The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1913-09-18

was utilized for pleasure vehicles 1t
brought with 1t the wider and more i'm.
portant APPLICATION to the problem of
producing cheaper food stuffs. Approx
imately five hundred acres of ground
were turned over under the eyes Of
thousands of the best of farmers from
all of the states bordering on Neb-
raska. Representatives from Wyom-
ing h~ob-nobbed with corn rover
from Iowa. Winter wheat growers
from Kansas talked matters over with
farmers Of the Dakotas. Everywhere
the rich Missouri Valley Nebraskans
met them all more than half way in
hospitality and entertainment. Each
succeeding day was full-over with
some entertaining form Of diversion,
so that many who came thinking that
they could see all that was to be seen
in n day remained throughout the
week.
On Wednesday the local people sur
prised the visitors with a watermelon
feast free to all. On Thursday the
rallying point after the field events
was a joyous barbecue. One evening
an old fashioned Calithumpian parade
was pulled off, and on another a ban
Quet was featured at which representa-
tives were in attendance from over
thirty states.
1t is estimated by those who have
followed the tractor development
throughout the country that over two
thousand persons, men and women,
were following the various machines
at one time. In commenting on this
Prof. l.. w. Chase, President of the
Society of Agricultural Engineers, said
to a representative from this paper:
Never in all the big International con-
tests at Winnipeg have they had such
crowds as they are having here at this
American demonstration. l p~rophesy
IioI thlS Will NC Vi liSLiShuOuS value
to the farm power at first hand. In
many parts Of this country there is a
periodic hay famine, or else a scarcity
of fodder, but so far we have never had
a fuel oil famine. A meet like this
teaches the people that there are trac-
tors OF all sizes for all farms, and that
with the good market value which such
conditions bring about for hay and oats
it will oftentimes be a paying PROPOSE
ton to have a gas or kerosene driven
power plant do the work and sell the
feed which otherwise would be re-
CURED to maintain a greater number
Of horses"
1t was quite apparent to all that
many of the engines were stock en-
gines shipped directly from neighbor-
ing warehouses to the field. They
varied in size from a heavy 80 to 60
horse power type capable Of pulling
from twelve to twenty plows to the
little torpedo body Mogul weighing
only 500 pounds which drew only
four bottoms. Most of the interest OF
the average farmer centered around
the smaller machines because of their
economy in. doing work other than
blowing. Kerosene and gasoline farm.
ing has come to. stay, and the prospec.
tive buyers of tractor outfits figure
blowing as only a part Of the possible
dividends from their engines. 1t has
been shown by many farmers in this
state that there is no step in grain
growing from breaking the soil to haul
ing the grain to the elevator that the
tractor cannot do cheaper and quicker
than the horse. On hundreds of farms
already the same engines which drew
the plow, double on their tracks with
cultivators and the drill. 1t is then
commissioned to pull the binders for
harvesting. in many cases handling
five eight foot binders with the same
ease that it hauls twice that number
OF plows. After that it does the thresh'
ing and in n trip to the elevator Il
accomplishes as much as a dozen
teams. 1t was shown by many Of the
outfits at Fremont that the average
speed on the road was four miles pei
hour while the best speed for plowine
was two miles per hour. A we'll known
representative from the State College
in talking with a foreign delegate tc
the demonstration made the statement
that he could do with a tractor every