S 711 .C3 1920 Copy 1 THE TRACTOR Sellino^ it as aa Agricultural Implement O and Fitting it to the Ditferent Crop Areas Compiled and Published hy CAPPER FARM PRESS TopeKa, Kansas. ./■ APR 1:^1920 THE TRACTOR SELLING IT AS AN Agricultural Implement AND FITTING IT TO THE Midwest Crop Areas Fourth Edition : Revised and Enlarged 1920 Compiled and Published by CAPPIR FARM PRESS TOPEKA, KANSAS ARTHUR CAPPER, Publisher :>Iareo Morro^v, Assistant Publisher CHICAGO JTEVV YORK DETROIT ST. LOUIS Hayes Bldg. 501 Fifth Ave. Ford BIdgr. Chemical Bids;. J. C. Feeley, Ms**. Joseph Kunzinnnn. M&r. Ray H. Hnun, Mgr. C H. Eldredpe, Mgr, KANSAS CITY OMAHA OKLAHOMA CITY Graphic Arts BIdg. Famanr Hldj?. Famiera Nat'l Bank Bldg. R. AV. Mitchell, Mgr. W. M. Temple, Mgr. M. L,. Crowther, Mgr. 5 a> Copyright. 1920 By Arthur Capper Topeka. Kansas ©C1A568091 iPR h-l*^^o -To* / ANNOUNCEMENT While the contents of this book are copyrighted, it is the desire of The Capper Farm Press to have it used as a con- tribution to national service in Power Farming. Therefore, any individual or publication is at liberty to use extracts from this volume, provided that due credit is given'to The Capper Farm Press. Table of Contents Introduction — Page 5. Foreword — Page 6. Chapter 1 — The Reason Wliy of the Tractor — pp. 7-8 inclusive. Chapter 2 — The Tractor Belt Defined — -pp. 9-15 inclusive. Chapter 3 — Which Power: Horse or Tractor? — pp. 16-21 inclusive. Chapter i — The Status of the Tractor — pp. 22-25 inclusive. Chapter 5 — The Tractor Market — pp. 26-33 inclusive. Chapter 6 — Tractor Facts — pp. 34-37 inclusive. Chapter 7 — ^State Stapdardization — Page 38. Chapter 8 — Tractor Repair Service — pp. 39-41 inclusive. Chapter 9 — ilore Tractor Facts — pp. 42-46 inclusive. Chapter 10 — Tractor Advertising — Page 47. Conclusion — Page 48. Appendix — pp. 49-52 inclusive. Bibliographies — pp. 53-58 inclusive. Indices — pp. 59-61 inclusive. INTRODUCTION This present text is issued in response to the constant de- mand for our former book entitled "Tractor Analysis." Im- portant new data has made necessary a thoro rewriting of the first, second and third editions. This edition is, therefore, a com- pletely new treatise and, like the others, seeks to set forth the value of power farming as the most important economic factor in the development and maintenance of profitable crop produc- tion in the great grain and livestock belt of the Middle West. The compiling of this analysis has been the work of both the editorial and advertising staffs of The Capper Farm Press. In addition, various leaders in agriculture and several technical tractor authorities have lent their assistance. All told, some sixty men have been responsible for the facts set forth herein. But this is not all. Theory has been proved by practice. To do this, some 12,000 farms were visited during the past five years by the compilers and distributors of this volume. During that time no less than 100,000 reports from individual farmers — both owners and non-owners of tractors — have been anah'zed and their information utilized. From these various sources has been gained the ample and authoritative information that forms the basis for this brief exposition. Acknowledgments Special acknowledgment for specific help and contributions must be made to the agricultural colleges and experiment sta- tions especially of Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Missouri ; to the United States Weather Bureau and to the United States Department of Agriculture. Material and information compiled from various reference books and other sources will find their acknowledgment either in the text or in the appended bibli- ography. FOREWORD The Ideal Tractor — a Definition "A tractor void of unnecessaiy weight and proportions, calling for high quality material and facilitating proper hous- ing ; built compactly, but not complicated, requiring neat and systematic assembly of parts ; having equal facility for use with draw bar or belt ; provided with positive drive, making for high tractive effort yet prohibiting dangerous leverages; giving ease and simplicity of control, adjustment and replacement of re- pairs ; having wearing parts of standard interchangeable make ; being free from excessive vibrations; provided with facility for cleaning intake air; adapted to use kerosene or other low grade fuel ; and lending safety to the operator who in turn will have a clear view ahead." H. H. Fenton, Industrialist Specialist, Kansas State Agricultural College, Manhattan, Kansas. THE TRACTOR CHAPTER I The Reason Why of the Tractor Not Only True But Interesting Although the tractor is a comparatively new tool in the history of American Ajiriculture, its litera- ture is already a large oue. And more volumes might yet be written concerning it, not necessarily scientific and highly technical but books that would capture the interest of any reader. There