Evening star., 1924-10-06
AUTOMATIC P[OW
CU[T|VATES FIELD
Iowa Professors Invention
Does Work While Farmer
Goes Elsewhere.
special Dispa tch to The Star.

BLOOMINGTON, ILL.,, October S.
Field work upon the farms of the
United States may be revolutionized
! by manle plow. perfected by Prof.
| J. B. Davidson, head of the agricul-
! tural engineering department of the
University of Iowa, at Ames. He con-
| ceiyed the idea of the plow and dele
| gated the construction to students
who worked under his direction. The
! first was credited to Darrell B. Lucas,
and the second to Edward d. Gordon.
! The test run of the initial machine
| suggested some improvements, and
| these were embodied in the second.
! After months of trial the inventor is
convinced of the practicability of the
! invention.
With no one in sight the plow
works its way across the field. turns
up long. neat rows of black soil on
the college farm. When it reaches
the fence it is automatically reversed
and ,:tarts back across the tract until
II reaches the fence upon the opposite
side. repeating the operation and re-
quiring no attention except the occas-
sional replenishment of the gasoline
tank and the application of lubricat-
ing oil.
Says Cuts Flowing Bill In Two.
Prof. Davidson says the plowing e
bill of the United States aggregates
! $3.50, 100000 annually. BY the gem
eral Introduction of automatic plows
this item, he says, may be cut square
! ly in two. While the manlesS plow
cannot be utilized upon all farms, as
its is built for square or rectangular
tracts bounded by fence, IL is be-
lieved the manle $ plow will become
popular.
Many semi-automatic agricultural
imple ments have been invented. no.
tahly the self binder. but the plow
produced by Prof. Davidson is the
fir~t entirely automatic. operating in
dependent of human control as long
as it is supplied with gasoline.
Built of Odds and Ends.
The first automatic plow as built by
Lucas. under the supervision of Prof.
Davidson, consisted of two-wheel trac-
tor, with four-horsepower single
cylinder engine. Right and left hand
plow bottoms were attached to the
frame with their beams opposite and
nearly at a right angle to the tractor
axle and 50 placed that while one plow
was in service the other was carried
above the surface of the soil Built Of
odds and ends of machinery available
at the university, it bears little resem-
blance to the ordinary plow. There are
two large wheels which support the
motor. one running in the furrow to
guide the machine and the other on the
unp'oWed ground.
In operation the machine is steered
by hand for an initial furrow. after
which this serves as guide. Instead of
turning around, like the manhandled
pow, at the end Of the field the auto
matte pIow is reversed when the beam
inc Iiofor
beyond the p;ows in each direction.
strikes the fence and is pushed back to
point where spring action comes into
place The reaction Immediately lifts
the plow previously in service out of the
soil and lowers the opposite plow ready
to enter the ground the machine start
ing back across the field with the other
plow in the air. A driving wheel will
leave A furrow wall only under rare
conditions. The furrow does not need
| to be particularly deep to control the
plow in this manner
Works Shuttle style.
The machine travels back and forth
across the field in shuttle style. the re-
versal action taking place smoothly and
| positively. The inventor found prob
lem in shifting the plow one furrow
| each time the machine was reversed
| This was successfully accomplished by
having the driving wheel on the plowed-
ground side Of the wheel make a part
Of a revolution, with the driver on the
unplowed land serving as pilot or pivot
! The travel, or the part of the revolution
| that the drivers make in this operation,
| is so regulated that the MACHINE moves
over the width of furrow after each
| journey across the field.
Should, for any cause, the tractor
| leave the furrow and start aimlessIy
| across the field ground wheel comes
| in contact with the soil Immediately
and cuts off the ignition, thus stopping
| the motor.
With the perfection of the automatic
| piow there may come the automatic
| harrow, the automatic planter and the
automatic cultivator, thus reducing Ia
| Dor upon the farm to the minimum and
requiring only the occasional Inspection
Of the machines, the addition of gaso-
| line and lubricating oil, or possible ad-
justment. One man, if that day should
dawn, can operate a very large farm
| and overhead expenses be vastly re-
duced.
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