Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1917-08-31


!: : ! ! : J:
I'll since been smothered by the
III y exhaust from the four-cylinder
Ifr&T gas vehicles, and now he is be-
ma lI\NL1 ing ousted from his old and
NJ IL arduous vocation Of blowing
2 ~ and harvesting. If it were not
! ! ]
\-hCe1M for the welcoming arms of the
ZMNN3 belligere1it war buyers there
LAH SE&MN would be no one to love or
I'm cherish our black beauties
al kVsS and like poor relations, they
nv would have to survive on the
~ husks Farming has ever been
attractive to the city chap and it has always
been extremely tosome to the native But now,
with the aid of mechanical hired hands, farming
in the future will be mere Joyrldlng. Insteau
of following team Of painting, perspiring horses
and stumbling rough clods in the Drolnng
sun while trying to keep under control ploW
whose diabolical disposition is to twist and turn
from the straight and even furrow, Mr.. Farmer
can put his automobile goggles and gloves
seat himself comfortably in the spring seat OF
tractor, and under a canvas canopy that stunts
away the sun, guide his obedient steel steed
across the fields In the springtme the blowing
can be done to the music of the birds, who gath
around to watch for the luckless but luscious
worms turned up by the blades. By one turn OF
the wheel, battery of disk plows can be made
to obey orders like soldiers.
When the blowing is DONE the mechanical
hired man will as cheerfully pull harrow or
seeding machine and no stops need be made in
the shade to allow the .'critter" to elbow"
tractor loves to work and all it asks in return is
that it's stomach be kept full Of the spirits that
enthuse but do not intoxicate
During the dinner hour if the farmer follows
his efficiency book faithfully he will connect up
his tractor engine with the pump and fill the
water reservoir, or perhaps he will turn the,
churn for mother After long pull at the cider
barrel and. the distillate tank, both master and
servant ready to resume operations
AS the seasons merge into another, and
the crops are all planted and growing under the
genial smiles of Old Sol and the sympathetic min
istrations of Jupiter Pluvius, Mr.. Farmer, with
nothing to do but watch his grain grow can
drive his tractor over to the neighborng wood
lot and with the help Of his husky sons, or his
neighbor's stalwart sons, can cut enough cord
wood to defy the advance and siege of Jack
Frost The modern tractor loves to be tied to
buzz saw and it sings right merrily while doing
Its work. When the wood is cut, the obligng
tractor will haul it to the woodshed, and then,
like the famous man of history, will look for new
work to conquer.
The overwhelming advantage Of the tractor
over horses is that of power and endurance. II
the supply tank of one of these machines is kept
full of fuel it will work on indefinitely without
rest, whereas beasts of burden demand time to
eat and sleep and rest Then, too, 1t is much
easier on the farmer to sit a seat and pillow
by turning wheel than to follow the burrows on
foot Consequently, the farmer with tractor
will do all his blowing in from fourth to half
of the time required with horses. By equipping the
machines with electric lights, generated by the
motor the surrounding ground can be made as
light as day, and blowing can go on Independent
of the sun Poor Dobbins would give up the
ghost If subjected to such treatment.
The superiority of the tractor is also demon
strated by the ability to get over ground so soft
and muddy that ordinary horses and farm Inn
tpementS would mire in. The modern Dall-tread
itractor is built to run on it's own track. Being
wide and fiat, with the weight of the machine
evenly distributed this caterpillar type Of per-
,ambulator can navigate through sea of mud, and
lby it's great traction power pull anything
EXCEPT teeth In the rice fields of California,
where water stands upon the ground during all
the growing season. the tractor Is found to be
the only feasible means Of getting the fields
for blowing seeding cutting and harvesting the
crop 1t even furnishes the motive power for
lthrashing the rice.
If the road in front of the farm is. rough and
needs the smoothing influence of the tractor, 1t
will do the Job and do 1t right. If the hens have
been Industrious, or bossy's product has been
converted into golden butter or cheese for the
city folks, Mr.. Farmer can haul them to market
by hitching a trailer behind his tractor. Many
of the machines are bought for their hauling ab
fty alone It will even take the folks to church
on Sunday, if the jitney happens to break down
on Saturday night.
Tn fact the tractor is as versatile movie
star and it doesn't mind showing off its diverse
talents One has even been known to rid a cellar
of rodents by coughing" the gas from it's exhaust
through a rubber tube run into the private dwell
ing of Mr.. Rat
The development of the tractor is a matter of