Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-03-27
~HE methods of farming followed
today are made possible only
by the use Of modern labor

~ by the use OF modern laD0l
saving machinery. The farm
hand Of today needs brains more than
muscles. The ability to handle com
plicated machine successfully is more
valuable than the power to do hard
days manual labor.
With the coming Of improved ma
chinery the problem Of what to buy
and what to get along without has be
come a serious one. The farmer has
more money tied up in machinery than
in any one thing besides his land
Having too much machinery is nearly
as bad as having too little. What is
needed is a wise selection.
1t is always we'll to do little flgur
ing before buying a new machine. Di
viding the cost Of the implement by
the number Of years it may be reason
ably expected to last will give the
amount that must be charged to de
probation each year Add to this an
allowance for repairs, storage and
each years share of the interest, and
you will have the yearly cost of the
machine. A little further figuring will
show whether the benefit received
from 1t in q year will warrant this
cost
Machinery may be roughly divided
into five classes-tillage, planting. hay
ing, harvesting and miscellaneous. OF
the many tillage implements there are
some that arc absolutely necessary on
any farm. Among these. are the plows.
For the farmer on quarter section a
sixteen inch riding plow will be all
that is needed for the field work. In
addition it may be well to have a
cheap walking plow for blowing the
garden, turning out potatoes and for
use in case Of an emergency. A gang
plow requires too many horses to be
practicable on the average 100 acre
farm. On larger farms, where plenty
Of horses are available, gang pillow
will save the time of an extra man. It
is good plan to have the pillow sup
piled with two or three moldboards
of different slants. A steep mold
board pulverizes the soil more and for
this reason is good thing to use on
stubble land. On clover sod, however,
longer moldboard should be used In
order to lessen the draft.
One Of the most important tillage
implements is the disk. No other ma
chine will pulverize the soil so quick
~ or thoroughly. The use Of tongue
truck-a small two wheeled arrange
ment-under the rear end Of the
tongue is Of considerable advantage
in taking the weight off the horses
necks. Solid wheel disks pulverize
the ground more thoroughly than
spaders or getaways.
A good harrow is necessity on any
farm. The flexible type is best for all
conditions, as it gets down into the
hollows and rides over trash better
than will solid frame harrow.
Spring tooth harrows, rollers and
weeders all have their special uses,
but can hardly be said to be neces-
sary on the average quarter section.
Next in order come the cultivators,
and there are so many styles of these
that choosing is a difficult matter. The
most important part of. the cultivator
is the shovels. A happy medium is
struck in the six shovel type. The
shovels on this can be run deep
enough to loosen the soil well the
first two times over the field and can
later be set shallow enough to avoid
serious injury to the spreading roots.
II you are in the corn business ex-
tensively enough to afford two sets
of cultivators it is well to have spe-
cial surface machines for the last two
CIVILIZATIONS. Some companies make
surface blades which can be attached
in place Of the shovels when SO de-
sired, In the hands of careful man
the two row cultivator does good and
rapid work.
First in the line of planting ma
chimes come the seeders. While cost
ing little more at first, there is no
better implement for sowing small
grain than the disk drill. The disks
cut through cornstalks and other
trash, and the seed is deposited evenly