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Show I MOTOR ns I REPLACE MEN During the coming season motor machinery' Wfll be a crowing factor loward enabling the farmer to main-lain main-lain the production of foodstuff.- it usual standards, according to W K. Blodgett, assistant extension professor I ' in the department of rural englni i New York State College of Agrieul-ture. Agrieul-ture. In a recently published article. With competent farm hands gone, in saft. with help of any sort well-nigh W unobtainable, the farmer who has just W J; come through a season fraught with 1' labor problems more perplexing than Hj ever before realizes that next season j promises to be still more serious, he H . declares: f: "The -writer has heard from many farmers who have made up their j minds that t r. 1 r farms must be oper- ated next year without tbe usual hired ;j help. They are planning to do the work ! almost wholly by their own laboi sisted by modern machinery. -Milking machines, power pumps, hay tools. I trucks and tractors will replace hired Bi "In this emergency the tractor as- Hp sumes a new value. Heretofore the Hr question was whether the tractor II would pay that is would it be ad vis - I able with a choice between horse power to abandon some of the former J for the uncertainties of the latter? I ,' Farmers in New York state as a whole J had, up to a short time ago. felt that j2 it would be wise to let the other fel- I 1 low try out the tractor and demon - J etrate its value. Today many farmers I 1 are assuming that the tractor can do j j good work on their farms, and they Hj 1 amply want to get Information about II the adaptability of the various types j to their special conditions Farmers are Interested, j i "The questions which come to the j 3 Rural Engineering department of the j State College of Agriculture at Ithicu run like those. "Is such and such a typi of tractor adapted to hilly land0' Is kerosene demonstrated to be a practical fuel?' "How mtieh have others found to be a reasonable depreciation charge?' 'How much mechanical skill is required to operate one successfully?' success-fully?' While many a New York farmer is thinking that a tractor is a good buy today, yet the caution with which he goes to the tractor proposition shows that he intends to act only after consideration. He probably has seen the example of a tractor bought by a neighbor without consideration of how the tool would replace man or horse power and without experienced ex-perienced help. improperly cared car-ed for, and finally given up in dls gust. Such unfortunate examples have done a good deal in the past to discourage dis-courage the wider use of improved labor-saving machinery. After a careful study of the failure, as well as the successes suc-cesses with tractors. I would suggest two things to tbe prospective tractor owner: "First, a tractor is too good a machine ma-chine to put in the hands of a poor operator However an expert mechan-, mechan-, ician is not necessary to keep the trae-i trae-i tor running. But rather, seat on the I tractor a man with fair mechanical in - j (genuity and the ahillty to 9en9e that i something is wrong with the machine I before the costly breakdown occurs. A i slight adjustment of a carburetor or a ! ilttle oil on the bearing before It runs dry or a loose nut tightened In time will keep the machine working where ! the 'let-her-go for a-while' attitude wtl cause an expensive delay. "Second, when one secures the services serv-ices of a tractor to help with the farm ! work, plan the work so as to take the best advantage of what the machine will do. ' "A third suggestion might be added i for those wbo are choosing a tractor, , and that is the necessity of ascertaining ascertain-ing the quality of service given by the , various companies Efficient service i means that the seller of the machine must make provision that the purchas er is shown how to set it up and run , c it. how to lubricate it, how to make ' adjustments, and so on. Furthermore, I it is highly desirable that repair parts : 1 be carried in stock at some central I point reasonably near to the farm. ; ' that they be sold at a fair price, and I that in case of extreme emergency, a ' competent man can come to the farm ( promptly and assist in making repairs ! It Is regrettable that some otherwise i 1 good machines have in the past been I j sold without adequate provision for ; giving good service to the buyer. How- I I ever, tractor companies are now rec-! j ognizing that good service to their patrons will increase the value of their ( ; machines, and some manufacturers are i ; preparing to give effective help In this : i direction. "Farmers who are satisfied that they j have tractor work for a machine must 1 make sure that they have enough work ; to justify the investment necessary. If there are not days enough to work on their own farms a solution la to do work for neighbors. With deprecla tion as high as 20 per cent, to which I must be added interest and repairs, the machine should have considerable use I in order to distribute the charge over a fair number of acres. For instance, one man who bought a $1000 two-i two-i plow outfit figured his charges as fol-' fol-' lows : .Interest at 6 per cent $ 60 Depreciation 20 per cent ... 200 Repairs per year -- - , , , , . , 40 Interest, depreciation, expense for one year $300 Used fifteen days on farm, charged to each day, $20. "When plowing four to five acres a day this makes a depreciation-Interest . charge of over $4 per acre. In addl- tion to this must be added the cost of fueU oil, operator's pay, etcu, which would bring the acre cost for plowing far above the cost of horse work. The I point is that if this same tractor had been used 100 days the depreciation interest in-terest charges would have been only $3 per day Instead of $20. The above machine ma-chine when plowing on fairly level lang would use 50c to 60c worth of fuel in turning each acre. "There is another way of looking at j the matter of comparative cost. If we I can not get the work done in any way 1 hut by tractor, or If with traetor only, can it be done at the most opportune time, or in such a way as the greatly Increase crops over other methods, then by all means the tractor will pay. Benefits in Crop Planting. "In the heavier soils the latter point is particularly applicable. For instance, in putting in such crops as beans or oats there may be only a day or two when the soil is in Ideal condition for working and planting, thai is. neither too wet nor too dry To get In the crop at the most favorable time with horse may oblige the fiirmer to pxtend his operations outside the ilme when the ground is in proper condition, while a tractor covering in a day four or five times the ara worked by a team of horses may insure better chances of success with the erop. "Many farmers are now figuring this way 'I have got to get the work done Can't get the help WKh a tractor I can prepare four times as much land in a day ns with a team of horses In this way the tractor Is claiming the attention of the farmers, and where it does tho work expected it will be a hig factor toward keeping up production. "Now, as to the most desirable typo of tractor, the safest advice which can be given Is this, that the best make is I one put out by a reputable company i built upon thoroughly proved principles, princi-ples, and used by competent rat or.-; or.-; The latter provision is added because 1 experience shows at limes that the' I best make is any make In the hands' of a good operator It Is difficult to! I give specific information regarding particular types, for out of some 150. , makes .on the market there is not, as I yet. any very marked tendency to a 'distinct type. We have the caterpillar1 and round wheel, the two-wheeled. three and four-wheeled, oner ylinder. i two-cylinder and four-cylinder engines, en-gines, etc. "At the present time the tendency seems to be toward the four-whi eled and the caterpillar type-, the principal fuel is kerosene, the single cylinder j low-speed engines are being displaced by four cylinder high-speed engines! i and more attention is being paid by I designers to simplifying oiling systems. sys-tems. When one is choosing a tractor he should study carefully tin last point mentioned the oiling system for It is our experience that very many-breakdowns many-breakdowns occur because of faulty Oiling. The manufacturers are at-1 tempting to reduce the chances of such difficulty by perfecting automat ;r oiling oil-ing systems which depend very little upon the constant attention of an operator." op-erator." oo |