French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1916-1919, 1919-02-13
TRACTORS BEING USED
IN NORTH CAROLINA.
Scarcity and Price of Farm Labor
Fastening Use of Gasoline Power.
Profitable ON Medium Size Farms
as Well as Larger Ones.

Each year farm labor becomes
scarcer and higher in price. Even
now, since the armistice has been
signed, there will still not be an ade
quate supply of labor on the farm,
This means but one thing-that an
intelligent use of labor-saving ma
chinery will be the most economical
method of handling and solving the
problem.
When intelligently operated, good
tractor can be used to break at least
eight acres per day, narrowing 1t at
the same time, and using only ten to
twelve gallons of gasoline or kero-
sene in the operation. This will need
the labor of but one man. Of course,
it will be necessary to pay him high
er price than is ordinarily paid farm
Iaborers, but he will deserve it, be-
cause of the amount Of work turned
out, as much as does his brother Ia
borer in the large Industrial plants.
This means that the dollar man will
have to be discarded on the farm when
it comes to the use of labor-saVing ma
chinery, and his place taken by the
man who can demand and obtain
from 81 to $3.50 or So, and Up, in
wages per day. Figuring gasoline at
% cents per gallon, which is about
| the present market price, it can be
seen that the eight acres of land will
be put in shape for around So.
1t must be remembered, however,
that the small acreage does not war
rant the use of an expensive tractor.
No man can use a tractor only for a
few days in breaking his land, and ex-
pect it to be a profitable Investment.
The tractor must be used, and can be
used practically all the year round
on the larger farms. Under no Cir
cumstances, also, will it be a prof.
table investment unless proper care is
taken of it after it has been purchased.
Any man who has from so to iOJ
acres of cultivated land can well al
| ford to buy a medium-priced tractor.
He can better afford to buy this me-
dunn priced tractor if he will use it
in an the ways it can be used. Some
Of these ways which have been adopt
ed by practical farmers are blowing,
narrowing, discing, shredding corn
stover, threshing grain, pulling binder,
saving wood or lumber, pumping wac-
er, churning, and other ways. There
is no necessity for a good tractor to
lie idle but only short time during
the year.
1t must be remembered, too, that
the tractor cannot be used to do away
entirely with teams on the farm. It
can only supplement these teams An
example of this can be seen in the
case Of the man who wishes to put in
d large dC1 SdSC VI "" pOctS, SOy OOoAAO'
or other crops on land after grain
has been harvested. Most men gene
rally stop all farm work at this time
and prepare their stubble land for
planting. In the meantime, the grow
ing crop suffers from lack of atten-
ton, and in some cases grass takes
the crop. Where there is tractor on
the farm, this can be used for pre-
pairing the stubble land for planting
to cowpeas or soybeans, and the teams
kept in the growing crop.
Any man who intends to buy
tractor should be careful about indi3-
criminate buying He should study
his situation, and study the different
make of tractors, SO as to get ore best
suited to his needs. Considerable
money has been lost in North Caro-
lima by farmers buying material un-
suited to their farming conditions. Ar
ter getting the machine, however, it
should be W bred when not in use
or during tn 1ter.