EXERCISE 94 



THE CARE OF FARM MACHINERY 



Statement. After land, buildings, and live stock, the largest investment of the American farmer is in 

 machinery. Unless the complex and costly machines are properly used and cared for, great loss 



results. The average life of a wheat binder, 

 perhaps, does not exceed six years. There are 

 many cases in which a binder has rendered 

 regular service for twenty-five or thirty years. 

 A mower is usually rusty, worn, and discarded 

 at the end of six or seven years. Many such 

 machines have been made to last more than 

 twenty years. 



Object. To learn the proper care of farm 

 machinery and to study conditions under which 

 they will give the greatest service. 



Materials. Notebook ; pencil ; access to the 

 implements of several representative farms. 



Directions, i. Take the class to two or three 

 representative farms and have them make a 

 study of the use and care of the farm machinery 



on each. Have them make a list of the machines and tools and record the uses to which each is 



put, the average number of days each year each machine is used, the number of crops on which 



it is used yearly, and its average period of service. 



If the machines and tools are housed when not 



in use, estimate the cost of the shed required. 



Estimate the annual cost of providing such 



shelter. If no shelter is provided, make the plan 



of a suitable shed and estimate the cost of 



erecting it. 



2. Assume that a farmer grows 30 acres of 



wheat a year and owns a binder for his exclu- 

 sive use, how many days a year will the binder 



be used? Assume that the binder lasts six years, 



how many days of service will it give? At the 



local price of a binder, allowing interest at 6 per 



cent, estimating the cost of repairs at $5.00 a year, and assuming that the machine lasts six years, what 



is the annual cost to the farmer of his binder ? What has been the binder cost for each acre of wheat 



Fig. 150. A long-lived binder 



This binder has harvested an average of nearly a hundred acres of 



grain a year for 28 years in Michigan and is still in use. The 



canvas has been removed and the machine kept under cover when 



not in use 



Fig. 151. Such neglect of machinery as is shown in this picture 

 is common on the American farm 



- -Blacksmith ■ 



-V" 

 i 



Shop 

 WxtF 



Tool Room 



■ - ffxKy 



}Vork Bench 



^ ---.f J-------.-.- .-.-_- .- 1 1 ; 1 :t 



Open 



Driveway 



Fig. 152 



Machine Shed 

 20x27' 6" 



Floor plan and elevation of a cheap and convenient machine shed and workshop 

 (Courtesy of the Oregon Agricultural College) 

 [186] 



