Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1918-02-19
BY /. w. DICKSON,
Editorial Exoert on staff OF Prairfe
Farmer.


Eighty-fve per cent Of the tractor
owners OF la Sale county. Illinois.
state that their tractor is paying
investment. In other words every
time you find a La Sale county farm
or with tractor which he says Is
not paying investment you viii
find six others who say that the trae-
tor has paid its way, and that II Is
a desirable piece Of machinery 10 have
on their farms. Most of the tractor
owners we're highly enthusiastic over
their machines
This vote of SIX to one Is not on
few tractors whose owners have beeh
particularly successful or whose
farms are particularly adapted 10 trac-
tor operation. but on all the tractors
in Lin Sale county on which Prairie
Farmer has been able TO get intorma-
ton during the last three weeks
nearly lfa OF them When Sueh
number OF men. working under wide
IL VARYING conditions, vote so strong
IN in favor Of the tractor, the evidence
is convincing that tractor farming
has come 10 stay.
There are nearly 300 gas tractors III
la Sale countv-more than in any
other county in the state ana II i
therefore the logical place TO 20 tor
reliable and up-to.date tractor ini0r-
nation About three weeks. ago IRA
ria Farmer sent a QUESTIONABLE 10
each one Of these tractor owners, Al
the time Of going to press l55 OF these
had been received sufficiently illed
out to tabulate. together with great
many others from men who had Own.
ed tractors only a few weeks or
months and therefore could not give
much information about them
La Sale is a typical Illinois county
with a large area of level land, some
hills and rolling land. and with quite
large variation in soil types II Is
A mixed grain and stock farming sec
ton and in most respects the condl-
lions there reflect quite accurately the
conditions prevailing upon the aver
age Illinois farm.
+ The average number of acres OF TIL
able land upon the farms represented
in this survey Is 2l3i2. They are some
what larger than the average l5i-acre
La Sale county farm, bW0 the sue
nessful tractor owners were by no
means limited to the larger farms.
Eighty men answered that they had
level farms, % rolling and TWO hllly
A number did not answer this ques
ton. and some did not answer the 9th
or question. which accounts for the
failure to total l5j in each case.
Forty-tWo of the tractor owners op
perate grain farms, two live stock, l05
mixed grain and live stock, and tive
dairying. This shows that no one class
Of farms buy tractors. The low
number of livestock farmers is az
counted for by the fact that there are
very few exclusive stock farmers in
La Sale county
Makers OF Tractors.
The question of make OF tractors
brought the following information
Waterloo Boy 50. International-Mo
gul 80. International Titan Is, Parrett
-, Avery TO- Observation-Disclosures s
Heider 6. Moline Universal 1, Aultman
Taylor 4. Bull t. Rumley ., Bates
Steel Mule 3. All Work ,, ]. l. Case :
Hart Parr and the following one
each fleer, Lyonos, Atlas, Fairbanks
Morse, Peoria, Perohaul. Pioneer
Staude Sandusky, Strife, Lauson.
The fact that any certain make ha,
large or small numper Of tractors il
the list does non necessarily give any
indication of the merit of the tractor
or Indicate The number in general use
but reflects more particularly the ac
liyity OF the agents in La Sale coun
) "
J To the question, Has your tractor
. been a paving investment" the fol
= lowing answers were received from
/ the l55 farmers Yes ll6, No Is
d Doubtful II, and no answer. 4. Mos
p Of the doubtful were men who hav'
had their tractors only short time
dleregarding ali answers except thu
yes and no, the proportion is ll6 Il
i6 in favor OF tractors, or about s.
per cent successful II all the doubt
full were regarded as unsuccessful IN
percentage succoqslr, Is about Si FIJI
verdict in favor Of ,Go ia. n there
fore is Oyerwhelm'ng
Q Fewer Hired Hands.
Right along with these two thing
Is good many of The farmers in l..
" Sale county say that their tracto
: has enabled them to dispense wit
hired help almost entirely. They sa
that the iron horse enables one ma
to DO two mems work in the sprin
months while the seed bed Is bein
Q prepared, and that they do not need
1 hired man after corn planting time
t over over 80 farmers out Of II
Il bring this out as one of the thing
which has made the tractor indispcl
sable on their farms
:. Another strong point mentioned