THE CHOICE OF POWER 291 



approximately $1.00 per acre plowed annually. The gas 

 tractor, pulling a lesser number of plows, will require as much 

 as the steam engine, or perhaps a trifle more, as the smaller 

 sizes of plow cost more in proportion. 



While at work the horse requires the greatest amount of 

 labor, the steam engine next and the gas tractor the least. 

 However, the horse while at work requires no adjustment, no 

 other attention than driving, and his food and water may be 

 taken at any convenient time and place. The tractor's fuel 

 and water is most cheaply brought to it, while the horse 

 economically goes after his. During idleness the horse 

 requires daily care, keeping men on the farm when no other 

 work requires their attention. He must be kept constantly 

 warm and sheltered, fed, watered, and protected from injury 

 and disease, while the tractor needs simply cleaning and oiling 

 when set away, and thorough overhauling before again being 

 put in commission. 



One man may drive five horses, and in some cases even 

 twenty-five, but only in certain operations. Three to six men 

 and from two to six horses keep a steam engine at work with 

 the power of forty horses, one man controlling the power of 

 from six to twelve horses. With the gas tractor, one man 

 may control the equivalent of from twenty to thirty horses, 

 but the plowman's time must also be considered, since 

 with the horse outfit the driver is both engineer and plow- 

 man. 



The average farmer knows the horse by instinct. A great 

 many operators know the steam engine well enough for prac- 

 tical purposes. Five years ago the gas engine was a mystery 

 to the average farmer. Now the stationary gas engine and the 

 automobile have educated him to the point where he regards 

 the gas engine as the next thing to the horse in simplicity. 

 Ordinary farm labor will more quickly grasp and operate the 

 gas tractor than the steam tractor, although much harm was 

 done in the early days of the gas tractor by unwarranted 



