434 
March S, 1019 
| HOPE FARM NOTES 
They tell mo that if the war had Roue 
on for another year the slaughter of 
human life would have been too horrible 
for expression. The chemists and the 
engineers had devised explosives and 
gases and means of handling them which 
would .have been as superior to our 
present method's of political murder as 
gunpowder was over the weapons of the 
stone age! That seems like a strong 
statement, but it is nearly correct. The 
great danger to the peace of the world 
lies in the possibility that Germany will 
keep on developing this chemical side of 
slaughter, while the rest of the world 
applies scientific research to the arts of 
peace. These busy brains which have 
been perfecting the art of killing men 
must keep on working. AN hat will they 
do to help make men live—when the 
world is tired of slaughter? 
***** 
Those of us who live in the country 
are most interested in what, will happen 
to farming. There can be no doubt that 
great changes are coming, particularly on 
the Atlantic slope, and no man can tell 
what these changes will be, because we 
cannot tell what new sources of power 
will be developed. The distribution of 
wealth in this country has closely fol¬ 
lowed the distribution of power, and that 
seems to be why wealth has been largely 
grouped around steam and fuel. The big 
engines in the city, and the business of 
carrying coal to them, have pulled money 
to them as magnets attract iron. Over 
25 years ago I wrote 50 men who were 
supposed to be leaders of farm thought, 
and asked them to tell what they thought 
would be the condition of farmers in 
1920. Not one of them got within a mile 
of present conditions, because not one of 
them could conceive of the present gaso¬ 
lene engine! Every prediction was based 
on the theory that steam was practically 
the only available power. Not one of 
them knew anything about the explosive 
engine or the great possibilities in the 
distribution of power from electricity or 
compressed air. Thus these prophets 
made no allowa—ce for the effect of cars, 
trucks, tractors and small engines upon 
farm life, and they made a poor job of 
sizing up the future. 
***** 
I have always felt that many a promis¬ 
ing boy and girl would have remained 
on the ‘farm if they could have been 
made to realize that power was coming 
to the country. Life Is just one long 
search for power .and could these young 
people have known how gasolene and 
alcohol and electricity were to put power 
right in their hands they would have re¬ 
mained in the country to utilize it. Look¬ 
ing into the future again I think it is 
once more to be a new distribution of 
power which is to give the country a 
more nearly even chance with the city. 
The other day a flying machine carrying 
two men flew from New York to AN ash- 
ington in a little over an hour and a half. 
There was an average speed of 168 miles 
per hour. The engine power of this 
machine was 400 horse power. Twenty- 
five years ago this would have been her¬ 
alded as a miracle. Today it is so com¬ 
mon that a little news item covers it. In 
another quarter of a century I have no 
doubt the flying machine will be developed 
so that it will be of practical service to 
farmers. Quite likely an orchard will 
then be sprayed from above, and we shall 
use such a machine to deliver some of 
our goods in the city. I predict that 
inside of five years there will be regular 
air service across the Atlantic. The thing 
that impresses me is the fact that these 
flving machines are kept afloat by driving 
them onward. It is the power of the 
forward movement which overcomes the 
force of gravity and holds them in the air. 
Evidently the little bird cannot fly until 
it gets the courage to believe that it can¬ 
not fall so long as it keeps going ahead. 
That is what me must: realize as farmers. 
While we keep trying to move on, with 
faith and courage, we shall not fall down. 
***** 
On page 415 is a farmer’s story of a 
power ditcher. When I read of the speed 
of this machine my mind goes back to the 
long stretches of ditch T have dug out 
one spadeful at a time. I think the next 
few years are to seo a most wonderful 
development in working the land. The 
tractors now in use are all more or less 
experiments. I think they will be im¬ 
proved and adapted as the cars have been. 
Men who read this can remember when 
each farmer thrashed his own grain, 
sawed his wood and did a lot of other 
things as an individual. Many or most 
of these things are now done co-operative¬ 
ly or as a community. As power reaches 
more and more into the country I think 
we will organize to handle it in a large 
wav. and distribute it in a small way. 
The tractors will make it necessary to 
use new types of machinery for smooth¬ 
ing and fitting the soil. 
***** 
As for the supplies of plant food in the 
future, we must face the fact that except 
,,n the dairy or livestock farms there will 
be a shortage of manure. I shall not be 
at all surprised to see manure go to such 
a price commercially that it will be sold 
from some dairy farms as hay is now 
sold. That is already done with dried 
sheep and poultry manure and before 
many years it will be done with dried 
horse and cow manure. We have got to 
come to a great development of cover 
7ht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
crops in order to keep up fertility._ Just I 
as potash was found in those W estern 
lakes I think we are to discover new 
sources of plant food. The chemists will 
teach us how to make use of these things. 