would be the story of that pluck and initiative which makes possible the coming of any great innovation. The epic of the wheat and the corn in all its ro- mance would be set forth were space available. But behind the impersonal tabulations of figures and data, the color and the flash of high romance is lurking, and those who know it may read be- tween the lines. A New Era Begins Any history of the evolution of agriculture must recognize that all advancement in crop methods from the very beginning has been an adaptive process. Thus the tractor, in its revolutionizing of present-day agricultural procedure, is but one more step in that process toward perfection which dates its progress upward from the sharpened stick of the barbarian farmer to his power-equipped descendant of this present age. Like all other im- provements of its kind, it was the need of in- creased production that provided the cliief incen- tive for the development of tractor farming. After tlie repudiation, through the sad experience of fail- ure, of those small-farm, eastern methods that the first western agriculturalists had brought to their own holdings in the Middle West, rural leaders as far back as the 80 's saw the necessity of reforma- tion. Although improved machinery to some ex- tent had come into use, there was still being con- tinued many mistaken notions of crop procedure. Although grain farming was even then the prin- cipal occupation of the people there was by no means enough livestock fattening and dairying carried on A Change for the Better But the reformation asserted itself with relative swiftness. The Howard Act (1887) enabled each state, thru the establishment of an experiment sta- tion, to work out its peculiar and individual agri- cultural problems. The second Morrill Bill (1890) still further extended the usefulness and influence of the state agricultural colleges. These new ten- dencies in western agriculture were given definite stability and recognition in 1897 when, under the leadership of James Wilson, Secretary of Agricul- ture, was inaugurated that "unit system" super- vision which gave material backing to the various state policies of agricultural advancement. This was the beginning of what is now the definite "unit-supervision" of the department. So-called safe farming within the limits of definitely oriented crop areas is now the recognized practice. The principle of correct farm-procedure as recognized today, not only in the Middle West but thruout the nation, is tiiat principle which seeks to recog- nize the peculiai- ada])tability of certain crops to certain iieculiar climatic and soil conditions. New Crops Without going into the history of those changes which have brought new crops into the Middle West, crops which range from new breeds of wheat and the various grain sorghums and legumes, it should be stated that the tractor has taken its place as the inevitable concomitant of these newly created farming conditions. The introduction of various new crops, each suited to its own peculiar locality, was the direct answer to the cry for increased production. This sort of production meant new methods ; it involved the breaking of virgin areas. The exploitation of new farming districts with those extensive methods of crop cultivation which had always been their ideal, even in the half-attained practice of Middle Western agricultural states, meant the casting about for more efficient agricultural implements. While the horse hitherto had been a most efficient power-unit to the extent of his very definite limita- tions, there was felt the need of some new motive power that would complement that farm power machinery already in extensive use thruout the wheat and corn belt. The Gas Engine The adoption of the gas engine with its relative cheapness, its durability, flexibility and low cost both original and of maintenance, pointed the way to the solution of this new problem. The exten- sive exploitation of new fuel fields provided a still greater incentive. The tractor, and particularly the gas engine tractor, including both the gasoline and kerosene types, was fhe logical result. It should be explained that this volume does not attempt to deal extensively with the steam tractor, which, al- though it has played a commendable part in the first era of power farming, is, by its very size and com- paratively high cost, almost eliminated from con- sideration in comparison with its cheaper and just as efficient cousin, the gas engine tractor. ILLUSTRATION 1 The Age of Machinery It should be said in passing, as an interesting side light, that there is an almost exact ratio of growth between the increase in farm wealth and the increase in the use of farm machinery. Farm wealth increased from less than 4 billion dollars in 1850 to more than 20 billion dollars in 1900. In the last nineteen years it has leaped to 65 billion dollars — more than fifteen times as much