ELEVENTH ANNUAL YEAE BOOK— PART XI 705 



omy. To save time, lessen hand labor and hasten results are of the utmost 

 importance, and experience has shown that these ends are gained by the 

 use of gasoline engines. One of the strongest rcommendations of this type 

 of power is its adaptability. Another is its reliability. A third is its 

 simplicity. 



On every well-ordered farm there is a great variety of work which 

 can he done cheaply and well with gasoline engines. Pumping water, 

 sawing wood, churning, running feed grinders, cream separators, grind- 

 stones, bone cutters, spray pumps, fanning mills and washing machines 

 are a few of the uses for which they are famed. In recent years another 

 has been found which is destined to have a marked effect on the art of 

 harvesting the small grains. Hundreds of farmers now attach four-horse- 

 power gasoline engines to their binders, and thus save time in harvest- 

 ing, and reduce the draft 30 to 50 per cent. Where four horses ordinarily 

 are required the use of a gasoline engine will save the work of one team 

 and insure better work by the binder. Two or three horses are easier 

 to drive than four or five. While an engine-bearing binder with a 6%' to 

 7' cut can be easily drawn by two heavy horses over firm and fairly even 

 land yielding an average crop of grain, the common practice is to use 

 three horses. In many cases 8' binders are drawn right along by three 

 horses or mules in heavy grain, and the territory covered in a day would 

 be a surprise to one unfamiliar with the work of an outfit of this kind. 



Several types of engines are adapted to use on any of the standard 

 makes of self-binders. They are easily mounted or attached and weigh 

 less than 200 pounds. Our illustration shows the position of an engine 

 on a harvester. While the weight o»f the binder is increased draft is 

 cut down by the fact that the engine does all the work of the bull wheel 

 except support the weight of the binder. When the engine is added the 

 hinder is thrown out of gear or the drive chain removed, and gasoline 

 furnishes the power that would otherwise be derived from the bull wheel. 

 A chain drive gives the engine direct connection with the operating parts 

 of its host. All the bull wheel has to do is to turn when the horses walk; 

 it has nothing to do with the sickle, reel, elevator and packers; the engine 

 keeps these going. 



Quite often at harvest time the ground is wet, so that the bull wheel 

 supplying pow r er to the harvester mechanism clogs, slips and patches of 

 grain are lost. Whenever this giant wheel gets its claws full of mud on 

 slippery footing it slides, especially if the grain be heavy. It is in such 

 cases that gas power gives a fine demonstration of its value. If the 

 ground will bear the weight of the horses without miring them an engine- 

 bearing binder, taking an 8' swath, will go through, no matter how heavy 

 the straw, and save every head of standing grain. Wet fields and springy 

 spots need not be avoided when the crop is ready to cut, provided the 

 binder can be driven over them. Many a farmer has saved enough grain 

 on such areas to pay for his engine the first year in use. 



When grain is ready to cut it should be got into the sheaf with the 

 greatest possible despatch. With an engine-driven binder cutting a wide 

 swath the length of time required for the work is reduced 10 to 25 per 

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