June, 1921 



BETTER FRUIT 



Page 5 



Tractors In Demand For Orchard Work 



By J. W. Ray 



FROM the peach orchards of New 

 Jersey, the apple orchards of Ore- 

 gon, the citrus groves of Florida, 

 the cherry orchards of Wisconsin, the 

 pear and prune orchards of Washington, 

 and the walnut groves of California 

 comes indisputable evidence of the fact 

 that tractors are replacing horses in or- 



that the tractor increased the crop on 

 fourteen acres to the extent of $5000 

 in one year, because of the deeper cul- 

 tivation permitted. 



2. Horses are too slow to get the 

 work done at the proper time. 



The speed of the tractor, coupled with 

 its ability to draw large implements, 



The Small Crawler Tractor, Because of its Compactness and its Smooth Exterior, Handles 

 Implements Right Up to the Bases of the Trees. 



chard work. In fact there is no other 

 class of farming in which the tractor is 

 so nearly universally used or in which 

 it so completely displaces horses. 



The reasons for this can be most 

 clearly understood by pointing out in 

 some detail the advantages of the trac- 

 tor over horses, as outlined in reports 

 from tractor salesmen in these differ- 

 ent sections, and in letters from prac- 

 tical orchardists throughout the country. 



1. Horses are not powerful enough 

 to draw implements suited to the best 

 orchard culture. If more horses arc 

 used the outfit becomes unwieldly and 

 impossible to handle around trees. 



The ample power provided by the 

 tractor permits a much better quality 

 of cultivation. Better plowing is done, 

 particularly where there is a heavy 

 growth of cover crop to turn under, 

 or where it is desired to plow close up 

 to the base of the trees. Disc harrows 

 can be weighted and set to secure the 

 depth and pulverization demanded for 

 good work, particularly where it is de- 

 sired to disc under a cover crop instead 

 of plowing it. Spring tooth harrows 

 may be set deep to tear up the soil. 

 Subsoilers can be used to break up the 

 hard pan formed by the plow sole. 



A California walnut grower claims 



remedies this very vital factor. Often- 

 times this makes cultivation possible 

 where otherwise it could not be done at 

 all, and makes the difference between 

 a good crop and a very poor one. Get- 

 ting spring cultivation done early and 

 quickly is a big item in the citrus groves 

 of California. 



ments close enough to the trunks of the 

 trees to do most of the work formerly 

 done by hand. 



4. Horses cause considerable dam- 

 age to trees, both by brushing against 

 limbs, and by scraping the traces and 

 single-trees against the trunks of the 

 trees. 



Tractors, if of the proper type, get 

 in under the low hanging limbs without 

 injury to the fruit spurs, and, because 

 of their narrowness, can put the imple- 

 ments close to the trunks without dan- 

 ger of themselves coming in contact 

 with the tree. 



5. Horses require feed the year 

 'round. Since orchard culture requires 

 power only about five or six months 

 of the year in most sections, there is a 

 long idle period during which horses 

 produce nothing, yet have to be fed 

 and cared for. Commercial orchardists 

 grow very little horse feed. Grain must 

 be bought. This makes expenses high. 



The tractor is, of course, free from 

 this objection. When not in use it can be 

 stored away in a small shed and forgot- 

 ten. 



6. Horses suffer greatly from the 

 heat when working at cultivation dur- 

 ing the summer months. This is par- 

 ticularly true in level orchards where 

 the trees are of bearing age. 



An Illinois apple grower claims that 

 his tractor paid for itself the first year 

 because it made possible cultivation dur- 

 ing the hot month of July. 



7. Horses have severe limitations 

 when it comes to operating the spraying 

 outfit. 



3. Horses are large and teams are 

 unwieldly around trees. 



The tractor, especially one of the 

 small crawler type, is much more easily 

 handled around, under and close to the 

 trees, making it possible to get imple- 



Aniong Small Orchardists 



Tractors make possible the spraying 

 of hundreds of additional trees every 

 day. This is because a larger sprayer 

 may be drawn, and because more speed 

 can be made in traveling to and from the 

 {Continued on page 16) 



