Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-12-30

ever seen a bulldog chase a cat UP
tree? A dog has plenty of weight. but
the cat does the climbing. Its claws
give it the traction, and 1t is the trac-
ton that counts" The cheap tractors
upon which they are experimenting
here weigh a little more than ton
Some of the heavier tractors weigh
five tons. Each has its own place In
the cultivation Of our farms.
went over the farm with one OF the.
officials of the experimental plant. and.
as l did so. talked with him as TO the
possibility of the cheap tractor. He
told me that IT was possible to cuk
twenty acres of grain in one day oy
means of tractor and that only two
that the amount of blowing possible
depended upon the soil. but that one
man with a tractor should be able 10
turn over as much as six acres day.
These amounts are much in excess OF
those reported to the Department OF
Agriculture as to the tractors in use.
The officials of this experimental
laboratory are enthusiastic as to the
possibilities of the cheap lightweight
tractor and as to what ii will do on the
farm. They realize that they have as
yet by no means a perfect machine. but
they say that they are getting nearer
a practical working one from day to
day They have already built fifty
different experimental tractors, and tho
later models are more and more salts
factory. The weight Of their machine
now in use is about $500 pounds, but
they hope to reduce this weight by the
use of better materials. As to the price.
/ could not get figures Raw materials
of all kinds have so risen that it is inn
possible to estimate what the complet-
ed machines will cost, and all OF the
tractor makers will probably have to
revise their prices to suit the condi-
tons brought about by the war.
~ he n
tractor laboratory here is enthusiastic
as to the benefit of the cheap light
weight tractor to the farmer. This
does not mean the Ford tractor, but it
which several companies are working
and which is bound to be evolved with
in short time. Said this man: The
solve the labor conditions for our farm
ers. 1t will be used for ali sorts of
work. such as breaking the land and
blowing. and seeding and reaping- 1t
will give every farmer who owns one a
steam engine Of perhaps twenty-five
horsepower. and that engine can be
used for all sorts of work. BY ii the
farmer can cut his wood. grind his feed
or run any kind of a small manufactur-
ing plant, if desired. You can even
use it for making electricity. and let it
work nights and bottle up the work In
storage battery. The tractor of the
future will carry the crops to the mar
ket. and do all the hauling of fertil-
izers and other materials.
But how about the cost of fuel?" 1
asked. will not twenty-five-cent
gasoline prevent any such industrial
evolution?"
II doubt whether gasoline will be the
tractor fuel of the future" was the
reply. kerosene Is now being used on
many of the machines which have been
invented. and in the future the fuel will
probably be alcohol and it will be made
on the farm: You can manufacture al
cohol out of almost any kind of vege-
table matter from grain to wood and
from potatoes to hay. The refuse and
waste of every farm Is enough to make
all the alcohol needed to run it's ma
chimes. and the inventions of the future
will probably make this an easy pos
sibility.' AS it is, the whole business is
in its infancy. There are several score
of factories working upon il and n6nx
of many kinds may be -.
pected within the near future"
FRANK G. CARPENTER