The influence of science and technology inside a free society may have been even more profound than seems at first glance. The farming of the 20th century, with its chemicals, genetics, machines, and all, required not only vast infusions of capital but brains and a considerable knowledge. Farmers had to be literate at the very least. Elitist systems, where one group of people get educated and the others get worked, could not accomplish much in the modern agricultural world. Furthermore, notions of two kinds of education—one for the better sort who think, and another for the inferiors who do the work—could and did seriously impede the development of a modern agriculture. The backwardness of most of the world, the poverty of the underdeveloped countries, stemmed in large part from the impediments created by an ignorant population.
A country like the United States with its highly technical and scientific farming could not afford, simply could not endure, limited educational opportunities for its people. Neither could it long endure any class structure which placed farmers in an inferior position; for when men feel inferior because of their work they tend to shift to some other task, leaving the despised work to those who cannot avoid it. A highly developed agriculture in the hands of the truly inferior, the stupid and uneducated, would simply collapse. America, the land of plenty, had to maintain a high level of education open to all and a society where men reached status, at least partly, by effort and talent. In 20th century America the comparative social and economic equality continued, in large part, because the level of technology and science used in America demanded it. This equality may be one of the most important consequences of the technological and scientific advances in agriculture during the years 1607-1972.
Catalog of Agricultural Implements and
Machines in the Collection
In the following catalog the items are listed numerically in the order in which the museum received them, with the earliest first and the latest last. This arrangement permits expansion and reissue of the catalog simply by adding new entries; and the user of the catalog can easily find everything acquired in any given year. In effect, the catalog thus presents an historical account of the development of the museum collection. Following the item's title appears the National Museum accession number (USNM number); year of accession, if known; description; and donor.
The index to the catalog has several major categories of cross-referenced entries. In addition to the general object class, such as "Tractor," it includes use-entries, such as "Plant husbandry," the names of donors, vendors, and those who arranged for the gifts.
[1.] Korean Sketch of Farming in the Late 18th Century. USNM 19048; 1887. Korean farmers plowing and breaking clods of earth. Painted by Han Chin U. Gift of G. Goward, Washington, D. C.
[2.] Korean Sketch of Threshing in the Late 18th Century. USNM 19048; 1887. Korean farmers threshing rice. By Han Chin U. Gift of G. Goward, Washington, D. C.
[3.] Korean Fishing Scene of the Late 18th Century. USNM 19048; 1887. Koreans using a fish trap. By Han Chin U. Gift of G. Goward, Washington, D. C.