. The story of agriculture in the United States. able for supplyingthe current. Not all the multitude of newly invented machines canbe mentioned in a single chapter. There are cloverhullers, bean separators, and, of especial importance inthe South, real cotton pickers. Plant setting machineshave been in practical use for about twenty years; someof these water the furrow before setting the potato planter would make the farmer of a genera-tion ago sit up and rub his eyes. It requires that thepotato be supplied, but will do all the rest of its own ini-tiative. It picks the potato up an
. The story of agriculture in the United States. able for supplyingthe current. Not all the multitude of newly invented machines canbe mentioned in a single chapter. There are cloverhullers, bean separators, and, of especial importance inthe South, real cotton pickers. Plant setting machineshave been in practical use for about twenty years; someof these water the furrow before setting the potato planter would make the farmer of a genera-tion ago sit up and rub his eyes. It requires that thepotato be supplied, but will do all the rest of its own ini-tiative. It picks the potato up and looks it over — or 262 AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES seems to — cuts it in halves, quarters, or any desirednumber of parts, separates the eyes and removes theseed ends. It plants whole potatoes or parts thereof,as desired, as near together or as far apart as the judg-ment of the farmer on the driving seat suggests. Havingdropped the seed, it covers it, fertilizes it, tucks it in hkea child put to bed, and paces the next row with mathe-. Transplanting and Watering Tobacco Seedlings matical accuracy.^ So nearly like the work of humanhands is that accomplished by our modern machinery. Our study of the early farm showed that it was afactory as well; for in the home and small shops of thefarm were made the clothing, implements, and foodproducts that were needed. Then, with the inventionof machinery and the growth of factories, these home ^Scientific American Supplement, 55: 22702. THE AGE OF MACHINERY 263 industries one by one went from the farm to the process was no sooner well under way, about a halfcentury ago, when another began that is again makingthe farm a factory — but of a different sort. This hascome about through the use of farm machinery. And what shall be said of the effects of this greattransformation? Some of the advantages of the variousmachines have been mentioned as they were are still several general results to be noticed. Firs
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