MANAGEMENT 265 



where coal does not have to be hauled too far or does not cost 

 too much, and where considerable power is needed, and needed 

 a good deal of the time, steam is probably to be preferred. But 

 the advantage is clearly on the side of the explosive engine, 

 where only a small amount of power is needed, or where it is 

 needed for only short periods at a time, or where it is incon- 

 verient to give constant attention to the engine. The explosive 

 engine can be started more quickly and does not require so 

 much attention while running. 



Attempting to forecast the future is always hazardous because 

 one never knows what new inventions or improvements may 

 change the whole situation. But so far as present indications 

 go, it looks as though mechanical power would be used more 

 on farms, and animal power somewhat less. It is not improb- 

 able, moreover, that the work of hauling produce to market or 

 to shipping points will eventually be done almost exclusively by 

 mechanical power, though this will depend somewhat on the state 

 of highway improvement. A farmer who has work enough for 

 his horses on the farm could scarcely afford to use them on the 

 road, or to keep extra horses for that purpose, when auto-trucks 

 come into general use. If the farmer cannot himself own one, 

 he will probably .find it more economical to hire some one else 

 to do his freighting for him, just as he now finds it more eco- 

 nomical to ship by rail than to do his own transporting. Where, 

 however, the farmer finds that he has to keep more team force 

 than he can conveniently employ on the farm after harvest, he 

 may still find it more economical to do his own hauling with his 

 own teams. Again, the heavy work of plowing will be done more 

 and more by mechanical power. The farmer whose farm is too 

 small to make it economical for him to own a traction engine and a 

 gan^ plow will, in many cases at least, find it economical to hire 

 some one else to do his plowing, just as he now hires some one 

 else to do his threshing. The general result of these tendencies 



