what are the differences?

Daniel De Leon, New York, Modern Farming, Monday, Nov 16, 1905 - Vol 6, No. 129

Ancient lands were abosrbed by physical force. The Roman patrician and the Fedual lord added them to their domains at the point of the sword.
The modern farm is absorbed by the competition that arises from the use of modern agricultural machinery. This new force compels the large farm, for without the large farm, machinery is unprofitable; and, without a large farm, the farmer cannot survive.

The modern large farming and land holding have behind them a force that binds their many acres together in a manner that could not have been the case in ancient time, for then machinery did not exist. Because of this difference, fragmentary farming and land holding tend to become obsolete, making a reversion to them impossible without a retrogression that is dangerous to society. Thanks to machinery the tendency of modern times is toward large farms and large holdings, just as in industry, owing to the same cause, the tendency is toward large capital and large capitalist. Both tendencies are making for Socialisum. (里句, 可以唔落)

2010-04-25 09:18:50 補充：
Modern farming techniques - Benefits and consequence (...cont..) :
It can have advantages and disadvantages. Concentration on a single crop can make fertilizing and irrigation easier, but reduce biodiversity and possibly subject the crops to greater environmental affects and pests.

2010-04-25 09:18:57 補充：
Modern crops create higher yields, but they can prove vulnerable to indigenous diseases or require additional resources for fertilizer, or irrigation, or both.

2010-04-25 10:03:00 補充：
Ancient farming :... (cont....)
The ancient farming can also has advantages and disadvantages adversely to the Modern farming. By comparison, agriculture and pastoralism, Farmers, especially in ancient and medieval times, had to work much harder and thus had less leisure than hunter-gatherers.

2010-04-25 10:03:55 補充：
So farmers could produce far more food, perhaps children too, but the food was of lower nutritional.

Daniel De Leon, New York, Modern Farming, Monday, Nov 16, 1905 - Vol 6, No. 129

Ancient lands were abosrbed by physical force. The Roman patrician and the Fedual lord added them to their domains at the point of the sword.
The modern farm is absorbed by the competition that arises from the use of modern agricultural machinery. This new force compels the large farm, for without the large farm, machinery is unprofitable; and, without a large farm, the farmer cannot survive.

The modern large farming and land holding have behind them a force that binds their many acres together in a manner that could not have been the case in ancient time, for then machinery did not exist. Because of this difference, fragmentary farming and land holding tend to become obsolete, making a reversion to them impossible without a retrogression that is dangerous to society. Thanks to machinery the tendency of modern times is toward large farms and large holdings, just as in industry, owing to the same cause, the tendency is toward large capital and large capitalist. Both tendencies are making for Socialisum.