Mass Production Flashcards
In what decade did internal combustion engines start replacing steam engines?
1920s
Did steam engines fully replace horses as sources of motive power on farms?
No
When did the US declare the frontier closed
1890
How long is the time lag between the US and Canada in settlement?
about 20 years
Between 1881 and 1911, the population of the Canadian prairies grew by what factor?
8 times
Did the government encourage immigration to the prairies?
Yes. The government sought to attract immigrants from the British Empire but also elsewhere from Europe and the United States
What is spring wheat?
Wheat planted during the spring
What is winter wheat?
Wheat planted during the late summer or early fall and harvested the following summer. Winter wheat consequently has higher protein content.
What technology allowed spring wheat to compete with winter wheat? When did these emerge?
New flour milling techniques using steel rollers; 1870
When was Marquis wheat made available to farmers?
1909
What strains of wheat were combined to make Marquis wheat?
High-quality Red Fife spring wheat combined with a strain from India
When was Marquis wheat first developed
about 1892
How did steam engines fare on farmland before the 1890s?
While steam equipment gained traction, they were heavy which meant they could get bogged down in muddy soil. Also still quite expensive
What improvements made the steam engine viable on farms?
Improvement in the power-to-weight ratio, become cheaper as market broadens as does the price of steel.
What decades did steam engines come in force on farms
1900s-1920s
How did the Massey-Harris company form? When?
Two Canadian farm companies founded by Daniel Massey (1847) and Alanson Harris (1857) merged in 1891
What did Massey-Harris produce?
Horse drawn reapers and mowers
When did Massey-Harris begin to produce gasoline engines? Why?
1910, after acquiring the Deyo-Macey company which produced them.
What is a prime mover in a factory?
A motor which produces mechanical energy
When were internal combustion engines (gasoline engines) first developed?
1880s
What was the initial intent in the development of gasoline engines?
to serve as prime movers in factories or for farm machinery
How did World War 1 affect the adoption of the internal combustion engine on the farm?
Demand for wheat escalates to feed the war effort, while both men and horses are shipped overseas or transferred to military industry. Mechanization of the farm has new appeal.
When did Massey-Harris start selling gasoline tractors?
After 1914
With whom did Massey-Harris compete for selling tractors
Massey-Harris found it hard to compete with Ford who produced the Model F, which could run on gas and kerosene
What did the tractor have relative to horse or human labour on farms?
A ridiculous economy of labour. One tractor pulling a harvester-thresher could replace many dozens of workers with scythes.
Which crops remained labour intensive? Why?
Cotton, Tobacco, Tomatoes.
These were harder to mechanize, due to the varying toughness and structure of each crop affecting its harvestability by machine.
Was the mechanization of the farms a gradual or rapid process?
Gradual
Why did the number of work animals increase on US farms even as steam and gas vehicles became available?
The total number of farms increased. Many farmers who could not afford the vehicles either due to the small scales of the farm or the new technology’s price used work animals.
When did the number of work animals on farms peak?
1920
What year did the number of work animals on farm equal the number of vehicles?
1950
Why did farms require less vehicle units than animal units?
They had a significantly higher horsepower. Even as the total units decreased, an exponential increase in horsepower.
What three power sources were involved in Canadian farm machinery?
Animal, steam, gas
From what source did US agriculture’s increased productivity in the late 19th c come from?
New farms being established and recovery after the civil war. New technology served to reduce labour. Yields per acre had only a marginal increase and did not contribute much to increased production.
Why did the rural population shrink and move into towns?
Farms grew larger and labour-efficient, meaning fewer people were needed on the farms. Grain elevators and branch railways made exports more efficient. Little room to grow in the country, while Cities were growing and offered employment and amenities– AND ELECTRICITY.
What sources grew city populations aside from rural immigration? I
Immigration from abroad. New settlers increasingly end up in the cities, not the country
For rural people with jobs, was the end of the 19th century a time of relative prosperity?
Yes. Mechanization made agriculture more efficient.
Even without electricity, cars, trains, and catalogue ordering still plugged rural dwellers into a wider network of exchange to buy and sell. Farms were being able to pay off the initial loans of pioneering, and saw their socioeconomic lot improve.
True or false; without immigration from the countryside, early modern cities (<~1700) would have ceased to exist due to the high mortality rate?
True
Were cities historically great places to be?
No. Crowded and lots of disease.
Why were European cities after the fall of the Roman Empire small?
1) Lost infrastructure and organizational skills from Romans
2) Lost the empire-wide ability to import commodities
3) Lots of warfare
4) Warfare meant cities had to be small enough to be surrounded by walls
5) Cramped cities without infrastructure such as aqueducts or sewers were ravaged by disease
How large were European cities through the medieval and early modern periods?
Most only numbered a few thousand people
in what decades did public health become a priority in North America?
1830s and 1840s
Why were parks constructed in the context of public health?
It was thought that wide green spaces could improve the moral health of the population (moral being a general theory of character).
