The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1917-08-08
FARM LABOR-MAcHlNERY

FAHM lABOR-MACHlN
1nFEurope and America farm labor in
the future is going to remain prob
lemS and, as man-power is bound to
be difficult to secure, knowledge and
wits must be used more and more to
make up the deficiency. The cost
of labor is such at the present that
farmers can scarcely afford to har-
vest hay without the most up-to-date
apparatus To send eight or ten men
with scythe and snath into a large
meadow to cut down the hay crop.
as was the practice some forty years
ago, would be almost impossible to
do, because the helpers are not to be
obtained and even if their services
could be had the profits would hard
z ly warrant the cost.
The same holds true of much other
kinds Of work in agriculture and
most certainly the principal applies
to other lines Of effort. To meet the
demand for increased farm products,
human ingenuity and practically APP
piled common sense, SUCH as the
farm agent is able to give from the
scientific. standpoint to--our. .agricul-
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constructing periodical r has the fol
lowing to say. and is ihsffne with, this
article: AZ. n
"a Il when the editor sees most farm
ers still using one and two.horse
teams and single-share pillow, in
stead of using 'six-up' team with
a gangplow, he knows that here is
an ignorance that is costing the coun-
try dearly at the very time when Ia
Dor must be, economiZed. When he
sees brick buildings being erected
without the use of SO much as a me-
chanical mortar mixer or a. small
hOisting engine, he knows that the
farmers are not the only class ignor-
ant of many economic aids. When he
sees Easements dug by hand, al
though they are largesenough to war
rant the use OF small steam shovel,
and when he sees the earth hauled
away in tWo-yajd loads, with two
horses instead sof Courtyard loads
with four horses or motor truck,
he knows that his own job as an edi-
tor is not drawing to q close because
OF lack of audience" .. Is.
When farming was less complicat'
ed manual labor was cheap. 1920 a
month and keep" was formerly an
acceptable wage, but today wages Of
from $40 to S56 "a month,'swith trim
mings, have caused sleepless nights
for the farmer who employs extra
labor on his farm. VA
The tractor on the farm us assist
ing to solve the great question. Not
only is it saving man labor but also
the horse bill. Below we give sum-
mary of farm horse labor! s.~
1t is claimed the horses on the
farms eat products of rs per cent of
all cultivated land; horses are idle a
greater part Of the year, but must
be- fed whether it rains or freezes;
they are subject to disease. sickness
and injury; horses cannot work In
bad weather but must be cared for;
they require expensive shelter;
horses must be taken in from the
field and fed and watered.
ISL do not assume that the tractor
viii entirely supplant the horse. Some
horses will always have to be kept.
especially on corn belt farms, but in
many cases sufficient horses can be
sold from the farms to pay for IA
tractor, and still have enough horses
on the farms to do the light jobs.
Every farmer knows the value of
deep blowing. With thei tractor. on
the gang pillow it is only a question
of how deep nitAis desired, to- pillow.
WhSp they, are fnlaGedp lip their, mex
penS I've shed. ,tleMs toll not u neither
do they eat much fine and expensive
gra isisN7s4sites8asup1Eeaa pfGetical.
ly everything on the farm for which
horses or engines are used, that is,
{ all drawbar and belt work. With a
tractor on the job the farmer can
work twenty'four hours a day, if
necessary to take advantage Of the
weather. g..
Four agricultural engineering Sc
niors at Iowa State college investi-
gated the tractor question on Iowa
farms this spring. OF III farmers in
terviewed 158 said their tractors were
paying propositions and but 13 said
their machines were not a success.
From 100 to 240 acre farms were the
\ most popular sized farm for a trac-
( tor. The most popular advantages Of
the tractor as given were, "plows
deeper" does better work" used in
hot weather" longer days in rush
season" s.
YOUNG BREEDERS ATTENTION
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