FACTORS INFLUENCING THE WORK OF THE HORSE 295 



be reduced and often one or more horses dispensed with. Last, but 

 not least, he will keep no more than the minimum number of work horses 

 necessary to meet efficiently the peak load of horse labor during the 

 year. 



460. The horse vs. the tractor. Many farmers are perplexed to know 

 whether it will be economy for them to purchase a tractor to replace 

 some of the work horses on their farms. Tho each farm is somewhat 

 of an individual problem, recent investigations in various farming 

 districts show the general principles which should be considered in de- 

 ciding this problem. 



Among the advantages claimed for the tractor is its ability to do 

 heavy work, such as plowing, during the peak load of horse labor in a 

 shorter time than it can be done with horses, thus permitting the plant- 

 ing of crops at just the right time. This advantage can, however, be 

 largely gained with horses by using teams of 3 or more animals with 

 suitable plows and other implements. Often claims are made that the 

 tractor increases crop yields thru deeper plowing and more thoro prep- 

 aration of the seed bed. In surveys of the results from tractors in the 

 corn-belt, most of the farmers report no noticeable effect on crop yield 

 thru using tractors. In some cases increases in yield were reported, and 

 in a less number decreases in 3 r ield were mentioned, due to the pack- 

 ing of the soil when damp by the tractor. 



Perhaps the chief advantage in the use of the farm tractor comes in 

 the actual displacement of horses. It also relieves the horses which 

 cannot be displaced of some of the heaviest work during the rush 

 seasons, so that they may need a little less feed. The actual displace- 

 ment of horses is less than often supposed, for a tractor is suited to 

 perform but relatively few of the many kinds of work which the 

 adaptable horse can perform. On the average, farm tractors in the 

 corn-belt, where the level topography and freedom from stones make 

 conditions especially favorable for them, are used only about 30 to 45 

 days a year, including both draft and belt work. 



In a survey of the results from tractors on Illinois farms, averaging 

 294 acres, Handschin, Andrews, and Rauchenstein 20 found that on the 

 average 2.38 horses were disposed of after a tractor had been purchased. 

 Reynoldson 21 reports from a survey of farm tractors on corn-belt farms, 

 averaging 324 acres, that 2.5 horses were disposed of per farm where 

 tractors had been used for a year or more. In Minnesota, 127 farmers 

 reported an average displacement of 2 horses per farm after a tractor 

 was used. 22 



In the Illinois survey it was found that the saving of man labor is 

 not a large item in favor of the tractor, for the peak load of man labor 

 in the corn-belt conies in June and July, during corn cultivation, hay 

 ing, and harvesting, while the peak load of horse and tractor labor 



^111. Bui. 231. a U. S. D. A. Farmers' Bui. 1093. 



^Patterson, Mowry, and Cavert, Minn. Agr. Exten. Div., Spec. Bui. 31. 