Dr. Lipman’s plan for using sulphur with 
soil and manure to make phosphate rock 
available is. I think, only the beginning 
of a new system of handling plant food. 
The chemists are going to show us how 
to utilize some of our rocks to. develop 
potash and lime. I shall fertilize my 
fields quite largely from these old stone 
walls. The scientists are going to show 
ns how to organize and use the tremen¬ 
dous power of the bacteria in the soil. 
We apply something of this now in yeast 
and various "starters,” and schemes for 
"inoculation.” In the future we shall 
learn how to work these millions of soil 
germs as we now work our live stock. AA e 
are also going to civilize and harness 
some of our present "weeds,” and find 
that they can save and use plant food 
Power is coming from various sources 
which will. I think, put some of our 
present monopolies out of business. For 
instance, there is in the atmosphere to¬ 
day enough of electric energy to move 
the world off into space if we could har¬ 
ness and direct it. Your children and 
mine will see this tremendous power 
brought under control. If the frightful 
power of that lightning stroke which 
ruined your barn could have been stored 
and held captive it would have turned 
every wheel on your farm for five years. 
Our scientists are just getting ready, to 
catch this wild horse and harness him. 
As the use of bright light quickens up 
the egg yield, so the use of electricity 
will quicken up our crops. With cheap 
power we shall learn to turn it into 
dozens of new forms. In former years 
I have not seen much chance for the 
small manufacturer of industrial alcohol. 
With the coming of Prohibition I think 
the local eid< nill will be changed into a 
central still where waste fruit and vege¬ 
tables can be made into alcohol to be 
used as fuel in place of gasolene. Within 
a few years there will come a time when 
it will hardly pay to build a new railroad 
or trolley line. Our roads will be double- 
tracked with flat steel rails, over which 
trucks and cars can make great speed. In 
that day the greater part of the freight 
and express within a space of 150 miles 
from New York will be carried in power¬ 
ful trucks. There will be tunnels under 
the river through which these trucks may, 
run direct to a market. This will revo¬ 
lutionize our present foolish and expen¬ 
sive market system and compel a like 
change in every large market in the 
country. 
***** 
I have long believed that in the future | 
our scientific men will learn how to battle 
with drought and disease on the farm. 
I am told that had the war continued 
the American chemists were preoaring to 
use poison gas enough to cover 25 square 
miles of territory at one time! If they 
can do that they can learn how to get 
up into the clouds and make them give 
up their moisture as rain. Everyone 
laughed at the so-called "rainmakers” 
who appeared on the Western deserts 
years ago. They failed, but now that the 
flying machine will put them up into 
the clouds I believe they will learn how 
to condense and drive out the moisture. 
We laugh at the "tree depers” who claim i 
to cure the tree and kill its insects by 
poking some sort of powder into the trunk. 
Most of these are plain, shameless fakers 
Others are “cranks” with a dim, distorted 
vision of a great truth. Take it from 
me that in the future our children will 
fight both insects and plant, diseases by 
a combination of electricity and chemicals 
driven into the tree or plant. We cannot 
do it now. It must be spray and spray 
again, yet HO years ago one of our great 
fruit growers told me the. only way to 
fight the codling-worm was to keep a 
flock of sheep in the orchard. Now that 
means spray six times during the season. 
***** 
Do vou really believe all this? 
I do! 
Do you expect to live to see any of it? 
I hope to. What have I not seen de¬ 
velop in the past 16 °r 15 years? 
Is farming then going to be such a 
great business? 
It is. The biggest business on earth— 
for somebody. 
What do you mean by that? 
Just what I say. In the future our 
farming with all those advantage.* will be 
worked out. by men who may be called 
small freeholders—each working his own 
farm, but still member of a great co¬ 
operation—or by great monied interests 
running our farms on a sort of tenant 
system. 
Is there really any danger that our 
very rich men may control farming as 
they now do banking, manufacturing and 
transportation? 
There is. I believe they are working 
for it, and 1 these great changes which are 
coming will enable them to do it faster 
if we permit them. 
How can you stop it? 
There is only one way. Find how to 
interest our boys and girls in country 
life, and keep them in the country. All 
the wealth and political power in the 
world can never take farming away from 
a class of farmers who are proud of their 
business and believe in it. I think the 
prosperous farm and the contented farm, 
family is the last defense against the 
control of this country by “big business.” 
What’s to be done about it? 
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