AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING 



INTRODUCTION 



Engineering. Defined briefly, engineering is the art of 

 directing the forces of nature to do economically the work 

 of man. The pursuit of agriculture requires many mechani- 

 cal operations which involve the use of engineering methods. 



Consider the production of wheat. The plowing, the 

 pulverizing and smoothing of the soil, the cleaning and grad- 

 ing of the seed, the drilling of the seed, the harvesting, the 

 thrashing, and the hauling of the crop to market, are all 

 mechanical operations to which the skill of the mechanic or 

 engineer should be applied in order to obtain the best results. 



In like manner, if the production of other crops be con- 

 sidered, it will be found that there are many operations to be 

 performed in connection therewith, which will require the 

 directing of the forces of nature or the application of engineer- 

 ing principles. 



Agricultural Engineering. In the broadest sense, agri- 

 cultural engineering is intended to include all phases and 

 branches of engineering directly connected with the great 

 industry of agriculture. In America it is only recently that 

 the term agricultural engineering has come into general use. 

 The term rural engineering is used by some to designate the 

 same subject. 



It is only within the last few years that the importance of 

 agricultural engineering as a branch of agricultural education 

 has been recognized. A knowledge of soils and of the plants 



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