Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1919-09-12

a Small Tractor.
tat have given farmers the opporta-
nifty of seeing these machines at work
4 and deciding Oh the merits Of the in
dividual tractors.
Tractor Shows Develop.
In 1909 five tractors were exhibited
at the Omaha land show. 1t was in
tended to make the exhibition a per-
manent feature but failure to find suit
able land for ploWing caused the idea
to be abandoned. Not until 1913 was
anything on Il large scale attempted in
the United States. Then a demOpstrA.
tion was held at Fremont Keb., in
which % manufacturers exhibited 80
! tractors. From this time on ma
ti0nd tractor demonstration has been
held each summer, with an eyer-in
creasing number of manufacturers eX-
hibitlng until at the last show, held
in Salina, Kan, in 1918, over 300 ma
chimes were entered and 50 manufac-
turers were represented. A winter
! meeting is held each year at which
manufacturers of tractors and ac-
cessories exhibit. This show has been
held in Kansas City, Mo-, for the past
four years. Various local shows are
put on each summer, and since 1916
these have continued throughout the
summer, beginning in Texas and con-
tinuing northward. In March, 1919, the
first large demonstration Of the year
was held in the South at Macon, Ga,
which shows that the South is alive to
the possibilities of tractor farming.
The following production figures
show the enormous growth of the
tractor industry in the compara-
lively short time it has been in exist
once:
FARM NORTHUMBERLAND POWER,
H.. MARCH 15, 1915.
1912 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. n,o35
1914 VcS
1913 ..............-.........'. IVSl
FARM EQUIPMENT CONTROL, UNIT
ED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AG
R1CULTURE.
1910 ...................'.... Zjott
1917 G3,'I
MANUFACTURERS ESTIMATED PRO
DUCTION.
l9l9 Sli,"56
As previously stated, there was esti-
mated to he between is and 80 firms
or individuals making or attempting
to make tractors in 1909. The office
of farm management, United States
department of agriculture, has always
kept in close touch with the tractor in
dustry, and the files show that in 1909
there were 1G2 firms actively engaged
in manufacturing tractors ard 1G2
firms and individuals planning to be-
gin In the near future.
Character CT Tractor Changed.
In the beginning the tractor was con-
structed to simulate the steam engine
in appearance. As tlmc-passed and
prejudice disappeared many refine
ments took place until today it is Il
compact, weIl-built machine capable
of performing Il multitude of opera
tonS. The first machines were heavy,
rough affairs, capable Of pulling eight,
ten, or more bottoms II was s0Gn roc
ognized that if the industry were to
prosper a machine would have to be
built which would be practical for or
dinary-sized farms. The result was
that small machines came On the mar
kct, built to pull tT.o and three plows.
This type Of tractor appealed to the
small farmer.
There are now more two and
three plow machines built than Of al
other sizes combined. There are, how
ever, a number of companies still max
ing Il large-siZc tractor, which is still
used on the big farms of the North
west and the Pacific coast.
How Tractor Was Transformed.
From the rough machines of 1908
and 1909 with single cylinders, chain
drive, cast gears, excessive weight, ex-
posed working parts, and poor ac-
cessibility have been developed ma
chimes of light weight with inclosed
working parts, friction and various
gear drives, electric fixtures, radiator
cooling systems, cut and hardened
gears, multiple cylinders, ar cleaners,
kerosene carburetors, one-man control,
and an easy. accessiblity-al this at
a price of one-half to onc-fourth Of the
early machines.
Owing TO varying conditions. there
are two types of machine on the mar
ket at prcsent-the crawlcr and the
wheeled type. The purpose. of the
crawler is TO prevent miring down On
soft gronnd The same principle was
employed by tanks In the late war.
The wheeled tractors are more numer-
Gus and employ various devices TO
obtain traction, such as lugs, grouterS.
spikes, cleats and extension rims
Again, some wheels have device Civ
ing stepping arrangement, as in tie
PIT wheel, which was developed by
two Italian army engineers. A few
tractors employ both the crawler and
wheel.
AS yet the tractor industry is COM
parativcly young, and what its ulti
mate effect on farming will be it Is iIA-
possible to say.