Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-09-30
GEORGIA EXPERT
GIVES TIPS ON
BUYING TRACTOR

With the extreme shortage of la
Dor affecting the farmers of the
south as elsewhere, our attention
/; must be directed more and more to
the use of improved farm machinery
and implements, which will allow
I one man TO cultivate a greater num-
Der of acres. No doubt many farm
! rs are seriously considering pur-
chasing q tractor as a means of re-
lieving this situation. and to these
the following suggestions based on
! experiences with an 8-16 l. H. G.
tractor on the Georgia experiment
station farm may be of interest.
The value of tractor lies in the
! fact that with it one man can 90
more work in a day than with pair
of horess or mules. This allows
more land to be prepared within a
given time than would otherwise pc
possible The past season TINS Woulu
have been of great value TO many.
farmers. for we remember tnat put
| little land was prepared until late
in the spring.
The tractor is not as we'll adapted
to conditions in the cotton belt as
it is to those of other sections OF
the country where the land is eX-
tremely level and uniform. 10 40
its best work the field must be as
large as possible, fairly level, and
not cut up with numerous roads,
bitches, fences, hedges, or other OBJ
structions. For this reason tractors
cannot be profitably used on many
farms of this state. Owing to the
fact that most of the crops grown
in the cotton belt require intensive
cultivation. the greatest use to be
made of the tractor is in the prep
aration of the land. 1t is quite like
~, that the small types could well.
be, used in drawing cultivation ma
chinery through many. small crops.
The value of the belt power to be
derived from a tractor should not ne
overlooked, and especially is this OF
Importance if there is no gas engine
on the farm. However, If consld-
cradle belt power is required it will
probably be best to purchase small
engine rather than to have this work
conflict with field operations. There
are numbers of other small JOBS
such as pulling small stumps, draw
ing wagons from the fields, moving
gest themselves to the resourceful
farmer who owns a tractor.
Inasmuch as the initial cost OF a
good tractor is considerable, 1t Is
we'll for one VINO is cOnLeHlpidC HS
purchasing to give careful attention
to the conditions on his farm. In
order to give a fair return on the
money invested it must be used for
a number of days in the year, and
also replace some mules at present
required for if the tractor will not
replace at least one or two of the
mules at present required it is very
doubtful If it will be an economic
expenditure of money for the aver
age farmer to purchase one.
After it has been definitely de-
cided to purchase. the size and make
must be considered. This will de-
pend of course upon the size and
condition of the farm. as well as
the nature of work required. For
instance if the tractor is to be used
for considerable belt work. this fea-
tire must be given more attention
that if it Is to be used wholly for
field work There are numbers of
good tractors being offered for sale
at the present time, some of which
are better In some particular point
than the others. The careful farm
ers will avoid purchasing a freak
ish" TYNE. or one for which it will
he difficult to obtain repair parts.
By all means purchase from rep
utable concern who guarantee their
product. and who have a reputation
to stand behind thnir guarantee.
T. S. BUIE. Agronomist.