INDIANA   FARMER.
VOL   II.]
Devoted to Agriculture, Horticulture, Mechanics and the Useful Arts.
[NO. 10.
»:•& •"•\«SSJ"'{ Editors.)      RICHMOND, IND., JANUARY 15,1851.   ("••»—-»• *,«•;
\V. T. Dean
Report froni ttie Census Bureau.
, (Continued.)
VALUE   OF    FARMING  IMPLEMENTS AND MACHINE-
M.
For no stronger proof of the ingenuity and
Activity of the American mind need we search,
than that developed in tho readiness with which
labor-saving expedients for carrying on the
commonest operations in agriculture are discovered and applied. One hundred and fifty-
one millions of dollars would appear to be at
this time invested in implements and machinery for hiding and abridging the work of the
hands in the cultivating the earth and preparing its produce for consumption. In most civilized countries ol the Old World, so great is
the density of the population, and the prices of
labor so low, as to create less necessity for such
machines; and nowhere does the same amount:
of ingenuity appear to have been exercised in
their preparation as is evinced with ourraecha-'
nics and husbandmen. )
In some porlions of the Old World, where'
the necessity is felt and acknowledged by the
intelligent, a predominating prejudice hot un-•
frequently exists among others in the commu-
nity against what is new, and prohibits the in-;
Production of anything not stamped with the !
'approval of their ancestors, nor covered with!
the venerable moss of antiquity. Here, how-1
ever, no such sentiment influences the farmer to i
■reject a useful invention. j
. No greater delight was enjoyed by foreigners I
in London, during the Great Industrial Exhibi- I
tion, than that by Americans on the trial of
the reaping machines and the triumphant sue-!
cess Of the American Reaper. Of the whole j
-sum expended in articles of this character, N. •
York has invested $22,G84,976; Pennsylvania!
$14,722,531; Louisiana $11,666,938, (perhaps!
to a great extent in machinery for crushin" su- i
$ar cane;) Ohio, $12,750,585; Kentucky" $5;
169,037; Virginia, $7,021,772.
DOMESTIC   ANIMALS.
When we consider the social condition of1
nations, long congregated and civilized; and1
necessarily existing under the impulses of util-!
inarianism.it is not surprising thatmaii, whether possessing a permanent abode, orhavin" em- '
igrated to a distant land, should become attach- ;
ed to those animals which have proffered to ''
him their perfect obedience, sagacity, courage,'
strength, velocity, milk, fleece, flesh, &c, and '
should regard them with admiration, gratitude,!
and even affection. Such, doubtless, was the'
case with most or the adventurers who first
sought a new home on our shores, and brought
with them those animals which would render1
them the most assistance and subserve the be.=t
purposes for clothing and food.
The first animals introduced into  America
from Europe were by Columbus, in his second
j voyage, in 1493.    He left Spain as admiral of
.seventeen ships, bringing a collection of European trees, plants and seeds of various kinds,
. a number of horses, a bull and several cows.
j     The first horses brought into any part of the
territory   at   present embraced  in the  United
I States were landed  in  Florida, byCabeza.de
j Vaca, in 1527, forty-seven   in number, all of
i which perished or were otherwise  killed.    The
j next importation  was also brought to   Florida,
jby De Soto, in 1539, which consisted of a large
I number of horses and swine, among which were
| thirteen sows, the progeny of the latter soon af-
i ter increasing to several hundreds.
, The Portuguese took cattle and swine to New
Foundland and Nova Scotia in the year 1553.
I Thirty years after, they had multiplied so abun-
idahtlythat   Sir Richard  Gilbert   attempted to
i land there to obtain supplies of cattle and hogs
I for his crew, but was wrecked.
I     Swine and other domestic animals were brot'
over 'to Acadia by M. L'Escarbot,  a  French
! lawyer, in 1604, the year that country was set-
led.    In 1608 the French extended their settlement  into Canada, and soon  after introduced
various animals.
In 1609, three ships from England landed at
Jamestown, in Virginia, with many emigrants,
and-the following domestic animals, namely,
six mares, one horso, six hundred swine, five
hundred domestic fowls, with a few sheep and :
goats. Other animals had been previously introduced there. In 1611, Sir Thomas Gates
brought over to the same settlement one hundred cows, besides other cattle. The year following Sir Ralph Lane imported some cows
from the West Indies. In 1710, an edict was
issued in Virginia prohibiting the killing of domestic animals of any kind on penalty of death
to the principal, burning the hand and loss of
the ears to the accessory, and twenty-four hours
whipping to the concealer.
As early as the year 1617, the swine had multiplied so rapidly in the colony that the people
were obliged to palisade Jamestown to prevent
being overrun by them. In 1627, the Indians
near the settlement fed upon hogs, which had
become wild, instead of game. Every family
in Virginia al that time, who had not abundance
of tame hogs and poultry, was considered very
poor. In 1648, some of the settlers had a good
stock of bees.    In 1057, sheep and mares were
forbidden   to bo exported from tho provence	
By the year  1722, or before, sheep had  somewhat multiplied, and bore pood fleeces.
As early as 1029, the Plymouth colony'of
Massachusetts possessed cattle, goats, poultry
and swine. Hence it may be concluded that
their importation  followed soon after thc first