278 Elementary Principles of Agriculture 



forms of farm machinery often taxes the mechanical 

 skill of the average worker. Much loss results from the 

 neglect to repair agricultural machines promptly and 

 systematically. Many machines are discarded which 

 would be almost as good as new if the broken parts 

 were replaced. Costly agricultural machines should be 

 kept under shelter when not in actual use, to lengthen 

 their period of usefulness. 



397. The Influence of Agricultural Machinery on the 

 quantity and quality of farm productions has brought 

 many changes. The year 1850 has been mentioned as 

 marking the transition from the use of implements for 

 hand-production to those for machine-production. The 

 increase in production per farm worker under modern 

 methods is most marked. The Roman farmer in the 

 time of Columella spent four and six-tenths days in 

 growing a bushel of wheat. It is stated in the Thirteenth 

 Annual Report of the United States Department of 

 Labor that the American farmer spent three hours in 

 1830, under hand methods, in producing a bushel of 

 wheat, at a cost of 17.7 cents, while now the same result 

 is secured in nine minutes at a cost of 3.5 cents. In 1800, 

 97 per cent of our people were living on farms, or in 

 small towns, depending upon agriculture for food; 

 yet, with all this army of workers, the country raised 

 only five and five-tenths bushels of wheat per person. 

 In 1900, while approximately only one-third of the 

 population lived on farms, the production of wheat 

 was ten bushels per capita, one-half of which was in 

 excess of our needs. 



398. Other Changes in Farm Conditions have been 

 made, at least in part, as a result of the change from 

 hand methods to machine methods of production. An 



