CHAPTER XXVII 



KEROSENE AND GASOLINE ENGINES ON THE FARM 

 By Arnold P. Yebkes* 



The tractor. — The introduction of the farm tractor for agri- 

 cultural operations marked just as distinct a step in human 

 progress as did the substitution of the steam railway for the old 

 stage line, or the development of the automobile and motor truck. 



The gas tractor (so called because it derives its power from 

 an internal combustion engine burning a gasified fuel, usually 

 gasoline or kerosene) has entirely eliminated the need of horses 

 for practically^ all kinds of work on most types of farms. 



While it was designed primarily to do the heavy work of plow- 

 ing, it was only a few years until it had been so perfected as to 

 enable it to do all kinds of field work for which the horse is com- 

 monly employed, and, in addition, it is used extensively for belt 

 work, operating stationary machines, for which the horse never 

 was a satisfactory source of power. 



Although it has been proved in numerous cases throughout 

 the country that a farm can be operated efficiently and economi- 

 cally by mechanical power alone, it is more common to find a few 

 horses retained for odd jobs even on farms where a tractor is 

 used, largely for the same reasons that caused the old grain 

 cradles to be retained for years after the purchase of a reaper. 

 In such cases, however, the work of plowing is usually performed 

 almost entirely with the tractor, as are also the disking, harrow- 

 ing and other w^ork of preparing the seed bed. Planting and 

 drilling, being comparatively^ light work, is in most cases done 

 by horses, although the use of the tractor for these operations is 

 by no means uncommon. Even the work of planting corn, as well 

 as cultivating it and other tilled crops, which is comparatively 

 light work for a team of horses, can be done with entire satis- 

 faction by the combined motor cultivator and planter — the 

 small brother of the gas tractor. 



In haying and harvesting of all kinds, the tractor is frequently 

 used to pull one or more mowers, binders, corn harvesters, etc. 

 When a header or harvester-thresher is used, the tractor also 



' International Harvester Company. 



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