166 The Commercial Apple Industry 



1. The tractor does work more rapidly. Cultivation, 

 which comprises the major part of the work for which 

 draft power is required on the fruit-farm, is ordinarily 

 restricted to a comparatively limited period. As a tractor 

 works much more rapidly than a team, the orchard may be 

 thoroughly disced and harrowed in a comparatively short 

 time. The number of acres which a tractor will cover in 

 a day will vary greatly. It depends entirely on the make 

 and horse-power of the tractor, the skill with which it is 

 handled, the amount of turning necessary and the time lost 

 due to breakdowns, and the like. However, on the aver- 

 age, a tractor will till many times the area covered by a 

 team and do it much more thoroughly. 



The tractor ordinarily does not move any faster than a 

 team, but it draws a much wider disc, harrow or other 

 tool. A good two-plow tractor will pull an eight-foot 

 double disc at the same rate that a four-horse team will 

 draw an eight-foot single disc. The tractor is, therefore, 

 doing the work of six to eight horses. 



2. A maximum of work may be done at rush seasons by 

 use of the tractor. Since certain work must be done within 

 limited periods, there is frequently more or less difficulty 

 in obtaining the necessary help just when it is needed. 

 It is, therefore, desirable that the power plant be large 

 enough to permit one man to do a large amount of work 

 in a day and thereby reduce to a minimum the extra help 

 required. It is difficult to use more than a two-horse team 

 in an orchard, as a larger team usually proves unhandy 

 and unsatisfactory among the trees. In the case of large 

 acreages where no tractor is employed, it is often necessary 

 to keep a large number of men and horses at considerable 



