The independent-reporter., 1921-09-15
SOMERSET COUNTY AGRICULTURAL NEWS
The Gasoline Farm Tractor

Among the volumes on agriculture
at the Skowhegan Public Library Will
be found a very interesting Dook Oh
Traction Farming and Traction En-
gineering by Frederick j. Drake OF
Chicago, from which we quote the Iol-
lowing:
The gasoline motor, adapted as ii
Is to the Use Of fuel in the form OF
asoline. kerosene and alcohol, FUR
nishes a source of power for both
traction and stationary purposes that
is at once economical. clean and safe,
and is able to develop power from
fuel the supply of which is practically
inexhaustible. The use OF the gaso-
line motor has become so general Una.
we find it in use everywhere anu
practically for all purposes Where
power Is needed.
One of the most hopeful signs, ana
one which presages future prosperity
is the rapidly increasing use OF gaso-
line traction engines on the Iarm.
Mechanical power applied to the heaVy
work on the farm enables larger
areas to be handled, and as a conse-
ouenpe the production Is increased ac
cordingly. Because the farmer Is
aided by mechanical power to make
the earth yield more abundantly, the
city dweIler Is able TO OBTAIN the
necessaries of life at a less cost than
would be the case II all labor was
done by hand.
The farm tractor Is rapidly becom-
ing the horse that will DO all the Work.
1t plows and prepares the grouhd lot
seeding. II harvests the corn anu
grain. shells, threshes, separates ana
cleans the crops for the market II
shreds the cornstalks for silage ana
fodder and helps in building country
roads The average weight of gas
oline or oil traction engine should be
from five to ten tons. Such machine
as this should develop from nfteeh 10
forty horsepower and be relied on at
all times to perform the nara worh
usually performed by the Morse A
good gasoline traction engine whiie
hauling a gang of eight plows can
easily turn over in a day from twenty
to twenty-five acres. When smaiier
nlows are required the disc may De
used to good advantage as 1t rolls over
stones or other Instructions that are
sometimes encountered, and which
might cause trouble for mould Droau
plow.
BY the aid of the engine the farmer
NAV have a better water supply thah
his city relatives. For instance, an
elevated storage tank will give gravity
pressure for faucets or hydrants all
over the farm, and the pneumatic
tank, underground, gives Doth pres
sure OF from fifteen to seyenty-nVe
pounds per square inch. lt1s no"
possible. by means of an engine,
compressed air tank and submerged
pump, to have abundant water direct
from the well by simply turning a
cock in the kitchen. The pump, To-
Gated at least six feet under the wat
er. may be started by turning the
faucet, the air supplying power Tor
operating the pump. A Surprisingly
large percentage OF farm houses arc
being equipped with modern sanitary
conyeniences which contribute 10 tne
health and comfort of the family. me
gasoline engine has solved the prop
lem of irrigation In many square miles
of semi-arid territory where large pro-
jects are. not possible or have Deen
delayed Water can often De louha
at a shallow depth In dry runs or Dy
boring. A five horse power engine
will raise 800 gallons per minute from
a depth of twenty feet. One OF the
most exhaustive chores in connection
with the harvesting of the corn crop
is shoveling off the load after a day
of ten or twelve hours in the Held.
Now a two horse power gasoline en-
CINE, attached to a portable elevator
will empty a thirty bushel load OF ear
corn into a car, corn crib or gralnary
in from three to six minutes. The
same is true to some extent OF the
small grain crops. Quite often both
elevator and engine are mounted on
tho same truck, and In connection
with the large threshing outfits this
combination saves labor that Is hard
to get just at that time. the wagon
is driven into position, the front
wheels elevated and the rear end gate
removed. The grain falls into the
hopper, is elevated by an endless con-
veyor and delivered by a fexibiet
spout at heights practically 1mpossi-
Bile by hand. The engine has there
fore made 1t possible to build grain
aries and corn cribs higher, at a con-
siderable saving in initial expense per
unit of storage space. But simple
and useful as this wonderful motor
is, certain amount of skill and care
is required in order to obtain satis-
factory results from its operation.
Some of the different types OF trac-
tors are the Bates All steel tractor,
Avery farm tractor, Twin City farm
tractor. Sawyer-M Massey Gas-Oil tract
or, Minneapolis Farm Motor. Aultmah
Taylor Gas Tractor, The Caterpillar
Tractor Case Gas-Oil Tractor, inter-
national Harvester Kerosene tractor
Advance -Rumely Tractor Fordson
Tractor, and Cleveland Tractor.