84 



THIRD ANNUAL SESSIONS 



very valuable implement for securing a mellow seed bed. The planting 

 is done by means of a combined implement consisting of a 24 tine culti- 

 vator, a consolidator, the planting coulters, and a harrow hung on be- 

 hind; the four operations being done simultaneously by this machine 

 which cultivates, packs, seeds and harrows sixty acres per day. The 

 amount of land that a steam plow turns over, is from fifteen to twenty 

 acres per day, or usually from 2,500 to 3,500 acres per annum, according to 

 the number of days it's at work, and the nature and condition of the 

 soil. In the Tra^nsvaal, with steam tackle, it is possible to plow practi- 

 cally every day in the year. 



Soil Treatment. 



"The soil of Vereeniging is a fair, average quality, and varies from a 

 stiff clay to a light, sandy loam, and the amazing thing is, that in spite 

 of the severe drouth of the past five years, the Vereeniging crops have 

 not only never failed, but have shown an increased yield every season 

 without the use of manure. This result, McLaren attributes to deep plow- 

 ing, thorough tillage, and the use of moisture-saving fallows. The value 



Summer Fallow. 



of those fallow lands was shown in a striking way last season when the 

 maize harvest ended, on August 26th, and planting for the new crop 

 started the very next day, or about one month ahead of the usual time of 

 seeding. The final result of these operations may be summed up in a 

 single sentence. 



Results of Methodical Work. 



"McLaren has conclusively demonstrated that, under ordinary con- 

 ditions, the dry lands of the Transvaal, cultivated in a scientific manner, 

 with double engine system of steam tackle, in the hands of skilled work- 

 men, will successfully produce large crops of maize in seasons of the 

 severest drouth. He is therefore entitled to be ranked as the pioneer 

 dry-land farmer of South Africa. 



"And now, in closing this paper, already too long, I desire to thank 

 you for your kind reception. I have journeyed over twelve thousand 

 miles by land and sea, to be present at this great Congress. And, al- 

 though I am a citizen of another country, I am no stranger within your 

 gates. For, as a lad, I have lived and toiled with you on the prairies of 

 the West, and I am a student of two of your universities. It is not, how- 

 ever, for any personal merit that you welcome me here to-day, but rather 

 because I bear you greetings from the youngest of states and the oldest 

 of empires. Because I am bidden by the Prime Minister of the Trans- 

 vaal and by his Excellency, the Governor, to convey to you their warm 

 appreciation of the lasting work which has been accomplished by the 

 various representatives of the American people in the mineral and agri- 

 cultural development of South Africa; and because I am requested by the 

 Secretary of State for Colonies, and by the British Ambassador to express 

 to you their personal interest, on behalf of the Imperial Government, in 

 the important work in which you are now engaged. The Dutch and 



