Farming

• new inventions - increases settlements
• Barbed wire - 1874


  purpose - fence off crops to protect them from livestock and animals

  good - cheaper then timber and more effective then smoothed wire fences at blocking livestock

  problem - not widely used - early types = broke and rusted - 1874 = x10 more expensive
• Sulky plough - 1875


  purpose - strong plough were used to plough up tough weeds and practise grass on plains

  good - very strong, easy to operate ride on steel plough - made ploughing easier - 50000 sold in the first 6 years

  problem - 6x as many walking ploughs were sold - cheaper and farmers understood them - early sulky ploughs were unstable and could tip over - expensive
• Windmill - 1854


  purpose - pump water out of the ground - for drink and crops

  good - cheap, easier then pumping by hand, can go 30 meters deep

  problem - only 30 feet deep, constant maintenance - needs oil, dangerous
• Turkey red wheat - 1873


  brought from Russia

  suited to Plains and grew really well
• Timber culture act - 1873


  a homesteader could buy an extra 160 acres if they promised to plant trees on a quarter of it

  tree's were wanted as;

  • they acted as wind breakers - stop crop damage
  • provide settlers with timber for houses, fences and furniture, repair equipment
  • fuel

  16 million acres of land was claimed

  what happened to most the trees - they died as the land was too dry