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

census there were 100000 horses and
mules, an average of four to each fam
The total number used in plowing every
time the crop is gone over is two and
three millions, or as one of the agri-
cultural statisticians figures it, so many
that if you hitched them up side by
side the team would be as wide as the
distance from Philadelphia to Memphis,
and the distance plowed would be long
er than from Boston 20 Salt Lake City
Since the war broke out there mas
been a large decrease, both in plow
hands and pillow animals. Hundreds OF
thousands OF horses and mules have
been taken from our farms to the bat
tlefelds. and the farmers boys who
have been drafted are even greater in
number. Since that time there has
been a large increase in the use OF
farm tractors. but the industry is still
in Its infancy, and the tractor for the
small farm has not yet come into use
Not long ago the Department of Agri-
culture at Washington received reports
from two thousands OF our farmers who
have been using tractors, and 1t was
then stated that the heavy machine
could be worked profitably only on
farms Of large size. In North Dakota
the average size of the farm upon
which the tractor was used was about
500 acres, and it was seldom found on
farms Of less than $40 acres. Iowa
has many farms as small as $50 acres
which are using tractors, but as rule
the owners employ their tractors also
for custom work, renting them out to
pillow and reap for their neighbors
Many of the farmers are using their
tractors by night as well as by day,
and this is especially so of those who
have a large acreage, such as 1000
acres and upwards. The average life
Of a tractor in North Dakota is about
six years. and in other states some
thing like eight years. The amount of
service now obtained is from $500 to
1900 working hours, depending large
ly upon the care given the machine
while In and out of use. OF 200 tractor
owners in Illinois 81 per cent reported
that their outfits were not out of COM
mission a single day when they Were
needed during the season. and of the
number Of days lost was only seven.
~
AS to the cost of the tractors, those
used in Illinois at that time cost from
$500 to upward OF $4,000 and they
ranged in size from those which would
draw two plows to those which would
draw eight plows. A two-plow tractor
costs $500 three plow little more
than $1,000; a five pillow over $1,000 and
a six-plow machine a little over $4,000.
This was the average from reports of
14S machine owners. The government
investigators stated thai the high-priced
tractors were not profitable for small
farms. and that the low-priced ones
would not do for large farms. For a
farm of 200 acres or less a three-plow
tractor is considered the best. while on
farms of from 800 to $50 acres the four
pillow tractor is the most profitable. The
cost OF running the outfit varies with
the size of the tractor. and on the aver
age the fuel consumption is two and
one-half gallons of gasoline per acre.
and about one gallon of lubricating oil
to every five acres The tractors do
better work than the horses, and they
cover more ground, according to size.
In 1915 there were 1000 tractors in
Kansas alone and thousands have been
introduced into all the states of the
corn belt. The number in Kansas has
increased so per cent in one year. and
the high prices of farm products will
undoubtedly encourage the introduction
of such machines into all parts of the
United States.
The number of companies making
farm tractors Is rapidly increasing.