as it was sixty-nine years ago, and more than three times as much as it was twenty years ago. This remark- able increase which totals today 65 billion dollars is matched by the 350 million dollars or more of farm machinery now manufactured yearly. This rapid increase in farm wealth not only furnislied the cash with which to undertake experimentation rnd with which to buy the results of these experi- ments but it also indicated how rapidly productive methods had gone forward and how closely farm wealth can be measured in terms of those agricul- tural methods and implements — of which the trac- tor is inevitably important — which make for in- creased production. Ten years ago may be set as that period which saw the beginning of tractor farming and particularly the use of the gas engine tractor. Conchision But before passing to a description of the tractor and its application to modern farming methods, it may be perhaps more logical to define definitely in the next chapter the limits of tractor farming and something of the peculiar climatic, geograph- ical and physical conditions which make the Mid- dle West the ideal tractor market. ^ NA5 TAI/5 72.08% OF ^AIL PA/^MS IN ^CAPPFT^ STATES ARB OVER lOOACRBS -% //Avi^r///s \50.81%9FALiS \farms-otne/i\ ^z)z states JOOACRBS ' / >^ V VI ,^ lilt- iialriirnl liiinie of the traeto CHAPTER II The Tractor Belt Defined The Middle West Roughly speaking, the tractor belt includes those vast areas of alluvial prairie land that lie on each side of the Mississippi River between the Appa- lachian Mountains to the east and the Rocky Moun- tains to the west. It is an area given over almost entirely to various kinds of grain crops, particularly wheat and corn, but not excluding by any manner of means, such other crops as cotton and hay and the various legumes that extensively enter into the agricultural wealth of this section. Neither does this delimitation lose sight of the fact that there are other parts of the country in which the tractor can be and is profitably u.sed. But this volume is mostly concerned with the so-called great plains region. Tractor Farms Thru successive causes, not necessary to dis- cuss here, 160 acres has become the average size of farms in this region. Plotting the limits of the tractor area in slightly more precise terms, we may say that the line where 160-acre farms begin starts from Duluth, runs to Minneapolis and then bears off southwest, passing St. Louis and pene- trating the eastern parts of Oklahoma and Texas. West of this line, and including those upland plains of the eastern Rocky Mountains, now just developing to dry farming, constitutes the natural tractor belt and includes that territory where the horse, as an efficient power unit, approaches the limits of his efficiency. The other north and south line will start almost at the center of Ohio and progress southward following the junctures of the Appalachian foothills with the prairies, taking into account, however, much level valley "trac- tor" land along the upper hill reaches of those larger eastern tributaries of the Mississippi. Another Boundary Within this same area there may be still made another boundary — that western line which marks the limit of heavy crop production. In other words included within the whole we may find a pretty definitely defined area which we may characterize without paradox as the area of "in- tensive extensiveness" where the emphasis is al- most entirely put upon the two principal crops of wheat and corn, with an included sub-division, in each instance, of spring and winter wheat, and maize and the various grain sorghums. Such a line follows the western boundary of Nebraska and Kansas and runs thru the Texas Panhandle clear to the Gulf. This limitation has an added signifi- RAINFALL BY M0NTH5 OF VARIOUS <5[CTI0NS J.te In the Mid-West the bulk of affordf* the beat Hence, plowlnfir must be done quickly. The tractor npid ploiving: cance when we consider that its western boundaries are those first set by the horse and within which, quite naturally, since the process of crop produc- tion was already highly developed, the tractor finds its first field of exploitation. But, as has been previously intimated, beyond this western boundary lie endless acres, hitherto unfitted to previous methods of crop cultivation, which now depend upon the horse as the power unit. We may say, therefore, that the extent of tractor poten- tiality as an instrument of increased productive- ness is limited only by the readiness and financial ability of those present-daj' pioneer farmers to push out into the semi-arid regions and, applying the new technique of dry farming, plus the tractor, open up a new empire dominated by the same kind of crops now extensively cultivated farther to the east. Crops Grown The tractor belt today produces 70 per cent of the cereal crops of the United States. In the North spring wheat and oats are