Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-02-16
FLOWING BY STEAM.
A GKkAT REVOLUTION In WHEAT
GROWING.
Successful Use of Mechanical Power
to Succeed Animal Muscle for
Farming Purposes.

Inc NOOdldnd 4hdu has the following
mention of the use of the steam power for
farm work, as witnessed by representa-
tive of that paper:
Friday morning we visited Grand Island
and witnessed w. G. Curtis revolutionary
operations as "tiiler of the soil" 1t was
by delightful drive, through miles and
miles of luxuriantly growing grain, that
about midday we reached the tule lands of
Grand Island, where Mr. Curtis was found
gleefully watching his immense steam
horse turning over the rich and virgin soil
at the rate of fifty acres a day
The body of land upon which the trac-
ton engine is at work consists of 5000
acres of tule land, which Mr.. Curtis leases
from Colonel George Hager, of Colusa. 1t
is located on the northeastern borders of the
county, about twelve miles north of Cache
vile. The land is under levee, but never
pillow -furrow cut it until this year.
As one sees with what apparent ease the
engine drags its four 12-ineh 2-gang plows
through the black adobe, interlaced with
tule roots, the first wonder is that so small
a motor is heavy enough to do the work
The engine, however, weighs nine tons,
and with 10x10 cylinder figures 25-horse
power. The engine makes 160 revolutions
per minute, which. by system of cog
wheels is reduced to u revolutions per
minute of the drive-wheels. These are
about six feet in diameter, with tire two
feet WIDE
Imagine a large thrashing machine,
with an immense locomotive cab built
over the furnace end of the boiler, mounted
upon a ponderous truck, the hind wheels
of which do the propelling and the for
ward and smaller wheels, under the con-
troll of the engineer, do the steering, and
you have the traction engine in your
minds eye. The broad tires of the driv-
ing wheels are cleated with iron bars an
inch thick every four inches, SO that it is
never necessary to throw sand" in the
track of this locomotive to keep its wheels
| from slipping. The length of engine over
| all is about twenty feet, and its train of
| four gang plows, attached one after the
| other, form one immense gang pillow, eighty
| feet wide and about thirty feet long. The
speed attained is fully that of fast horse
walk at the pillow, or about two and one
half miles per hour.
Mr.. Curtis keeps the engine and its work
going night and day by two shifts, the
night force and the day force The men eat
| their meals while blowing. In the night
strong lamps with refectors, placed as
headlights and rear lights enable the work
to go on without any hindrance whatever.
The engines utmost speed would be sixty
miles day; but, of course, this makes no
allowance for stoppages to take on fuel,
water etc. Under ordinary circumstances,
such delays reduce the distances travelled
to about nifty miles in twenty-four hours.
The eight twelyeinch gangs cut swath
of eight feet or half rod SO that for
every mile the engine travels, it turns I'M
der square acre of sod-thus accom-
piishing by a good days run OF twenty
four hours the blowing of fifty acres.
To do this same work in the same time,
it would tax to the utmost endurance sixty
four head of good horses or mules; it re-
quires eight and sometimes ten horses to
manage one twelve-inch gang in the
tules.
The blowing executed by this steam
horse is first-class. The engineer has it
under perfect control at all times, and
J with great ease runs his burrows as straight
| the plow-beams so stead and firm that the
blowing is very uniform and the sod is
turned thoroughly to depth of five
inches.
The capacity of the boiler is three
barrels of water, and when at work
carries from 100 to 120 pounds Of
steam. The fuel consumed in twelve
hours run is one cord and hall
of willow wood It is only partially sea
soned, and to stimulate steam production
a half-barrel of crude petroleum, worth 81
is burned with it on a daily average. With
dry wood no petroleum would be needed
The force of hands employed to run this
traction engine is as follows: