454 THE HANDBOOK FOR PRACTICAL FARMERS 



used with machines which were designed especially for the pur- 

 pose. When plows and other implements intended for use with 

 horses were employed it was generally necessary to have some- 

 one to operate the various levers. Plows, disks and other im- 

 plements designed for use with the tractor, however, can he 

 operated by the tractor driver without leaving his seat, and in 

 most cases the work of raising and lowering, or changing the 

 adjustment, is done by the power of the tractor itself. 



The gas tractor is destined to revolutionize the agricultural 

 industry within a few years. With further development of the 

 larger sizes as well as in the form of motor cultivators, etc., 

 together with more improved equipment for use with it, the rais- 

 ing of our staple crops in the principal agricultural areas will 

 undoubtedly be carried on more and more by mechanical power. 



In the hands of a competent operator the internal combustion 

 engine is an exceedingly reliable source of power. In inexperi- 

 enced hands, however, unnecessary delays sometimes occur due 

 to slight misadjustments which can be corrected easily and 

 quicldy when the causes of the irregular operation are known. 



For this reason the average operator will generally find that 

 a condensed trouble chart showing the possible causes cf the 

 more common forms of trouble is often of considerable value. 



The one given herewith is applicable to any of the ordinary 

 types of gas engines such as are used in tractors, automobiles 

 and for stationary work. This will cover more than ninety per 

 cent of the troubles commonly experienced with internal com- 

 bustion engines, but, of course, does not include some minor 

 points common only to particular makes because of details of 

 design. 



This chart does not cover starting troubles under a separate 

 heading, but nearly all the items under the first two heads, "Loss 

 of Power" and ''Misfiring," may also be responsible for diffi- 

 culty in starting. 



Trouble with internal combustion engines.— When trouble is 

 experienced with a gas engine, it is usually a comparatively easy 

 matter to remedy it if the exact cause is located. There are 

 nearly always several different things which might produce any 

 one of the various troubles commonly experienced in operating 

 an engine. Sometimes an operator is apt to jump to a wrong con- 

 clusion in attempting to diagnose the trouble. Frequently the 

 exact cause will not be apparent at once, even to an experienced 

 operator. Furthermore, it is difficult to keep in mind at all times 

 the various things which might be producing a certain symptom. 