successively cul- tivated. Farther down we enter the corn belt, producing two-thirds of the nation's crop. Then come Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma, the hard wheat and alfalfa belt, with an extensive overlap of the grain sorghums. The grain sorghums are even now in the Southwest assuming equal im- portance with corn as one of the principal crops, already occupying in the schedule of southwestern livestock feeders the same place which the com- bined clover and corn crops bear to the feed schedule of more northern sections. In addition, in a fairly circumscribed area of the Southwest, cotton assumes the principal role as a crop of ■'tractor importance." It has been estimated by the Farm Implement News of Chicago, as well as by other authorities, that fully 65 per cent of all tractors in use in the entire country are owned in the region described. The immediate corollary of this fact is found in those statistics which reveal that on three-fifths of the farms of 175 acres — numbering 1,153.000 in this region — are found approximately 35,000 to 50,000 tractors. These facts will be later dis- cussed in the estimate of the potential market for tractors but are given here to substantiate still further the fact that the Middle West is the tractor country and the tractor market, par excellence. Climatic Influences Reference has already been made to the fact that the tractor will extend the possibilities of dry farming in those relatively undeveloped regions immediatel.v to the east of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, an area estimated at 350 mil- lions of acres. But in the already established grain belt the tractor has a peculiar place, es- pecially as we go toward the Southwest. In this region the dominant factors of a moderate rainfall and excessive sunshine, plus a relatively high wind velocity, have produced peculiar local con- ditions that heretofore have frequently proved too much for those methods of cultivation which depended upon the horse. For instance, while n plowed k to 'j in a week, il in a week. 2^ in a week Moisture Exhausted :iiid .seasonably iii:iikf picte turn-under of riservatioii and the there is not very much difference in the rainfali of McPherson, Kansas, and Kokomo, Indiana, there is a difference, 25 to 40 per cent greater, in Kansas and Iowa than in Indiana. It is this ele- ment of high winds and continuous sunshine that produces almost immediate evaporation. The rainfall itself would be sufficient if proper meth- ods of moisture conservation could be introduced. Proper moisture conservation, in reference to the peculiar crops produced, means deep plowing in mid-summer, early plowing in the other seasons and extensive cultivation. This is not possible, however, thruout much of the region because of the fact that liorse-drawn implements are not fast enough, nor the animal itself enduring enough, coupled with the shortage of farm labor, to do the necessary amount of work within the limits of a very definite period when weather conditions are the fittest. Dominating all this, is the fact that the horse, already exhausted with the heat of the harvest and the long drawn-out spring work, is in no condition to undertake the even more ardu- ous labor of next season's crop preparation. The Reason Why This brief analysis explains in a nutshell why the tractor, an unfeeling machine, almost com- pletely unhindered by any sort of weather condi- tions, is more economical in its application of power and cheaper in its fuel consumption for the production of power. Solely as an implement of plowing and cultivation it makes for greater mois- ture conservation, more extensive and intensive methods of crop cultivation and subsequently for a greater production. This production may be variously estimated as from 25-50 per cent greater in comparison with the same results produced by horse power farming. These facts may be briefly illustrated by the statement of J. C. Mohler, Secretary of the State Board of Agriculture of Kansas, who says, "in 1914, the first year of the war, Kansas planted 20 million acres to crops ; in 1918, the last year of the war, nearly 21,250,000 acres. As the farmers had less help in 1918 than in 1914 it is logical to conclude that they were able to devote larger acreages to crops thru the more extensive em- ployment of labor- and time-saving machinery, such as the tractor. Hence, this increase in acre- age is partly attributable to the tractor, at least. In 1914 there were less than 2,500 tractors in use in Kansas ; now there are approximately 9,000. ' ' Practical Proof These facts find an interesting confirmation in the results announced by The Farmer in a recent extensive tractor investigation, where we find for the states of Minnesota, North and South Dakota that over 48 per cent of the total of 408 tractor- farmers reporting, maintain that the tractor inso- far as it concerns