March. l!l- 



SCIEXTIFIC AGRICULTURE 



107 



surprising tliat stiuk'iits often have difficulty in grasp- 

 ing ([uii-kly what is said in the elass room wlien tlie 

 luachine is not tiiere. To tell how to adjust the rear 

 furrow wheel of a high lift gang ])lo\v without show- 

 ing how the adjustment is made and why it is made, will 

 be for the most part wasted effort. The same applies 

 to seeding, harvesting and threshing machinery. To 

 any who think there is no use teaching the subjet-t to all 

 let me (piote fi-oni a recent Wisconsin circular entitled 

 "It Pays to House Farm .Machinei-y ". — "It takes 

 a million dollars a year to ])ay for the danuige done to 

 farm machinery which stands out of doors in Wiscon- 

 sin. At least io per cent of the state's $1()(),()()().()()() 

 worth of machinery is exposed to rain, suii and snow." 

 Director Russell then gives a specific example: — "On 

 a trip of oO miles the other day through a section of the 

 state whei-e land is now worth $230 to $300 an acre, and 

 where that watch tower of i)rosperity — the silo — was 

 found on almost every farm, I saw from the car win- 

 dow, this machinery in the field, where it had been 

 dropped at the end of the day's work and left to rust: 



1 grain binder 3 corn bindei-s 



1 tractor 1 wagon 



3 mowers 2 gang plows 



2 disc harrows 2 hay rakes 



1 hay loader 1 side delivery rake 



1 manure spreadei'. 



It would co.st $3,200 to buy this machinery todax'. The 

 way in which it was being neglected would reduce its 

 "life'' fully two-thirds. 



"A penny saved is two pence clear. A pin a day is 

 a groat a year. Save and have." 



A trip across Canada on a transcontinental line 

 would bring befoi-e ns similar scenes in every Province. 

 If the students that go forth from our College halls 

 can help to redeem some of this loss surely the results 

 will justify the effort to take better cai'e of this invest- 

 ment. 



In farm motor work we come to the most interesting 

 subject from the student's viewpoint. He usually 

 knows something about a small engine at least, and 

 there seems to be a fascination in seeing the wheels go 

 round. There are fundamental principles to be taught 

 the wcrld over, but each college has to decide for it- 

 self how best it cau serve the country in which it is 

 located. For exami)le, in California, great confidence 

 is jilaced in tractors. Why .' ,,The California farmer 

 uses more mechanical power than animal power. On 

 Sept. 1 of last year he had in service 17,380 tractors. 

 33,5o0 electric motors, over 4.'), 000 stationary gas en- 

 gines, and "a lai-ge nundicr of motor trucks. The cau- 

 ses generally assigned foi' the extensive use of tractors 

 in this state are: A twelve-month .w(n'king season; large 

 I'anches requiring plowing, seeiling anil harvesting in 

 a limited time; orchards requiring fre((uent cultivation; 

 cheaj) fuels, and the very Iiot summer months prevail- 

 ing in some parts of this state, making the use of horses 

 almost impossible. 



In Western Canada this wcudd be more strongly cin- 

 phasized than in the East. But as I have said before, 

 the tractor is only one small portion of the agricultural 

 engineering field. Horse drawn plows cause just as 

 much trouble and ai-e just as little understood as those 

 drawn by tractors. 



Farm Buildings or Rural Architectural work should 

 include a discussion of the strength of nuiterials, farm 

 layouts and the planning of farm buildings. The prob- 

 lem of ventilation, heating, lighting, water sujjply and 



sewage disposal, are all equally important to the agri- 

 cultui-al student. We could continue this discussion at 

 great length, but enough has been said to show that 

 ther(; is plenty of opportunity for the application of 

 airri(;ultural engineering information. 



The opportunity for Extension service in this depart- 

 ment of agricultural education is unlimited. In a new 

 country we will re((uire better farm buildings, and peo- 

 |)le will have to be instructed in the advantages of using 

 labor saving devices. To enthusiasts of tractor farm- 

 ing let me quote the following sound advice: "Not until 

 valve grinding and adju.sting bearings become as 

 familiar to the farmers as shortening a tug, will the 

 monkey wrench i-ei)lace the currycomb," and further 

 let me say that not until a nuni is prepared to si)en(l as 

 much time taking care of a snuill tractor as he is will- 

 ing to give to the care of a four horse team, can he hope 

 for any success. A large tractor nuuuifacturer told the 

 writer that three years ago they .sold 50 tractors, and it 

 required the services of 8 experts to keep them running, 

 while last year they sold 325 machines and with only 4 

 men. Ovei- 50 per cent of those who purchased them 

 never asked for any help and had no trouble. This 

 shows that education and only education will help with 

 the solution of the power problem. Oiie man in writing 

 says: "The university authorities should be educated to 

 the difference between the type of shoi-t course that re- 

 quires simply a lecturer, a blackboard and a piece of 

 chalk, where the only limit to the enrollment depends 

 upou the range of the speaker's voice, and the tractor 

 short course, where the necessary equipment is measur- 

 ed in carloads and the students, after hearing and see- 

 ing, immediately clinch the principles by applying them 

 in practice work. This limits the students per iu- 

 structor and increases the complication and c'ost of the 

 scliool." 



llanitoba Agricultural College has given courses in 

 the various branches of this subject sinte the college 

 started 15 years ago. Saskatchewan 1ms received splen- 

 did support in carrying on this work. Courses in Farm 

 Mechanics work are given in the various agi'icultural 

 schools in Alberta and a Department of Agricultural 

 Engineering has been organized in the University of 

 Alberta. So much for the West. What is being done 

 East of the Great Lakes? AVe, in the West, do not 

 know. Perhaps someone will write and tell us. We are. 

 or ought to be, much interested in attaining s(mie de- 

 gree of uniformity in the carrying on of teaching, ex 

 tension and research W(u-k in .Agricultural Engineering 

 in Canada. 



The growth and development of oni' country is the 

 result of its agriculture, and has been in |>roportion to 

 the development of the implements that are u.sed in crop 

 pi-oduction. We are often told and read, that cn- 

 giiu'cring has i)layed no ]iart in agriculture. The fai-t 

 of the matter is that one American or Canadian farm- 

 er can grow as much wheat as forty Chinese farmers, 

 which leads us to think a little before subscribing to such 

 a statement. 



It might also be said that no branch of engineering 

 whatever is any more necessary tluni is this branch of 

 Agricultural Engineering. It deals with the necessities. 

 It deals with tractors, with ph)ws, harrows, seeders, 

 mow-ers, binders, thres-hers. >ilo fillers and all farm nui- 

 chinery. It deals with drainage. It deals with build- 

 ing construction, ventilation and sanitation. 



It is a field that is beginning to receive the recogui- 

 lion it deserves, because of the industrv it serves. 



