22 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



August, 1917 



beginning he should ascertain how many horses 

 he would require to do his work, and select a 

 tractor whose cost will be approximately the 

 same. 



If the land owner is a "one-horse" man, and 

 his acres are small in number, then he will re- 

 quire nothing larger than a garden tractor. 

 This is a walking engine; the operator being 

 obliged to trudge along behind it, on foot, as 

 indeed he would if he employed a single horse. 



Such a tractor will not "break" the hind 

 with the plow, even though it has been under 

 cultivation for years. Plowing will necessarily 

 be done by horse, as heretofore. But it will 

 cultivate the garden spot and do it even better 

 than the horse, and is always ready for its 

 tasks. It will keep the ground well stirred and 

 should, under most conditions, serve the owner 

 well. When not employed in the field it can be 

 used to supply power for operating a small 

 electric light plant, a grindstone, pumping 

 jack, cream separator, churn, or other small 

 machinery on the place. 



Another type of tractor costs the same as a 

 good team of two horses, and will do the same 

 amount of work. It will pull a single plow, 

 and cultivates one or two rows at one opera- 

 tion. Its drawbar pull is sufficient to operate 

 small harvesting machinery, and when belted 

 up to power-driven machines in the home and 

 in the outbuildings will do more than horses can 

 be expected to do. Its uses are practically the 

 same as those of a strong two-horse team, and 

 will give the same degree of profitable satis- 

 faction as that number of horses. 



A larger type of farm tractor is adaptable 

 for the place which requires from four to five 

 horses to do the work when all are employed 

 in a single operation. It is recommended to 

 pull two plows of 14 inch bottoms each — the 

 gang plow which large farmers use. It will 

 easily cultivate two rows at one operation, and 

 continue cultivation as long as it is needed. 

 Heavy power-driven machinery can beoperated 

 by the pulley, and as a road tractor, pulling 

 two or three trailers, or wagons, it. gives ex- 

 cellent service. 



Many other tractors are manufactured for 

 large farm use, but as most of these are not 

 adaptable for cultivation purposes none of 

 them will be described. 



Tractors are as well made as automobiles, 

 and are as little liable to disabilities as the 

 motor car. They are fairly "foolproof," and in 

 the hands of a person with average mechanical 

 ability will give good service at moderate cost. 



The man with little or no love for machinery 

 should not be given charge of a tractor. 



There are certain things which the tractor 

 operator must learn and observe. It will not 

 operate without fuel, lubricating oil, and water 

 in the cooling system. In all respects it is 

 practically the same as an automobile. To be 

 kept in good condition it must be given average 

 mechanical care and attention. Being me- 

 chanical it will wear out, and the wear will de- 

 pend largely upon the care and skill of the 

 operator. Fortunately for the readers who 

 may purchase tractors, there are but few 

 suitable for their purposes, and these are all 

 manufactured by reputable concerns. 



In contemplating the purchase of a tractor 

 to replace or relieve horses, it would be well to 

 compute the cost of the tractor and its opera- 

 tions, and compare with the cost and keep of 

 horses to be replaced. 



The tractor requires no feed nor attention 

 while idle. It can be operated 18 or 20 hours in 

 24 if required. No rest is necessary after it has 

 been in the field a few hours. In the hottest 

 sun it goes about its work without danger of 

 being overcome with heat. It is ready to start 

 at command, without having to be fed and 

 curried. It requires no more time to attach an 

 implement to it than it does to harness a horse. 

 It may "take sick" and so may the horse. At 

 such times the expense of an expert is no 

 greater than that of a veterinary. 



The fact that one does not have to maintain 

 a number of acres to provide food for the 

 tractor while it is in use, or idle, is a good argu- 

 ment in its favor. Its " feed " can be purchased 

 from a tank wagon, or in barrels from the 

 nearest oil dealer, and it never requires a 

 change of food stuff. 



On the other hand, the tractor produces no 

 progeny; nor will it respond with loving notice 

 to a caress from its owner or the women. It is 

 a machine, dumb and without life except that 

 which its operator puts into it. It will in- 

 telligently obey every command when prop- 

 erly cared for and operated, and will stand at 

 attention where it is left until its owner re- 

 quires it to go again. 



In closing it might be well to remind the 

 reader that the tractor is not a dream but an 

 actuality. It has been thoroughly tested and 

 tried and found not wanting. It is endorsed 

 and recommended by agricultural experts, 

 state boards of agriculture, and users them- 

 selves. It is a practical machine, and under 

 most conditions has proven profitable and a 



wise investment. To some it will prove dis- 

 appointing, and its advantages and disad- 

 vantages should be well weighed before the 

 check is passed over for payment. If a tractor 

 is bought, be certain that it is put to work doing 

 everything that it is made to do. 



The cost of small tractors, such as have been 

 described in the foregoing, have been calcu- 

 lated at the price of good, sound horses which 

 they are intended to replace. Equipment is 

 additional, as it would be if horsepower is 

 employed. 



The Beeman garden tractor, smallest of 

 all the power appliances, sells at $150, 

 f. o. b. factory. It develops 4.9 horsepower 

 at the belt, and about 2.5 at the draw bar. 

 Attachments, such as cultivators, weeders 

 and turning shares to equip the tractor will 

 cost about $25 aggregate. The company 

 issues a circular telling of attachments which 

 can be used in connection with the machine. 



The Avery motor cultivator was and is 

 intended primarily for cultivating large fields 

 of corn, potatoes, and other crops which 

 are planted in rows or drills. It has been 

 found adaptable to operating planters of 

 both the corn, cotton, and combined corn 

 and cotton types. This tractor is not built 

 for plowing, and is not furnished by the com- 

 pany for that purpose. The writer believes 

 that it can be used for plowing gardens, with 

 a hitch which will operate a sulky plow, al- 

 though I do not have permission from the 

 manufacturers to so assure your readers. 



This motor cultivator will successfully 

 operate a small harrow, and ought to do 

 much of the work of the gardener. It sells 

 for $400, equipped with eight or twelve shovel 

 gangs. Next season it will be equipped with 

 disc gangs also gangs for cultivating listed 

 corn, and a planter attachment. All other 

 tools which the user may wish to operate as 

 his experiences will teach him he can, must be 

 purchased separately. 



The Universal tractor is a real farm tractor 

 in every way. Its cost is $850 complete with 

 plowing outfit of two 14-inch bottoms. It is 

 a powerful machine, and besides doing every- 

 thing possible for a tractor to do on a farm 

 of 100 or even more acres it will supply belt 

 power which will enable it to replace a ten 

 or twelve horse portable gasolene engine. 

 This tractor has never been recommended for 

 gardens, but if the fields are sufficiently large 

 so that it requires six or eight horses to prop- 

 erly care for them, it will be found profitable. 



Gasolene driven machines are available for planting and cultivating corn as well as 



other crops 



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By applying the special set of wheels the small automobile is converted into a prac- 

 tical tractor 



