40 



condensed liquid fuel, particularly in isolated sections where water is 

 scarce and the transportation of coal is expensive. However, machinery 

 of this type requires the services of an experienced gas engineer to keep 

 it in repair and operation. 



Automobile farm motors. — It is the opinion of the writer that a still 

 lighter form of traction machine of simple construction will be better 

 than either of these. The nearest approach to this class of machine, at 

 the present time, is the automobile truck. There is reasonable doubt as to 

 whether the automobile gasoline engine will prove successful under such 

 conditions. The accompanying illustration shows a truck of this type 

 recently placed on the market here and which has apparently given very 

 satisfactory demonstrations of the wide range of work it is capable of do- 

 ing. Steam engines are much simpler both in construction and operation 



Fig. 8. — Middle breaker and furrowing-out plow. 



than those using gasoline or petroleum, and it is highly probable that the 

 most successful type of truck would be a modification of a simple form of 

 steam wagon manufactured in Great Britain. It has a high pressure, 

 top-fired, vertical boiler, a double cylinder engine mounted horizontally 

 just in front of the rear axle, and short-chain drive. For farm work the 

 rear wheels must be fitted with very broad tires and automatic folding 

 mud hooks, and there should be a long draw bar across the rear of the 

 bed for attaching plows and harrows. Such trucks could be used ior the 

 transportation of cane to the mill or any other heavy hauling, and have 

 attachments for the operation of cane loader, a mowing machine, or 

 reaper attached to the side of the bed, and many other useful combi- 

 nations for special work on the farm. 



Cable plows. — So far the most sueeopsful type of power plow is the 



