154 
<Iht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
January 25, 1919 
Farm Mechanics 
Use of Gang Plow with Tractor 
I have purchased a small tractor and 
require a two-bottom 12-iucli plow. Could 
you tell me whether an ordinary two-bot¬ 
tom horse gang plow would give satisfac¬ 
tion. and, if not, why? The regular trac¬ 
tor plow coste so much that it would mean 
as much as $100 saving if I could use the 
horse implement. I have had no experi¬ 
ence with these implements and would 
he glad of any pointers you can give me, 
as, for instance, I notice some plows have 
two wheels, differently placed from an¬ 
other make, while another has three 
wheels, and so on. Your articles on belt¬ 
ing, etc., are most useful to me, so hope 
you will be able to assist me with the 
plows. A - s - B - 
British Columbia. 
While there are special cases where a 
gang plow has been used successfully be¬ 
hind a tractor, generally speaking any 
such attempt is likely to result in failure, 
or at least only partial success. The gang 
plow is designed for the operator to ride 
and the control levers are so placed that 
when hitched behind a tractor it becomes 
necessary for the operator to stop and 
dismount to handle the plows. While one 
may be perfectly willing to do this as far 
as the labor goes, he cannot afford to have 
the high-priced tractor standing idle at 
each end of the field while the plow is be¬ 
ing set. The tractor plow does away with 
this lost time, and permits of more effi¬ 
cient use of the tractor. It is kept at 
useful work through a greater portion of 
the day. Then, too, aside from the con¬ 
venience of the tractor plow, there is the 
question of weight and strength. ^ ery 
few plows designed for use with horses, 
in fact, it is safe to say- none, have the 
necessary weight and stamina to stand 
up successfully behind a tractor when it 
grubs into a hidden ledge of rocks, as it is 
quite likely to do in the deeper plowing 
that your use of the tractor is almost sure 
to bring, for there is little to be gained in 
purchasing a machine for this purpose, 
and then being robbed of its benefits be¬ 
cause of handicapping equipment. 
Frequently men will be found who are 
using plows of this kind behind their 
tractors with apparent success, but after 
a little they usually see the waste that 
their use is laying up against them, and 
the change is made eventually to the reg¬ 
ular tractor equipment. The only case 
in my mind that would justify the use of 
such equipment is where a man had pur¬ 
chased a light tractor somewhat as an ex¬ 
periment and had a gang plow on hand as 
a part of his horse-drawn equipment. It 
might be policy for him to try to use 
this for the first year at least, but if the 
tractor is found to be a good invest¬ 
ment it will pay him to dispose of the 
gang plow, if need be, and obtain a plow 
designed for use with the machine by 
which it is drawn. I would under no cir¬ 
cumstances consider it advisable to pur¬ 
chase such a gang plow with the idea of 
using it with a tractor; the difference in 
price, about $25, is not sufficient to cover 
the loss of time and inconvenience, to say 
nothing of repairs occasioned by its use. 
R. H. S. 
excessive slipping, which in time wears 
out the belt and causes the breakage that 
you speak of. 
Just as there are a number of causes 
that may be making your trouble, there are 
a number of things that can be done to 
help. Covering the pulley with leather 
shrunk on and cemented and riveted in 
place is one of the beet ways of lessening 
slipping. It will increase pulley grip won¬ 
derfully. The leather should be applied to 
the pulley with the hair side out and the 
finished work should be smooth and even, 
so that the belt will get contact over the 
entire pulley surface that is covered by the 
belt. An idler, so placed that it will bear 
against the slack side of the belt at a 
point near the smaller pulley with a force 
sufficient to give the proper tension, is 
also a great preventive of slipping, and 
is frequently used in connection with 
short belts of this kind. Increasing the 
pulley diameters, that is, using larger 
pulleys so that while the speed ratio be¬ 
tween the shafts remains unchanged, the 
belt speed is increased, is another com¬ 
mon method of obtaining the same end. 
It is best to use an endless belt as well, 
as the operation is smoother and there is 
no tendency to slip, as there is in a 
laced belt when the joint goes over the 
pulleys, using as wide a belt as can be 
successfully used with the pulleys over 
which it runs. 
By no means attempt to use a chain 
drive, as it lacks the flexibility necessary 
in a machine of this kind. There must 
be some slippage or there is bound to be 
breakage when sudden obstruction is met. 
A good endless belt will slip enough to 
prevent breakage, but if working properly 
will not slip enough to give trouble. Ar¬ 
range your saw so that as little sawdust 
as possible finds its way to the belt; keep 
the belt clean, and if the other sugges¬ 
tions are carried out I think you will 
have verv little further trouble. R. H. S. 
