The American Garden. 



Vol. XI. 



SEPTEMBER, i8go. 



No. 



THEN AND NOW ON THE FARM. 



A RETROSPECT OF FIFTY YEARS, AND THE HOPE FOR THE FUTURE. 



BOY of twelve summei's, clad in 

 two curtailed garments of 

 home-spun, reaching up to the 

 handles of a Peacock plow 

 which would persist in going 

 into the beam after some neg- 

 lected stone or beech root, or 

 rise to the surface with the 

 directness and speed of a brook trout, might ha ve 

 been seen on one of the tough clay farms of western 

 New York, nearly fifty years ago. This boy was 

 simply a type of hundreds who jerked at the single 

 home-made rope line, and lustily yelled, "gee!" 

 " gee !" or lay panting on the earth holding the ach- 

 ing side which in the gyrations of that " improved " 

 plow, had come into too violent contact with those 

 abbreviated handles. One lad at least used to won- 

 der if the beam was made three times as long as 

 the handles in order to give the boy the short end 

 of the lever, so that he would not become lazy. It 

 was rcugh, hard training those young lads had, but 

 not entirely devoid of valuable lessons. Happily, 

 one may get enjoyment out of hardships which lead 

 to victories over difficulties, as well as from ease, 

 which tends to enervate. As the world progresses, 

 new and more difficult problems present themselves, 

 and a good working knowledge of Nature's modes 

 of action becomes more and more necessary. 

 But no amount of knowledge will ever relieve man- 

 kind from the necessity of putting forth effort, which 

 is the greatest factor of growth and development. 

 Knowledge makes effort more effective, hence more 

 pleasant. The lad on the sulkey plow is by no 

 means idle ; he has only substituted skill and watch- 



fulness for an aching side and bruised toes. Fifty 

 years ago, plowing was a constant warfare ; to-day 

 it is victory. The man who controls the binder must 

 not sleep at his post, or the three powerful horses, 

 so useful when subject to the direction of intelli- 

 gence, may become forces of destruction. 



A complex problem has been solved by inventive 

 genius and the introduction of cheap horse power ; 

 watchfulness and training supplant the sickle and 

 back ache, and the slight youth with gloved hands 

 and alert eye accomplishes more than could a score 

 of the old time hand reapers. Knowledge has been 

 substituted for human muscle ; or, more accurately 

 speaking, the maximum of the former and the 

 minimum of the latter have joined their forces, and 

 all mankind is benefitted by their union. 



Horticulture and agriculture are fast becoming 

 sciences ; in fact, they are sciences, and those en- 

 gaged in them are already beginning to feel the grat- 

 ification and pleasure of dominion. The man who 

 plucked the wild fruits of the forest, which were 

 pronounced good — and were as good as they could 

 be under the conditions — has given place to one 

 who now commands the knotty crab apple to bring 

 forth fruit, large fruit, sweet fruit, red fruit, and it 

 is so. He stands erect and proclaims to the myriad 

 forms of life that he is a god within his sphere, that 

 his authority comes in words that cannot be mis- 

 taken : "Let them have dominion over all the 

 earth and over every living thing." He asserts his 

 God-given right by making use of the appointed 

 means, and the first unblemished fruits reward him 

 for his obedience. He speaks, and golden grain 

 takes the place of thorns and thistles. His fiat 



