Ghe RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1463 
Tractors for Truckers 
A Partial Remedy for the Labor Shortage 
N AID TO EFFICIENCY.—The day of the 
tractor has come on the hit? commercial veg¬ 
etable-growing farms all over the country, in the 
East and Middle West especially, and it is beginning 
to come now throughout the South also. Truckers 
are by nature one of the most progressive and 
wideawake clas.ses of farmers, and the.v were not 
slow to “get wise” to the advantages of the tractor 
boom commenced a year or two iigo. Eiit with the 
siieeding up of production all along the line during 
the past few months, and especiall.v the demand 
for food crops, the tractor has become the truckei-'s 
one best bet for keeping up the pace in food produc¬ 
tion to feed the world. Another factor which is 
practically forcing many large vegetal)le growers 
to take up the tractor idea is the withdrawal of a 
large pai't of the normal labor supply for war work 
and -military purposes. This cannot be replaced 
probably until long after the war end.s, and in the 
meantime we ai’e expected to increase crops, or to 
grow at least as much as in previous sea.sons. The 
onl.v answer to this proposition is the farm tractor, 
or ma.vbe a bunch of them, for some of the big 
men who are pi'oducing vegetaliles on a big scale 
say that while one tractor is good, 
several of them are better. Elimina¬ 
tion of team work to the last degree 
is necessary to conserve labor as well 
as horseflesh. Wliile the tractor by 
no means does away with team Wic.k 
on the farm, it does reduce the num¬ 
ber of animals which have to be ke; t. 
P.ut more important than this is the 
ability to farm etlicienlly, to get the 
heavy work done quickly, and just 
at the time it is needed, (trowing 
anywhere from two to five crops on 
the same land each season, as the 
truckers do. it is highly necessary to 
make a (piick turn-over, and slip one 
crop in behind the other with no loss 
of time. Another beauty of the trac¬ 
tor is that it immensely increa.ses the 
elliciency of a single man, enabling 
him to cover much more ground in 
less time than would ever be possible 
li.\' team work. 
HEAVY FIELD WORK.—The main 
work for the tractor which the vege- 
t'lble grower has in mind when he 
buys is the heavy field work, plowing 
and fitting the land. A light tractor 
developing nine h.p. on the draw-bar 
can plow about an acre an hour, using 
three 14-inch tnrn-plow.s. These turn 
a wide furrow slice, and can be set 
to go deeper than one generally plows 
with a team. This turns under all 
crop debris completely, putting it deep 
enough so that it won't interfere in 
lilting the land for the next crop, 
fl'his is important in wee(l.v land, or 
in getting rid of the debris left by 
crops like cabbage, melons, corn. etc. 
Freiiuently a disk harrow is hitched 
in rear of plows, and a section of 
spike-tooth liarrow is hitched in rear of this, so 
that the land is flushed, the clods and furrow 
slices cliopped up and worked down, and the surf.ace 
is smoothed off line, all in one operation. Work of 
this kind appeals to the man with 50 or 100 acres 
of early cabbage land to lit and plant to late potatoes 
or some other crop during the rush season. After 
idowing, di.sking and dragging the laitd, the tractor 
may be used to list it up in beds for certain crop.s, 
when these are desired. Forms of light tractors 
adapted to cultivating between the rows of vege¬ 
tal )les have been on the market for some time, but 
do not seem to have "caught on” as yet with the 
vegetable growers. Rut there is a big need for 
tractors for this work, and no doubt the truckers 
will be glad to use these machines when a workable 
and thoroughly practical article is available. 
THE IIELPFEL SMALL TRACTOR.-The small 
tractor is a handy thing to draw the mower in 
h.arvesting dry beans, etc. It can also take part 
ill harvesting the potato crop. A big potato grower 
in Virginia was prevented from harvesting his early 
potato crop on time this Summer by heavy rains, 
.'<o that the weeds and grass had a chance to cover 
the ground in a thick mat. At first it was attempt¬ 
ed to plow out the potatoes in the usual way. but 
this failed because only a small portion of the tubers 
could be picked out of the tough sod. Next a digging 
machine was tried, but four mules were unable to 
dr.aw it through the .sod. So the farm tractor, de- 
velo])ing IG h.p. on the draw-b.ir. was resorted to. 
