CHAPTER III 



GENEEATING MECHANICAL POWER TO DRIVE 

 MODERN FARM MACHINERY 



At one time ninety-seven per cent of the population 

 of the United States got their living directly from till- 

 ing the soil, and the power used was oxen and manual 

 labor. At the present time probably not more than 

 thirty-five per cent of our people are actively engaged 

 in agricultural pursuits. And the power problem has 

 been transferred to horses, steam, gasoline, kerosene 

 and water power, with electricity as a power conveyor. 



Fifty years ago a farmer was lucky if he owned a 

 single moldboard cast-iron plow that he could follow all 

 day on foot and turn over one, or at most, two acres. 

 The new traction engines are so powerful that it is 

 possible to plow sixty feet in width, and other ma- 

 chines have been invented to follow the tractor 

 throughout the planting and growing seasons to the 

 end of the harvest. The tractor is supplemented by 

 numerous smaller powers. All of which combine to 

 make it possible for one-third of the people to grow 

 enough to feed the whole American family and to ex- 

 port a surplus to Europe. 



At the same time, the standard of living is very much 

 higher than it was when practically everyone worked 

 in the fields to grow and to harvest the food necessary 

 to live. 



Farm machinery is expensive, but it is more expen- 

 sive to do without. Farmers who make the most money 



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