Norwich bulletin., 1915-10-30
ewritsen Specially for. Tie Bulletin.

CWritten Specially for. The Bulletin-) , l wonder. < 't f4;
 There are lots and lots of things that a curious man can wonder over or about But just this minute what I wonder is how MT. Wyckoff cultivates1 55 acres of potatoes with an eleven ton steam tractor.
 For weeks l haven't been able to pick up a western farm paper with oIittfnding in it something about MT. Wyckoff's ''horseless farm" It is as serted that MT. Wuckoff, who lives in -Marinette county, Wis., and owns an 80 acre farm, first cleared it and made 1t ready for cultivation, and has now for two years cultivated 1t wholly without any horse or horses andssolely eWith the aid of his eleven ton tractor. This year his main crop is, potatoes, certified seed of which, to the amount ? Of 500 bushels, he planted on 55t acres.
 --s .-.5
 Now, of course, 1t is practicable to blow and harrow land with gang blows, drawn by 0 tractor, if the land is reasonably level and If it is free from rocks and stumps, and if the coniguration of the surface makes it feasible to work from 50 to 100 acres r at a time, in one field. I can imagine it practicable to furrow out and plant : and. cover the, potatoes, in such a field with suitable tools behind an eleven ton tractor IL cam even see. how the growing crop might possibly, be cul- tivated after. "a fashion.t with such a tractor. s1t would Seem to be necessary to leave strips, in the planting, for the wide and heavy tractor wheels to run sfn without road- rolling the: dirt over or immediately beside the potatoes If such lanes we're left, and sufficient headlands at each end of the field for s the n1Achine- to be turned on without grinding. oyer the rows. it is manifest 1y 'possible that even an e1even-t ton locomotive could be slam -whanged ~ across a potato field without doing much damage to the crop. Of course, 1t would be necessary that the strips .s,foE athS. wheels. to run in should be scientifically laid '-outf just the width apart of the axles, which might per haps leave 'rootn for two rows to be t planted between each two track lanes Rnd' that they must be pretty fairly straight to make fair going for the en- zine. ts +'-@@4.,sNs
 s1Oh, yes;I fancy it could all be done with a tractor. No doubt a sufficiently s inventive farmer could invent devices by; which, swhen. the tubers were dug they also could be picked up, sorted graded, bagged and tied, and loaded by movable elevator onto some sor of freight car-like truck beside tht field. Then the traction engine coulf A haul the; truck and its load to town put the potatoes into the bins of tht I.buyers by the use of suitable delivery chutes and elevators-perhaps peel ; dishful for dinner and pump the: water to boil them in. Then all the ultimat .tcpHsqrner would have, to do would be co light the fire and eat then-unless indeed scile PrefsEEe dSAq install an cleo trical Cocker +te EBoffsf them 'on turning a switch, and a scheme for an auto. matic fork to convey them from tht d3pneF plate to his mouth.
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 No, Deg, pardon, that isn't quite al es4fKd5 hay 6 sto5do. fs~s'7
 He'd have to pay for them first
 es1And soI1e can imagine that even tn, humble potato, treated and served thi way, might require some little effor to2get money enough to pay for it.
 But please reflect a minute upon tn average eastern Connecticut farme going to his ipotato field. with an elev en-ton tractor. To begin with, tn field is of about three and mine e-si teentirs acres in area. It is Ebounde by the woods on one side; by a neigh -hoTfs line fence, crooked asa ram sSiOTn, on the other. runs into a swan