216 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



The little country of Switzerland has for years been 

 making farm implement field exhibits, under the 

 auspices of the agricultural societies. These exhibits 

 are well advertised and the farmers from far and near 

 come and receive instructions in the use, construction 

 and operation of the various kinds of farm implements. 



Belgium has for several years been giving consid- 

 erable attention to the subject and has made extensive 

 tests of farm implements and machines, in connection 

 with the courses of instruction on the subject, main- 

 tained at all of the leading agricultural institutions of 

 the country. 



Italy has recently established farm implement ex- 

 periment stations. 



Russia conducts annual field trials with foreign- 

 made implements, at the agricultural colleges, and the 

 students obtain practice in judging and comparing the 

 parts of different makes of implements. Even in far-off 

 Siberia the writer has the privilege of taking part in 

 the field trials between various makes of American bind- 

 ers and reapers. The trial was held at the Agricultural 

 College, at Tomsk, Siberia. After the contest the ma- 

 chines were taken to pieces by the college students and 

 each part studied in detail, under the supervision of the 

 college director and the instruction of the American 

 experts. Russia has also established in Moscow and St. 

 Petersburg permanent implement museums, in which 

 are exhibited ancient as well as modern implements. 

 These exhibits are proving to be of great value to the 

 prospective purchasers, who come there to study the 

 various kinds of implements. In this way they are able 

 to decide what machines will best serve the requirements 

 of their own community. 



It was with a view of providing a link between the 

 agricultural engineer and the farmer that the French 

 instituted its machine-testing station near Paris, which 

 is probably the most thoroughly equipped in the world 

 for the scientific study of the principles of construction 

 and efficiency in operation of farm implements and ma- 

 chinery. The study of agriculture in France has been 

 so systematized and the whole country so mapped out 

 that the possibilities and requirements of every district 

 can be readily ascertained whenever there is a question 

 of introducing improvements. Knowing exactly the re- 

 quirements, the men in charge are able to report upon 

 the suitability of any mechanism presented to them, and 

 even to offer suggestions, as well as give unbiased reports 

 upon their value for French agriculture. So good are 

 the results which hare been thus obtained that the prac- 

 tice is being followed in Spain, where has recently been 

 established a machinery trial station upon the same 

 lines. A similar department has been created by the 

 Minister of Commerce and Industry in the Netherlands, 

 where agricultural engineers are given facilities for hav- 

 ing their mechanism officially tested at the Agricultural 

 Academy of Wageningen. 



It is, however, to Germany that the greatest credit 

 is due for extensive trials of farm machinery, made un- 

 der the auspices of the German Agricultural Society. 

 This society was organized in 1885. The first imple- 

 ment exhibits and field trials were conducted in 1887, 

 and have been held annually since that time. 



These are competitive field trials, conducted by a 

 chosen committee of judges who are paid a per diem 

 for the time employed. Prizes, medals and diplomas are 

 presented to successful competitors. The expenses of 

 the trials are borne partly by the manufacturers who 



enter the contest and partly by the Agricultural Society, 

 which has a very large membership. The results of the 

 trials are presented in the year-book published by the 

 society. 



Since 1892 the society has established a special an- 

 nual exhibit for new inventions of agricultural macnm- 

 ery, for the purpose of permitting purchasers to make 

 comparisons and to study new improvements and inno- 

 vations. Only such machines can appear in this ex- 

 hibit as have been patented within the previous twenty- 

 four months ; or in case no patent has been sought, have 

 been in use not more than twelve months previous to 

 the time of the exhibit. 



The experiments conducted by the Agricultural So- 

 ciety have been very extensive and have included trials 

 with electric motive power for farm purposes, steam 

 plows and cultivators, the various kinds of dairy ma- 

 chinery, and equipments used for the manufacture of 

 alcohol from farm products. 



Since 1902 they have accomplished splendid results 

 in encouraging the invention and manufacture of mo- 

 tors, lamps and cooking apparatus, which denaturized 

 alcohol. Through this means the somewhat depressed 

 agricultural conditions in Germany have been revived, 

 as new and profitable sources for utilizing the raw mate- 

 rials of the farm have been found. 



Besides this there have been established in several 

 of the provinces of Germany, in connection with the 

 agricultural colleges, implement experiment stations, to 

 which manufacturers can send their machines and have 

 them tested for accuracy of work, strength and dura- 

 bility. From the reports and suggestions offered by the 

 committee in charge of these tests, the manufacturers 

 may draw conclusions as to the success their machines 

 may have with the farmers, and also possible lines 

 of improvement. The results of these tests may or may 

 not be published. If a test should prove that the ma- 

 chines are' not satisfactory, the manufacturers may re- 

 quest that the results of the test be withheld from pub- 

 lication. The Agricultural High School at Berlin has a 

 well developed and efficient department of farm ma- 

 chinery, with perhaps the most extensive museum of 

 models in the world. A very complete equipment for 

 the detailed scientific study of principles of construction 

 and operation is now being installed. In the opinion 

 of the head of that department, nothing has done more 

 to improve the agricultural methods in Germany than 

 the study by the young men of the tools of their own 

 and other countries, and out of it have resulted many 

 improvements in construction. 



In our own country conditions are somewhat differ- 

 ent from those in any of the foreign countries mentioned. 

 There is more need of farm implement testing in Eu- 

 rope than in America, because manufacturers are not so 

 far advanced and the farmers are less disposed than the 

 American farmers to use improved machinery and im- 

 plements. The major part of the European tests in the 

 past have been demonstrations in order to interest the 

 farmers, but now the experiments are made more scien- 

 tific, for the benefit of manufacturers. With our nu- 

 merous implement factories and their enormous annual 

 output, there is no need of encouragement in manu- 

 facture. 



It is, perhaps, not advisable to conduct competitive 

 field trials between various makes of machines and to 

 offer prizes for such trials. The method adopted in 

 foreign countries, of publishing in their reports the 



