Page:Evolution of American Agriculture (Woodruff).djvu/60

56 population of 10,000,000, adding vastly to the food supply of an increasing population.

During this period a desperate warfare was carried on in the semi-arid region of the West between the cattle men and the homesteaders on "Nesters." The Campbell system of dry farming made it possible to extend the cultivated area to the very edge of the arid region and thereby restrict the open range. The "Nesters" finally prevailed and ranching materially declined. The old free life of the plains and the romance of the "trail" passed into the realm of song and story.

The general farmer is now taking the place of the range men as the breeder and feeder of cattle. Better methods are producing more and better cattle and, despite the trustification of the slaughtering business by the packing interests, the raising and finishing of "block" cattle is a most attractive side of modern farming.

It is also interesting to note that the general farming situation has resulted in a revival of cattle raising in the mountainous sections of the East, from Maine to Georgia.

This period has also seen the development of Agricultural Colleges in all the states, the spread of agricultural knowledge by means of the Farmers' Institutes, and field demonstrations, and the quasi-government direction of rural activity by means of County Agricultural Agents sent out by the Department of Agriculture. Indeed, so great is the progress of farming on the scientific side that it seems likely to enter the ranks of the learned and dignified professions.