EXERCISE 93 



THE ADJUSTMENT AND USE OF FARM MACHINERY 



Statement. With large machinery the farmer has been able to use the strength of animals such as 

 the horse and the ox, and also the power of wind, water, steam, gas, and electricity. This has multiplied 

 his efficiency many times. With hand tools a man can cultivate scarcely more than two acres of 

 land. With modern labor-saving machinery, he can cultivate one hundred and sixty acres or more. 

 Machine agriculture develops a much more intelligent farmer than hand agriculture. He must under- 

 stand the construction and uses of 

 the machines he operates and must 

 know how to keep them properly 

 adjusted and repaired. 



Object. To learn the structure, 

 adjustment, use, and management 

 of farm machinery in common use. 



Materials. Catalogues of the 

 leading farm machinery manufac- 

 turers; posters; charts and photo- 

 graphs; machines in stock at the 

 local dealers or owned by neighbor- 

 ing farmers. 



Directions, i. Arrange with one 

 or more local implement dealers to 

 let the students help in the work 

 of setting up and adjusting for use 

 their binders, mowers, gang plows, 

 disks, cultivators, corn and cotton 

 planters, and wheat drills. Have 

 them study the methods of adjusting each machine for effective work with the least friction or 

 wear. Study the construction and regulation of the knotter in the binder, the dropping parts of 

 the planters, and the feed of the drill. If feasible, arrange through a local dealer for the traveling 

 representatives of some of the more important implements to demonstrate their proper care and use. 



2. Test a corn planter for regularity of drop with graded and ungraded seed corn. 



3. Learn how to thread a binder and test the adjustment by running some bundles of straw through 

 the machine. 



4. Look over the repair parts of a binder, planter, and seeder and make a list of those which are 

 most frequently needed and what they cost. 



5. With the aid of the dealer have each member of the class make a list of the machines and tools 

 required for a typical farm of the locality, the retail price of each, and the total cost of the complete 

 equipment. 



Questions. What are the principal sources of power on the farms of the community? Name the 

 half dozen principal labor-saving machines used on the farms of the neighborhood. Write a brief 

 history of the invention and development of each. How did the farmer perform the operations which 

 these machines perform before they were invented? Where does the farmer obtain repairs for his 

 implements ? 



References. Waters, H. J. Essentials of Agriculture, pp. 449-455. Ginn and Company. Wirt, F. A. 

 Farm Machinery. John Wiley and Sons. Ramsower. Equipments for the Farm. Ginn and Company. 



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Fig. 149. Adjusting the drop of the corn planter 

 (Courtesy of the International Harvester Company) 



