Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1918-07-12
FARM TRACTOR
GAINING FAVOR
Ninety Per Cent of More Than
600 Users Regard Them
as Profitable.
MANY ARE USED IN
GREAT CORN BELT
Ability to DO Heavy Work Quickly,
Saving of Man Power, and Deep
Flowing Are Among Advantages.


Evidence of the growing popularity
of tractors on cornbelt farms is shown
by reports made by more than 600
tractor owners, nine out of every ten
reporting that their investment in
tractor had proved profitable. These
data were obtained in the summer and
fall of 1917 and in the spring of 1918
on representative Illinois farms by
specialists of the United States De-
partment of Agriculture in order to
determine just what conditions justi-
fed the purchase of tractor in that
section. Experienced tractor owners
who made reports stated that tractors
will prove profitable on most corn-belt
farms of $50 acres or more, while in
their opinion they should not be ex-
pected to do so on farms of much less
than 1870 acres. The report of the in
vestigations, published as Farmers
Bulletin 1853, states that while the fig
ures were obtained in only one state,
they are applicable throughout the
corn belt and that the prospective
tractor purchaser may reasonably
count upon equaling the average per-
Torrance reported in the study.
The Tractors Principal Advantage
Nearly three-fourths On per cent?
of those who reported owned tractors
capable of pulling three plows. Elev-
en- per cent recommended two pillow
machines, while 10 per cent advocated
the use Of four plows. In answer to
the question, "What do you find to be
the principal advantages of a tractor
for farm work." the answers indi-
Gated that its ability to do heavy work
and do it quickly, thus covering the
desided acreage within the proper
season, was considered the principal
advantage. The saving of man power
enabling a man to farm larger ac-
reage and thus increase the crops he
can raise. was next in Importance
The ability to pillow to good depth
especially in hot weather, was also
emphasized.
Under disadvantages the difficulty
of efficient operation was the princi-
pal point, and this fact should be kept
in mind by everyone who considers
the purchase of tractor, says the
bulletin. In this connection it suggests
that tractor owners take a course of
training under competent instructors
in this line, as the results of such
course usually amply justify the time
and expense involved. Packing of the
ground when damp was mentioned by
several owners as a disadvantage, but
not as frequently as was the case
when more Of the older and heavier
machines We're in use. The expense,
delays, and inability to use the trac-
tor for many kinds of work for which
horses could be used were disadvan-
tages mentioned by several owners
Increased Acreage, Better Work.
Approximately One-third of all the
Illinois farmers reporting, increased
the acreage they were farming after
purchasing machine, 1t is obviously
probable life of the latest model trac-
tors, since none of them is worn out,
but the average time as stated in the
report was from 7h2 to 8 years. The
life of tractor will depend upon the
amount of work done each year-that
is, the number of days or hours it is
used. Reports show that tractors
were used on the average of 40 days
per year. The area covered per day
90 net working hours) in blowing
with tractors was 6h, so, and 10
acres for the two, three and four pillow
outfits, respectively The average
depth of blowing was slightly less
than inches, while the average depth
on the same farms with horses was
about ~ inches. About 80 per cent
of the tractor owners reported that
the quality of work done by tractors
is better than that done by horses,
while less than per cent said it is
poorer. Thirty-six per cent of the
owners reported that no time was lost
in the field on account of trouble with
their outfits, while those who reported
trouble stated that the average time
lost was little over quarters of
an hour per day. On about three
fourths of the farms the tractor dis
placed about three horses, which rep
resented one-half of the cost of the
tractor outfit
The Record, Iron County's Popular