CHAPTER 11 



ENGINES, MOTORS AND TRACTORS FOR THE FARM 



BY R. U. BLASINGAME 



Professor of Agricultural Engineering, Alabama Polytechnic Institute 



THE REAL POWER FOR THE FARM 



The real call of the farm is for power, some means by which the skill of 

 a single man can direct a force that will do as much work as a score or more 

 men could do unaided. From plowing to the feed trough, it takes 4| hours 

 work to raise one bushel of corn by hand. The use of improved machinery 

 and the multiplicity of power has reduced this figure to 41 minutes. 



Various forms of power, such as the treadmill, the sweepmill and the 

 windmill, have all failed in many respects. Windmills are objectionable 

 because they are not portable, they are not steady in power and are often 

 wrecked by the wind. The sweep power is hard to move, cumbersome and 

 requires the operators to be exposed to many storms. 



The steam engine, but for the close attention it requires, might be the 

 real power needed for farm purposes. Electricity, when correctly installed, 

 is safe, efficient and convenient, but for farm purposes where all jobs are 

 not under one roof as in factories, the lack of portability makes it incon- 

 venient. 



The gasoline engine is the only power at the present time that embodies 

 all the requirements for farm 'purposes. The operator of such power needs 

 no greater mechanical training than should be necessary to properly operate 

 a grain binder. If power is needed in the laundry room, a small engine 

 might easily be transported to run a washing machine. If it is needed in the 

 furthest corner of the wood lot, it can be conveyed to that place without 

 a second or third trip for water and coal, as would be required for a steam 

 engine. In the coldest, driest and calmest weather the gas engine produces 

 power without delay. It can be obtained in units of from one-half horse 

 power to any size that might be required for any farm job. 



In parts of the West where the gas engine is best known, it is plowing, 

 harrowing and seeding in one operation by the square mile instead of by 

 the acre, and is doing the work better quicker and cheaper than it could 

 be done by horse or steam power. 



Gas Engine Principles. There are two distinct types of gas engines 

 on the market at the present time which are used for agricultural purposes; 

 the four-stroke cycle and the two-stroke cycle engine. 



The four-stroke cycle or four-cycle engine requires four strokes in 

 order to get one working stroke. These strokes are as follows : The intake 



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