of farm machinery has therefore come 

 to be in private hands. The exception to this rule may be found 

 in those States where prison labor is used for making certain farm 

 machinery. The sale of farm implements is chiefly in the hands 

 of private dealers. However, the purchase of farm machinery 

 collectively by organized groups of farmers, through various forms 

 of cooperative associations, is gradually increasing. The outlook 

 is very favorable for the use here of cooperative purchases by the 

 combined farmers in dealing with the manufacturers or the dis- 

 tributors. Since farmers are slower to form combines than are 

 manufacturers, the problem which has for some years confronted 

 the farmer is this, namely : What is the correct economic policy 

 for the scattered, unorganized farmers to adopt towards the com- 

 binations of manufacturers of tillage tools? Shall farmers combine 

 and deal with the combined manufacturers on a basis of equality? 

 Or shall farmers, through the processes of the courts, seek to dis- 



