TECHNOLOGY TECHNOLOGY Cell phones a new invention in the 1950s were used only for telephone calls Today’s technology has been in the process of development for thousands of years New inventions are constantly changing how people work and play They change how people think and live The future will bring even more changes This will happen as we continue to learn about the world Agriculture Thousands of years ago humans relied on hunting fishing and gathering to provide food for their families They looked to find edible plants for food Soon people realized they could grow these plants They also found they could make clothing out of plant fibers or threads People used cotton and flax to make clothing This was the beginning of farming People had to learn how to prepare or cultivate the soil for planting crops They learned how to breed or grow plants They learned how to process or change plants to grow what they wanted Agriculture is the science of growing crops Agriculture has used advancements in technology to improve the methods for growing and harvesting crops A G R I C U L T U R E Wheel rakes attach to tractors and sweep cut grain crops into piles Often farmers use other equipment to make the piles into bails 5
Farm Equipment A farmer plants crops in shallow trenches Sowing the seeds is another way to describe the process of planting Furrows are shallow trenches that look like narrow grooves in the ground The farmer turns over the dirt to mix nutrients into the soil Plants need nutrients to stay healthy Farmers also turn the ground in order to loosen the soil and give seeds room to grow One invention designed to break up soil is the plow A plow is a piece TECHNOLOGY machines Tractors are a type of vehicle which has large wheels to keep it from sinking in mud A horse pulling a plow makes a single furrow Farmers plow in a straight line wherever possible of metal shaped liked a V in the front It digs furrows when dragged along the ground A farmer pushes the plow from behind or pulls it from the front He may also use an animal like a horse or an ox to push or pull the plow A tractor is used to pull many farming A tractor pulling a plow makes many furrows E R U T L U C I R G A 6
TECHNOLOGY Sickles and Reapers Farmers need to harvest the crops or cut them down and gather the useable portions after they have grown to full size People can cut crops by hand One invention they can use to make the job easier is a sickle A sickle is a tool with a sharp curved blade Harvesting with a sickle is hard work and takes a long time The reaper is another invention This is a machine that cuts wheat and other grains using many blades It works much faster than a sickle Cotton Gin Following the harvest there is sometimes more work to do Farmers must process some crops before they are used For example cotton grows in balls with many small seeds The cotton fibers must be unwound and someone must remove all the seeds People then make thread from the cotton A worker will weave the thread into fabric for clothes Another name for a sickle is a scythe A cotton boll holds the ripe balls of cotton Reapers threshing machines can cut a lot of grain in a short time Commercial looms weave lots of cloth at one time A G R I C U L T U R E 7
8 A G R I C U L T U R E TECHNOLOGY Chemicals Fertilizers Fertilizers are substances that add nutrients to the soil to help plants grow Natural fertilizers have been used for centuries They include manure or the excrement of animals They also include guano which is made of bird and bat droppings Compost is a mixture of decaying plant material and people use it as a fertilizer Some farmers use chemical fertilizers to help their crops grow Chemicals are things which may be found in nature or created in a laboratory Liquid fertilizer is sometimes added to the soil Compost Compost is one of nature’s best mulches and is a great soil fertilizer Did you know you can make your own compost You can make it without spending any money and it will make your garden or the plants in your yard grow Eli Whitney 1765-1825 Getting to know Eli Whitney was born in Westborough Massachusetts on December 8 1765 Whitney worked as a farm laborer and schoolteacher to save money to attend Yale University In 1793 Eli Whitney learned of the problems with processing cotton and developed a machine that would use a comb and roller to make the work much easier He invented the cotton gin His invention made it easier and quicker to separate the cotton fibers from the seeds Eli ran into many problems with his request for a patent but it finally received approval by the court in 1807
