Show TREND SEEMS TO BE TOWARD MOTORIZED FARMS eliminating ALL HORSE POWER R jk ap g 4 av n k 7 e 0 q 1 1 4 W U 1 f A 4 79 plowing with a small tractor prepared by the united states department of agriculture manufacture of tractors for tural use has grown greatly in a comparatively ively few years but a big field is still open to manufacturers in the small farmers business which can be gained only by the introduction of 0 all pur purpose pose tractors that can be used economically no on farms of under tillable acres prior to 1903 1905 practically all power plowing was done by steam if there was tiny ony mit machine chine in use at that time employing an internal intern al com combustion bust oil engine as its source of power the case apparently has never become a matter of record steam plowing lias has been in vogue for a number of years especially in regions such as the Da dakotas Dako kotris montana and the Cana canadian dinn provinces province of the northwest Korth west here were round found bonanza farms consisting of thousands of acres one crop of wheat sometimes paying for the entire farm these large tracts stretching away for miles in a level tin and unbroken plain offered conditions which were suitable for these mammoth steam outfits weighing bing many tons several factors had a hearing bearing on the elimination of steam as it a source of power tor for plowing anil and ill alie substitution of the internal engine the fuel was ing bulky balky for ill the power transmitted and the storage st orige flace on the engine was small severn several men were required the team steam engine as then constructed could not stand tile constant strain and rough usage neres necessary in plowing it was nas necessary to ill fiend considerable time in care and repair just as is required by the railroad ad loco mothe after a five or six hour hour run how use of gas engine I 1 began bedan there was a demand by operators for a machine which would do away with there hose disadvantages interest was shown by various manufacturers an and d their attention was diree directed fed toward the development of a machine using the alie internal combustion engine apparently 1005 was the first ear that a gas tractor advertised as a source of power was placed on the market tills this machine employed a double cylinder alinder engine trin using r ga gasoline s 0 for power and oil nil for cooling it had a rating of 22 nominal and 40 0 actual brake hore bior and was capable of pulling six to eight 12 inell plows depending on till alie soil the weight was practically the same as that of the team steam engine it bout about nine and one half tons while operators operator s were not satisfied Cod with the steam tractors on oil the market there ther was then considerable e prejudice against the gas tractor so that machines were were built which looked as much like a steam engine its as possible perhaps this fit fact ct to some e cant bont tended to overcome tile prejudice and make tor for the popularity of the outfit by 1008 1908 so much interest NY was as manifest throughout the northwest in the gas tractor that it was decided to hold bold a motor competition in connection with will the industrial exhibition at winnipeg canada during tile the week of jul july y 1317 1003 1908 this contest was held the flygt of its kind on the american continent machines were exhibited by five companies two other companies entered but withdrew the rules of the contest limited the weight weigh t to seven and one half tons to keep out steam rigs this rule barred on one 0 gas tractor as it weighed nine and one halt half tons early tests unsatisfactory the tests upon which final award was based consisted of hauling plowing and manipulation some of the soli soil conditions were not ideal and a bad impression was given in the hauling tests the barred machine put on a private demonstration and made an excellent showing using kerosene except to worm warm up the motor at the beginning the significance of this contest was that the weak points were shown and that it started the development of practical motors for small email farms in 1009 1900 a similar test was held at winnipeg find and six companies demonstrated machines the contest was divided into four classes a internal combustion 20 horsepower and under ab b 2030 20 30 horsepower c over SO horse horsepower and d steam engines this contest created much interest la in manufacturing circles and many manufacturers were present to obtain useful information which showed that they were alive to the pos possibilities attending the development of a 1511 successful access tractor to winnipeg must go the honor of rt starting arting an idea which has done a great deal to develop the tractor industry r rapidly these tests were the forerunners of others la in various s sections of the united states and canada that have lave given farmers the op opportunity of seeing these machines at work and deciding on the merits of 0 the individual tractors tractor shows develop in 1009 five tractors were exhibited at the omaha land show it was intended to make the exhibition a permanent feature but failure to find suitable land for plowing caused the idea to bo be abandoned not until 1913 was anything on it a large scale attempted attempted in the united states then a demonstration was held at fremont neb lit in which 23 manufacturers exhibited 39 tractors from this time on a national tractor demonstration has been held each summer with an everin ever in creasing number of manufacturers exhibiting hi until at the last show held in salina kan in 1918 1018 over machines were entered and 53 manufacturers were represented A winter meeting is held each year at which manufacturers of tractors and accessories cess ces ories exhibit this show basteen has been held in kansas city mo for the past four years Nr ailous local shows are put on each summer and since these have continued at the suin summer mer beginning in texas and continuing northward in march 1919 the first large demont demonstration ration of the year was held beld in the south tit at macon ga which that the south isi is alive to the hie possibilities of tractor farming the following production figureid show tile eno enormous growth of the tractor industry in ill the comparatively dively flibort time it has been in existence aarm MACII INERT FARM POWER MARCIL MARCH 33 35 1312 1912 it tsoi 60 biml t 1915 2 1000 FARM EQUIPMENT UNITED STATES DEPART department MEINT OF agriculture I 1 1916 m 9 na 1417 1 I 62 7 42 1918 manufacturers ESTIMATED production 1913 1919 As previously stated abere was astl initta to lo be between 15 45 and 50 firms or individuals making or attempting to make trae trao ors cirs in 1909 the office 41 if f farm management united states department of hns has always h kept ept in close touch with the tractor industry and the files show that in 1909 thi re were firms actie actively ely cri engaged lit in manufacturing tractors and 11 firms lit and individuals pl ening to begin in the near future character of tractor changed in the beginning the tractor was constructed ted to simulate the steam engine in appearance A As s time passed and prejudice di disappeared ared many refinements men ts took place until today it Is a compin compact ct well built machine capable of performing a multitude of operations the first machines wei were e heavy rough affairs capable of pulling c ight eight ten or more mor e bottoms it was soon recognized that if the industry were to prosper a machine would have to bo be built which would be practical cal for or binary sized farms the result was that small machines came on tile the market k e t built to pull two and three plows tills this type of tractor appealed to tho the small farmer there are now more two and three plow machines built than of all other sizes combined there are however a number of companies still making a large larg size tractor r which Is still used on the big farms 0 of f the N north evest and the pacific coast how tractor was transformed F from rom the rough machines of iams and 1009 with single cylinders chi chain ain drive cast gears excessive belg weight ht exposed working parts and poor accessibility have been developed machines chines of light weight with working parts friction and various va gear drives electric fixtures radiator tor 10 cooling olang systems cut and hardened gears multiple cylinders air cle cleaners aaers kerosene carburetors tors one man control and nn an easy accessibility all this at a price of one halt half to one fourth of the early machines owing to varying conditions there tire are two types of machine on the market fit at present the crawler and the wheeled type the purpose of the crawler Is to prevent miring down on sort soft ground tile the same principle was em employed aloyed by tanks la in the late war the w wheeled heeled tractors are more numerous and employ various devices to obtain traction such ns as lugs grouters groeters grou spikes cs cleats and extension rims again some wheels have it a device giving lv a stepping arrangement as in the tha P PT T r wheel which was developed by two italian army aimy engineers A few tractors employ both the crawler and wheel As bet the tractor industry Is comparatively ively young and what its ultimate effect on farming arming will tv it la is impossible to say |