The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1916-03-24
HORSE SENSE IN TRACTOR
BUYING
Something of Interest to Every Farmer
in this Community


That the light tractor may replace
the horse in the heavy grind of farm
work, Just as the automobile has re-
heved him from pounding over the
roads to town To keep the family in
groceries, IS proposition TO whict
most farmers in this vicinity will
agree. But when it comes to replac-
ing their horses with tractor, many
obstacles appear, as was shown at a
recent tractor blowing demonstration
where all sorts OF tractors were going
through their PAGES.
A salesman had shown an inter-
ested farmer all the good points his
him, shown him how easy 1t was to
control the tractor, and somewhat
against the farmers will, had got him
into the seat and let him start 1t,
steer 1t, and stop 1t. He then began
to tell him how much better it was
than horses for farm work. "That's
just it," broke In the farmer, "if 1t
was a horse I'd know what you are
talking about, but this thing might
be wind broken and spawned in both
hind legs and probably wouldn't find
1t out until 1t was paid for and / had
taken it home and used 1t a while.
No, I'm not in the market today, Eve
got to look around before / buy"
In this plain statement Is shown the
frame Of mind of the majority Of pro-
spective light tractor buyers. They
all know how to judge horses, because
they have raised them, broken them
to work, and studied them. Buying
a new horse is simply measuring him
up to standard specifications.
But how is farmer to know he Is
getting somewhere near value received
when he buys tractor with no ''stand-
ard specifications" on which to rely2
to know what are STANDARD specitica-
tions" when all tractor manufacturers
claim theirs as standard? How is he,
In other words, to detect spawned and
weak lunged conditions in tractor?
From the results of experiments
and tests upon all types of tractors, a
general summary can be made show
Ing the points Of merit necessary for
a good, serviceable light tractor to
have. For THE average farm, the
amount OF power should range in the
neighborhood OF eight horse on the
drawbar and sixteen on the belt. On
the average 160-acre farm, according
to census reports, there are six work
horses and colt. The tractor with
an eight-horse drawbar pull gives
little more power than the average
farmer has in hOrse-feSh and Is. there
fore, practical size. A tractor for
use In all sizes Of fields should be
low and short coupled. This makes
short turns possible and gives avail
able power where orchards are to
be cultivated. Select one with two.
n ri Va lnn nlC eli Iii
cuts the tractors chances at the load
in half. Would you buy an automo-
bile with a single rear wheel? Two
drive wheels with differential are
absolutely necessary to meet all trac-
ton conditions. Be sure, also, that
the wheels, both front and rear, are
high enough TO give clearance in soft
or uneven ground. This height, also,
gives a better leverage on the load
The power plant of the tractor
should be a motor of the simplest
possible construction with low speed
and the fewest possible number Of
cylinders to deliver the required power.
The high-Speed motor wears faster,
uses more fuel, and relies too much
upon its speed for power. Conse-
quently a low-speed tractor reduces
possible repair costs and gives maxi
mum of service with minimum of
trouble.
If light tractor is to mean economy
on the farm it must use kerosene as
fuel. The increased consumption Of
gasoline is greatly raising the price,
and experts predict a shortage in the
supply for the near future. On the
other hand, kerosene is not Of so
general use and consequently Is far
cheaper. In selecting kerosene trac-
tor great care is needed, for many Of
the so-called kerosene-burning trac-
tors are not able to live up to their
claims under actual tests. Be sure to
select a tractor that can burn kero-
sene as evenly, smoothly, and with as
much power as gasoline. Test the
contents of the fuel tanks yourself.
Finally, when you go to market for
q tractor, select the product of a rep
utable company who have had years
of experience in making successful
kerosene tractors. They will not be
experimenting at your expense in time
and money, for their product will be
standard. They alone, in the tractor
field, can realize that their best inter
estS are to serve your interests and
give you your moneys worth in trac-
tor power.