Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1916-02-04
RY HENRY CLAY.
(staf Correspondent.D


day of the horse as an all-round beast of
burden is passing in Kansas.
The steel mule" the automobile, the
tractor plow, the motor driven reaper
and advanced styles of gas propelled
farm machinery are taking the place OF
Old Dobbin and his many relatives.
Not that Dobbin is worrying about the
change. He isn't. He is reserved fol-
lighter tasks. longer periods in fat pas
lures and as the playmate of Kansas
farm children, who, at times, consider
the touring car a bit of a bore. The
farmer isn't worrying, either. The ma
chinery era is the cause Of general sat
isfaction on the farm.
LESS WORRY IN WORK.
Machinery i'm the place of horses takes
much of the fret and fume out of farm
work. There is no element Of conscience
in machine farming. One does not worry
about the chances of the steel mule
taking the collie or dropping in it's tracks
from overwork. 1t is merely a question
of finances and Kansas farmers declare
that the increased speed of machine
work overbalances the financial side.
A trip through Kansas during the
harvest season or when the farmers are
doing the fall blowing will surprise one
as to the extent of horeless machines
1t seems odd to see a harvester-ratheI
four or five of them-being hauled
through the grain fields by a chugging
tractor. 1t seems just as odd to see q
steel mule turning over the black soil
or to watch a gigantic tractor. hitched to
FIVE or six immense plows, turning over
a wide swath of land each trip cross
field
This sort of thing is not general
yet in Kansas. Such statement would
be branded false by the men who till the
soil in the Sunflower state But it's q
sight to be seen with increasing fire.
Quency. It's a new condition that is
growing rapidly, while Old Dobin looks
on unconcernedly over the pasture fence.
HORSES FALL IN BOGS.
Last summer was one of the wettest
known in Kansas. Immense fields OF
wheat lay for weeks in soggy swamps
II was impossible to reach some of the
crops with a horse-drawn binder, al
though farmers tried schemes galore
Hundreds of acres of grain were lost OF
account of the heavy rains
1 had a chance to watch binders II
muddy fields, with struggling horses
Jerking and grooming in boys where they
had fallen after the binder was hopeless
ly clogged with mud. The farmers were
desperate. Their years work stood to
be lost. Many a round oath could b'
heard in the wheat fields. 1t was ne
Sunday school embarrassing in Kan
sas last summer.
on the. other hand L saw binders
drawn by tractors with caterpillar
wheels and the machipes "rambled rlgn'
along in spite of the mud and rain. Il
was easy enough to see why the farmers
prefer the motor-driven machines
A TRACTOR MARATHON.
In a field near Hutchinson last sum
mer 10000 farmers watched 100 tractors
i'm a marathon blowing contest. 1t wa:
an advertising stunt, and many ma
chimes were sold after the exhibition
But the 10000 farmers present proved
the interest shown in the machinery
era.
At the same time a new style stand
ing grain thresher was on eXhlDltlon
II was a revelation in advanced ma
chinery for the farm. Two farmel
boys-the Baldwin brothers-down a
Nickerson, Kas., had been working OF
the scheme for years, while the WISE
ones laughed.
They nit on a plan of threshlng th'
grain as il stands in the field, and ex
In Kansas it promises the solution
of the harvest hand problem; to az
away with large header crews and I'm
mense gangs of thresher laborers-no
to mention less work for the tire'
housewife.
In states where the combined har
yester-thresher is used and drawn Dl
thirty or thirty six horses, the new
thresher will eliminate an lmmens'
amount of horse flesh and big outla!
for crews, harness and animals.
Two teams are used to push I'M
thresher, while a motor drives the ma
chinery. Although the four horses ar
used, the machine does away with TN
necessity for scores of teams during
the harvest and threshing seasons.
THRESHES STANDING GRAIN.
Some sort of a contrivance draws tn
standing grain back against cylinder
which threshes out the wheat, Leaving
the head and stalk standing in tn
field. The grain is famed and hnall!
sacked. ready for the market. tn
stalks and chaff are left in the field t
be plowed under as fertilizer.
There are 1880 automobiles in Kan
sas. and the farmers own lot of them
Every fair i'm Kansas sees thousands o
farmer cars at the parking stations.
In 1914 there were 1,3l5,27S horses
and mules in KANSAS at value o
S135, 1S5, 416.
Eansas farmers will continue to rails,