Two diggers were attached to the tractor, the tongue 
being taken out of one so that it could be coiqiled 
directly to the draw-bar. and th e other being 
hitched by the tongue so that it was just in 
the rear of the first, and al.-^o just far enough apart 
to strike the rows of potatoes. This outfit worked 
nicel.v, turning out the potatoes in fair shape, and 
going through the tough .Mid at a good clip. Three 
digging machines could have been used instead of 
two, thus doing the work of 12 liorses, and un¬ 
doubtedly in clean land the tnbm-s would be turned 
out in very much better shape. 
WA(1(4N TRAINS.—Another trucker kept his trac¬ 
tor busy a large part of the Summer drawing a 
train of three or four wagons back and forth be¬ 
tween the field and railroad siding. This expedited 
the loading and shipment of the big crops of straw¬ 
berries, cabbage, and potatoe.s, and relea.MsI three 
or four teams and their drivers for work in the 
field. Earlier in the season the same outfit was used 
to haul 500 tons of ftwtilizer from the railroad to 
the farm in quick time. Another valuable feature 
of the farm tractor is the belt work, doing a dozen 
and one jobs around the vegetable grower’s estab- 
li.sbment which call for power. f’onverting the 
sweet corn st.alks into stover, b.aling hay or straw. 
Double Disking in Remains of Early Ga’obage Crop. Fig. 695 
laiuning the potato grader, running the pea or bean 
thrasher, pumping water for the overhead irrigation 
system, cutting stove wood, etc., are only a few of 
the odd jobs which the tractor can do for the 
trucker in the off season, or when the field work is 
not pressing. Jlost vegetable men have adopted the 
gasoline tractor, but the steam tractor is especially 
ii.seful around a greenhouse establishment, as it is 
a very convenient way (»f generating steam to steril¬ 
ize .soil for the greenhouse beds. The light tractor, 
developing about fi-lS h.p., is the most popular size 
Avith vegetable growers, though on some farms the 
heavier machines, develoiiing 15-.‘>0 h.p., are found 
very ellicient workers. Many small growers who do 
not have enough work to keei» a tractor Im.sy on the 
home place often do a .good business hiring it out 
to the neighbors by the day. In this sort of work 
the driver should always go with the machine, and 
have his pay inclmh'd in the rental. ,t. t. kosa, .Tii. 
A Young Orchard on Shares 
I would like some advice about an orchard 
as I lost my father this Fall and I don’t feel able to 
care for the orchard, nine acres of aiiiiles and peaches 
mostly. It has been set out five years, but has not 
Iiroduced a crop yet. 1 would like to get some orchard 
imiu to take care of it on a share iilan. C’au you help 
me to, find a man for that purtiose'^ A. n. r. 
Hoi,lies (’o.. Ohio. 
OF will have ditiicnlty in these times to find a 
.good workman to take care of such an orchard. 
Apple trees rarely come into bi'uring a,g(‘ before 
.seven to ten years, and there will be little income 
from this orchard for some time. I’nless you can 
.get .some one Avho can raise a crop in the sjiace be¬ 
tween the trees without injury to the orchanl you 
will have to hire the work done. 
Peach trees ought to begin bearing at from three 
to five years, but a peach orchard in Central Ohio 
is not a dependable crop. You can hardly bunk on 
a full croj) more often than once in three to five 
years. Fnless you can do the work youi’self you 
will have to hire .some one to do it for you, and this 
on a cash basis will be costly this year. After the 
orchard comes in bearing there will be income 
enough from it to make a surer thin.g. and thus 
men can often be found to work it on shares. F. H. 