-It was in a street eai\ The woman 
wore a long wisp of artificial grain which, 
protruding hoi’izontally, tickled the ear of 
the roughly dressed man who occupied the 
seat beside her. At last he could stand it 
no longer. He took out his jack-knife and 
opened-it. “Lady,” he said, “if them oats 
gets into my ear again there’s goin’ to be 
a harvest.”—Boston Transcript. 
This ye 
Every patriotic farmer, every loyal 
gardener must use supremest effort to 
produce the needed food. Triple your 
acreage—it takes no more time or 
labor to sow and cultivate it with 
Planet Jrs. than your usual acreage 
with ordinary tools, for Planet Jr. Tools 
are scientifically constructed and enable 
you to do the work easier, quicker, 
and more thoroughly. 
°* ^ ^No. 4 Planet Jr. Combined 
Hill and Drill 
Seeder, 
Wheel- 
Hoe, 
^Cultivator 
and Plow 
is a special 
favorite, and there are more of them in use throughout the world 
than any other seeder made. Opens the furrow, sows all gar¬ 
den seeds (in hills or drills), covers, rolls down and marks the 
next row all at one operation. Hoes, plows, and cultivates all 
through the season. A hand machine that will pay for itself in 
time, labor and seed saved in a single season. 
No. 12 Planet Jr, Double and Single Wheel-Hoe has 
hoes that are wonderful weed killers. The Plows open furrows, 
cover them and hill growing crops. The Cultivator Teeth work 
deep or shallow. The Leaf Lifters save much time in late 
work when plants are large or leaves too low for ordinary 
work. Crops are straddled till 20 inches high, then the tool 
works between rows with one or two wheels. 
S. L. ALLEN & CO. Inc. Philadelphia 
72-page Catalog, free! 
Illustrates Planet Jrs. doing 
actual farm and garden work, and 
describes over 55 different tools, 
including’ Seeders, Wheel-Hoes, 
Horse-Hoes, Harrows, Orchard-, 
Beet- and Pivot-Wheel Riding 
Cultivators* Write postal for it 
todayI 
No. 12 
When you write advertisers mention The R. N.-Y’. and you’ll get a 
quick reply and a square deal.” See guarantee editorial page. 
Belt Troubles with Saw Rig 
I am having trouble with my portable 
saw rig. It ifi a self-feed with drop cir¬ 
cular saw 36 inches in diameter. It is 
mv own make. Everything works well 
except that the belt bothers me about 
slipping and breaking, as I have to run 
it quite tight. My saw is on same truck 
as my eight horsepower engine, makiug 
my belt only 24 feet; also when the saw- 
diist gets in between belt and pulley it 
makes it slip all the more. Do you think 
I could run this with sprocket and chain 
instead of belt? My engine runs 850 rev¬ 
olutions per minute, or 12 on pulley, I 
imagine, to six on the saw. This would 
make the saw turn 700 revolutions per 
minute. Do you thinks this runs too fast 
or would be more dangerous than belt? 
Kennedy, N. Y. c - F - 
Your difficulty comes, I think, from 
several causes, as short distance between 
pulley centers, approximately 10 feet I 
should judge from your letter, necessitat¬ 
ing a tight belt; iron pulleys which do 
not get a good belt grip; small pulley di¬ 
ameters, 12 inches and six inches, respect¬ 
ively, which, with the relatively low en¬ 
gine speed of 350 revolutions per minute, 
gives a belt speed of only about 1,100 feet 
per minute. Coupled with the above is 
your trouble from sawdust, and you get 
Have many special features. Strongest angle steel frame; axle of cold rolled steel shafting; drag- 
bars of high carbon steel; double run force grain feeds; steel ribbon grain tubes. Made in a 
variety of styles and sizes. Used in every grain growing country in the world. 
Adjustable Hitch for Use with Any Tractor 
Farmers* Favorite Grain Drills for Team or 
Tractor are noted for accurately sowing all 
grains, anything from wheat to bush lima beans. 
Investigate the merits of the Farmers* Favorite 
Plowfursingledisc. Opensanextrawideseedfur- 
row; scatters seed evenly the entire width; more 
plants to the row; a better stand and fewer weeds. 
Send for the Farmers* Favorite Catalog and 
learn of the many exclusive patented features. 
Power lift enables operator'to raise or lower 
discs while in motion without leaving seat of 
tractor by slightly pulling small rope. This 
Tractor Drill is a great time and labor saver to 
the farmer. Puts the seed into the ground just 
right. Even depth of planting and an equal 
amount of seed in every furrow is assured. Cor¬ 
rect seeding in any soil will add extra bushels, 
and those extra bushels are clear profit. 
Call on your dealer and have him show and explain to you the special features of this Drill—the 
Drill which is used in every grain growing country in the world. Over 50 years on the market. 
The American Seeding-Machine Co., Inc. 
Springfield, Ohio 
