The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1916-04-21
Efficient Use of
Farm Machinery

dant room for inefficiency. In the fac
tory man is expected to do a GER
tain amount of work and on the farm
due to- the widely varying conditions,
it has been hard and slow process
to work out a set of standards.
Scarcity of farm labor has become
a fixed condition, and the farmer must
either reduce his area or depend upon
Since the earliest time OF
which we have any records man. has
exercised his ingenuity in devising
implements to aid him in keeping the
wolf from the door.
The promotion Of food producers to
food consumers grows constantly
smaller. The 1910 census shows that
out Of total rural population of 49,000,-
900, only one-eighth or 100000 are
classified as farmers. This means that
100000 are now producing food for
one hundred million people. Compare
this with conditions a century ago,
when nearly the entire population
were producers.
Efficiency and durability is the aim
and modern extensive farming de-
mands the best machinery and the
most efficient use of the same. Ma
chine efficiency has been largely re-
sponsible for the change over the con-
ditions of century ago. Each year
shows advancement in this respect
and there are some principles in re-
spect to materials and methods of
construction which must be recogniz-
ed and adhered to as standard prac-
tice. AS an example of what modern
and efficient methods can
do, is shown by the record made by
James F. Lawson of Carrollton, Mo-,
in making biscuits from wheat four
minutes and 81 seconds after the
binder entered the field.
No cut and dried rule can be laid
down for the amount of machinery and
power the farmer needs to specified
acreage. From an economical stand
point it is up to the farmer to study
his conditions so as to make the most
efficient use of his labor and that Of
his animals and to find out what
point of machinery investment will
give the maximum returns. | once
heard DR.. Carver say "That the ideal
farm was that size farm, which the
family by using the best machinery
and most improved methods, could
make yield the largest returns"
This subject cannot be exhausted in
one sitting. However, | am going to
try to scratch it deep enough to make
it bleed before time to escape. In or
der for me to do this / am going to
prune the subject down to one or two
things.
The Efficient Use Of the Horse and
Pillow
The horse is the largest part Of the
motive power on the farm and much
depends upon his efficiency. Almost
one-half of the cost of production is
made up of horse labor. Thus the
question of economical management Of
the horse becomes a vital question.
P. S. Rose, Editor of American Thresh-
men, in recent address at the Pana-
ma Exposition stated "That more
power was used on the farm than all
of the factories of the United States
put together"
He shows figures from 1910 census
to support this fact. Yet if the fac
tories used their power as Inefficient
ly as it is used on the farm, they
would all be bankrupt in six months.
Power on the farm is an absolute
necessity; but the question is then,
how are we to obtain this power more
economically
Horse is the common source of
power on the farm, but just how much
power does he deliver? This point
is not always clearly understood. AS
a matter of fact the power which a
horse can deliver varies considerable
and depends upon his size, muscular
development and speed. A horse is
able to exert pull on his trace equal
to one-tenth to one-eighth of his own
weight and keep it up all day. A
standard horse power by which all
prime movers are compared is the
ability to move $4,000 TBS. foot per
minute, or l pound $4,000 feet per
minute. In other words 1,500 pound
horse moving at the rate of two miles
per hour, four-fifths horse power,
/ 1-2 miles per hour, three-fifths horse
power. Using this as a basis it will
be an easy matter to find out what
horse should be capable of doing.
Means of Increasing the Efficiency of
Farm Machinery
I. Better care.
2. Better design-simple, ease of
adjustment; reliable; durable; lubri-
cation; accessible.
3. Adaptation.
4. Light of draft.
5. Standardize.
6. Better operation.
BETTER CARE-It is well known
fact that more machinery rusts out
than wears out. There is large eco
nomical loss each year due to the poor
shelter and care which the farm ma
chinery usually receives. The av-
egare life in this country is only about
five years, while the average life of
farm machinery in Germany is 10 to
II years. Example use Of binder
Charity covers a multitude of sins
but not so many as are covered by
paint. Paint makes even a pillow of
character look perfectly
good.
BETTER DESIGN-There are four
points which must be kept in mind in
the design of machinery. They are:
reliability, durability and