UQ 



THE ILLIKOIS FARMEE. 



May 



quires double tbe power to draw a train, we 

 can readily see why a tractive engine will 

 not work to advantage on the ups and downs 

 of a farm. On a large proportion of prairie 

 farms the grades present an insuperable ob- 

 stacle in the way of success ; the rise of ten 

 feet in the eighth of a mile would prevent 

 its use, and yet how often do just such 

 grades occur. Water tanks and wood.yards 

 are not placed at intervals as on a railroad, 

 but must come from a distance, and if not 

 hauled by the machine itself it must have 

 the aid of teams, which of course will seri- 

 ously add to the expense. The amount of 

 wood and water to run a twenty horse power 

 locomotive half a day would make quite a 

 respectable load, and would at the outset so 

 cripple and load down the machine that it 

 would make no very rapid progress at plow- 

 ins. The distance to and from the field 

 would require no little amount of steam to 

 accomplish it. It certainly would never do 

 to haul water and fuel to the field with horse 

 power, and when we look at the cost of 

 taking them out on an engine we can but 

 think that it is worse economy. But the 

 most serious objection is the cost, or the 

 capital necessary to be invested, in itself 

 enough to purchase and put in order a re- 

 spectable farm. An engine and set of plows 

 of the capacity and size of that of Fawkes' 

 or Waters' will cost about four thousand dol- 

 lars. 



The interest on this sum, at ten per cent., is $400 



Wear, per annum, 400 



Two men, sixty days, 150 



Fuel and oil, $20 per day 1200 



Repairs 200 



$2,350 



By fifteen acres a day of fifty running days at 

 $2 per acre, 750 acres $1500 



Net loss $S50 



As we can only use it for prairie breaking 

 fifty working days is a good allowance of 

 time, and an average of fifteen acres a day as 

 much as we are willing to ■^dmitcanbedone. 

 This is upon the supposition that the lay of 

 the land is adapted to its use, but we know 

 that in any township it will be impossible to 



select any tract of seven hundred and fifty 

 acres that can be plowed at all by a tractive 

 ensrine. Even should it dIow an extra five 

 acres a day, which we hold is out of the 

 question, it would still cost over the two dol- 

 lars per acre. 



THE COST OF BREAKING 

 It may be contended that we have put the 

 cost of breaking at too low a figure, and that 

 the customary price is from two dollars and. 

 fifty cents to three dollars. This, we grant, 

 has been the case, but we will remind all 

 such persons that by the invention of such 

 plows as the sixteen inch clipper breakers, 

 two heavy, or three light horses, with one 

 man, will average twelve acres a week of the 

 toughest prairie sod. These plows have au 

 extra sh^^,re, which prevents the necessity to 

 lay by half a day at a time for the purpose 

 of sending to the shop for sharpening. No- 

 thing but an actual rainy day will prevent 

 work with the team, while the steam plow 

 cannot run when the rain has softened the 

 surface. Such a team will break up in sixty 

 days one hundred and twenty acres, which, 



At $2 per acre, is $240 



If we deduct for the men, CO days §60 



Sixty bushels corn, at 30 cents 18 



Sharpening and wear of plow 12 



Use of team 60 



$150 



Leaving a profit of $90 



Or at a cost of one dollar and twenty-five 

 cents an acre, which is what any farmer can 

 break his own prairie for. The truth is, the 

 cost of prairie breaking has been much ex- 

 aggerated, as it is not really much more la- 

 bor to break prairie the usual depth, with a 

 suitable plow, than to turn our old land sev- 

 en to eight inches deeo. Much of the cost 

 of the breaking has been due to the bad 

 construction of the plows, and we musi say 

 that there are fe»>r shops at which first-rate 

 breaking plows are made. We have never 

 seen a good twelve inch breaking plow as 

 yet, though there may be such. 



fawkes' new plan, 



Or rather the old English plow rearranged, 

 is destined to a short life on the prairie, 



