DRY-FARMING 



The two young men operating the en- 

 gine were inexperienced hands, and 

 yet everything seemed to be moving 

 smoothly. They informed me that they 

 had thus far met with no serious delays 

 on account of breakages. The contract 

 price for breaking sod land in Montana 

 varies from $4 to $5 per acre. It would 

 require 25 horses and 5 men, at a cost of 

 not less than $3.50 to $4.50 per acre, to 

 do the same amount of work per day that 

 these two young men were doing with 

 their engine. The gasoline-engine prop- 

 osition for plowing and other farming 

 operations is entirely feasible where 

 farming is done on a large scale, but it 

 would not be practicable for the small 

 farmer to own and operate an outfit. 

 However, a number of small farmers 

 could join together in the purchase of an 

 engine without involving themselves as 

 heavily as by purchasing the horses nec- 

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