The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-04-10
POWER PLOW RUNS
HORSE FROM FIELD
Takes 100000 Acres Away
from Animals Domain.
DO MONTHS WORK IN A DAY
Modern Tractors Alone Make Great
Wheat Crops of Northwest Posi-
bIe-They Are Gradually Working
Into Corn BeIt of Middle West.
Transformation I'm Canada.

Within ten years approximately s,oO0,oOo
acres of farm land in the United States
and Western Canada have been taken
away from the horse and turned over 10
the steam and fuel engine to be plowed.
So great has been the Improvement over
Ole methods of blowing that the farmers
of Illinois, Iowa. Indiana, and other parts
of the corn belt are beginning 10 fol-
low the example set by the owners OF
larger farms in the newer prairie sec
tons. The improvements made within
the last few years in the construction
of the smaller traction engines using
problems that were presented in the
moist" district of soft soils and small
farms which the old and larger steam
traction engines could not meet.
When man first began to till the soil
he used a stick TO scratch up the surface
of the ground sufficiently for him 10
bury the seed When the OK was trained
to work for him, man constructed a rude
wooden pillow I'm order TO utilize the
greater strength of the animal. For
thousands OF years there was little i'm
provement on this old wooden pillow. but
when man learned the uses of iron he
affixed a piece OF the metal 10 the old
wooden pillow and thought he had made
great progress. The metal pillow under
went slow Improvements as the years
passed. but until the advent of steel in
the affairs OF man progress in plow-
making was not rapid
More has been accomplished within the
last century in the evolution OF the mod
ern pillow than in all the prior centuries.
With the invention and perfection Of the
moldboard and disk steel plows within
the last half-century a great step for
ward was taken. When plows were
made I'm gangs and provision made for
a seat for the plowman while he drove
two or four or six horses. 1t was thought
the limit of efficiency had been reached
First Tractors Too Light.
About thirty years ago. however. when
the steam traction engine for thrashing
purposes was made practical, the farmer
az once turned his thought to the problem
OF using mechanical power for the other
heavier part of farm work. especially
blowing, Twenty years of failure fol-
lowed, the engines being too small and
not properly constructed for this work,
and the plows were unsuitable. both as
TO weight and shape. When a sufficient
number Of the old-style plows were hitch
ed together 10 utilize the power OF the
engine, they proved unwieIdly, accidents
and breaks we're numerous. and the work
cost much more than that done by the
old method
With the opening up OF Il vast West
ern prairies and the growth of grain
farming on a large scale. the manufac-
turers OF traction engines began TO give
the subject of power blowing some
thought, and as the thrashing engines
were made larger to take care Of the in
creased work, an effort was made to de-
sign them so they could also be utilized
for blowing.
The result is that to-day. about ten
years after the first practical traction
blowing engine was made, there are 10
900 operating in America and Canada,
each OF which plows an average of 500
acres a year. Some of the larger steam
plows average 1000 acres or more, but
the lighter gasoline and other internal
engines pillow enough less to
bring the average down 10 so.
An illustration in the saving in time
and in crop yield. comes from the Last
Mountain Valley. in Saskatchewan, where
a section of rich, wild sod land
SO acres-waS broken in twenty-five
hours. three steam outfits working con-
tinuously in order 60 get the land plowed
A six-horse team. with a
gang pillow. would have required a month.
Sundays included. to perform the same
amount of work The result was that the
owner was able TO plant his entire so
acres at the right time. instead Of only
a small portion of It, as would have been
the case had he depended upon animal
power