Rallou of the Ohio Experiment Station offers the 
following advice in this case: 
\ 
One who takes over an orchard on a share basis, if 
he find team, sprayer, spraying material and orher 
necessary equipment for the work of caring for the 
orchard, and does the ])runing, cultivation or mulching 
and .all work of caring for the plantation and bringing 
of the croi) to successful maturity and harvest, cannot 
do this Work for a slnire less than two-thirds of the 
crop. 'Phis, of course, for an orch.ard that is of bearing 
age. On the other hand, if the owner find the tools 
and materials necessary to carry on orchard operations, 
and the lessee finds the team and does the work, har¬ 
vesting of the cro|i, etc., an eipial division of the crop, 
or of the proceeds of the crop, may not be far from 
a reasonable plan o'f cooiieration. The 
latter basis is the one on wliich my own 
orchard has been inamTged for the past 
sevei'id years, and .si'ems to have been 
s.atisfactory to both sides concerned. If 
the correspondent could but manage to 
have the young orclnu ’ well cared 
for under his own direction or that of 
some one familiar with the e.ssenti.als 
of oi'chard management, until the tr(>es 
are of age to produce fruit in profitable 
(piantity, on a cash basis, it would be 
about the only plan that is iir.acticable. 
I am aware, however, that it is vei’y 
diflicult to find, in farm communities. 
.•in,\'one skilled in orciiard management. 
Women and Girls as Fruit 
Pickers 
T here has been quite a discus¬ 
sion about the v.alue of women 
or older girls at farm work. Last year 
.-i number of the.se .girls went out of 
New York to work on the fruit farms 
in the Hudson A'alley. .1. A. Hep- 
worth of IM'ilton, N. Y. at a recent 
meeting of the Flster County Farm 
Rnreaii, gave his exiieriei.ccv with ii 
.gan.g of these .girls, although ]terhaiis 
we ma.v have to invent another woial 
than gang to represent this service 
in the near future. This exin'idenci* 
W!is with Italian .girls who acted as 
fruit pickers. Mr. Hepworth says 
that he first went to New York and 
talked with the woman at the head 
of the committee who had this work 
in charge. Her theor.v seemed to be 
that these .youn.g gilds could .go right 
into the country and do farm work 
alongside of the rou.gh class of lielp 
which farmers have of late been 
forced to eniplo.v. Hepworth Avas em¬ 
phatic in sayin.g that if the.se young 
women Avere to come at all the farm¬ 
ers must prepare proper and decent 
accommodations for them. They finally semirtMl the 
use of the local school-house. This was thoroughly 
cleaned and the seats taken out and cot beds put in 
their place. They also arranged for the cooking to 
siqiply some Mb youn.g women. This .group had their 
own cook part of the time, one of the girls attending 
to that work. There was a chaperon or ohU'r Avonuiii 
in charge who boii.ght the food supplies ainl taught 
the girls how to buy in quantity. 
There were two or Airee inislits in the first 
comiian.v, but the.v .soon left and Avere rejilaced. 
The .girls Avore bloomers at their work, ami AVeiit 
at it in a business-like Avay. One girl who picked 
fruit for the first time from a ladder .gathered IIP 
pounds of cherries in one day. The girls avera.ged 
about 8t» pounds of cherries. After that thi'.v pi(d<ed 
currants, and so on with the other fruit. In piidciug 
peaches Hepworth says they were better than bo,\s. 
and the same ma.v be said of their record in picking 
pears. The girl who made the record of picking 
cherries turned out to be the daughter of a bank 
jiresident. 
These girls gave such .good satisfaction that the 
fruit-growers in that locality want to hire more of 
this help next season. If the.v can be assured that 
the Avomen and girls will come the.v will prepare in 
time for their liousing. If the local women and girls’ 
want to do this kind of work the growers will give 
them the iirefereiice. but they must know in ad¬ 
vance wlmt the.v can deomid on. so as to be re'd 
Pulling Two Potato Diggers with a 15-30 h, p. Tractor. Fig. 696 