application of these scientific principles of crop procedure, more than justifies its preference over horse labor. What is true for Kansas and for th«se three northern states is equally true farther to the south. For instance, in ()klalioma, as determined by the Oklahoma Experi- ment Station, the average yield on wheat lands plowed by the old and by new seasonal methods, show a maximum difference of over 15 bushels to the acre and with an average difference of over five bushels to the a'cre. It has been estimated tliat if it were possible to control the soil moisture tliere, so that none might escape thru the plants, a rainfall of ten inches would be ordinarily sufficient to produce a fifty bu.shel yield of corn. Soil prep- ;ii-atioii that would insure getting tlie moisture into the soil is an important consideration. An ideal seed bed for a good corn crop in these regions is one PbOWFD JUL. lb" 7IN. 3 K- ?t LISTED JUL. IS' if IM. vvoRKeD nowM LISTED JUL lb" triN-RlDOes SPLIT flL PLOWED Jul. lb" 3I1M., DOUBLE DISKED JUL. rb' PUOl/VGO HuG.lt." TIN, PLOWED nue lb' TIN PLOweo Hug lb '7ii\i NOT Wormed uNno setiyi'j DOUBLE DIblxEO JUL PLOweo sep lb TIM PLOWED SEP lb" TIN_ PLOWED A'i^'-^'^ii bEP lb 3 IN with a loose, coarse surface and a subsoil with a moisture to a deptli of several feet. Deep plowing in the fall or very early in the spring for this par- ticular crop is the only method that will allow most of the moisture to penetrate and the soil to settle before planting time. Such methods can be at- tained efficiently and economically only by the use of the tractor. The Big Problem Thus, it will be seen that the big problem that the Middle Western farmer combats is not a short- age of rainfall but the quick evaporation of a vei-y adequate rainfall. In general, the rainfall of the Middle West is seasonably well-timed, but owing to a high wind velocity and extensive sunshine, the the land quickly becomes, at least in some places, almost semi-arid. During an average midsummer week plowed ground in the Middle West loses moisture equivalent to one-fourth to one-half of its rainfall. Bare land and land bearing weeds lose even more. While the cultivation of land has in it- self no effect upon increasing or decreasing the Mid-Western average rainfall of approximately 30 inches a year, it has wholly the desired effect in conserving this moisture, as already explained. The proper breaking up of the land to prepare it to re- ceive and retain rain is, therefore, the primary re- quisite of all crop procedure in this region. Men- tion has already been made of deep plowing experi- ments in Oklahoma. Still further investigations have shown that land plowed in Stillwater, Okla- homa, on July 28, had in it at seeding time 16.5 per cent moisture ; tliat which was not plowed until September 1st had only 9.5 per cent moisture, in- sufficient to germinate the seed sown on September 16th. Winter Wheat Let us consider winter wheat for a moment and see how it reacts to deep-plowing by tlie tractor under tlie pecidiar climatic conditions and soil con- ditions already spoken of. Spring wlieat is not ex- tensively considered in this discussion since the principles of tractor farming in its cultivation have been practiced longer than is the case with winter wheat and because the exploitation of spring wheat methods have been more widely diffused thruout the country. For many years the state experiment stations of Oklahoma. Kansas, Nebraska and others have been pidilishing the results of experiments to sliow the proper methods of hard wlicat prodiiction. Briefly siimmarized, we know that tlie best yield of winter wheat can be produced by plowing early in July. Tlie reason for this early plowing, as has been explained, is solely for the purpose of mois- ture conservation. Experiments have shown that wheat planted in time, on ground prepared by HOW DIFFERENT METHODS OF PLOWING AFFECT WINTER WHEAT YIELD These eleven tests were made by the Kansas State Agricultural College at Manhattan, Kan., on adjoining plots of land. The only difference in the treatment of the different plots was in the plowing. The same kind of seed was planted in the same way on the same date — September 29th. The variation in the yield, therefore, was due to the different plowing methods employed. This table should be studied with Chart 5, on the preceding page. Methods of Preparation — Yield per Acre | Cost per Acre Preparation 1 %of % of Increased Bushels Increase | Cost | Cost 1. Disked, not plowed 4.29 $1.95 2. Plowed September 5, three inches deep 14.4G 1 237 3.05 1 56 3. Plowed September 15. seven inches deep 15.79 1 268 3.55 82 4. Double disked July 15 ; plowed September 15, seven inches deep 23.57 1 449 4.35 123 5. Plowed August 15, seven inches deep ; not worked 1 1 23.62 1 451 1 3.55 82 27.74 1 547 3.90 100 7. Double disked July 15, plowed August 15, seven 32.08 1 662 4.70 141 33.46 1 6S0 4.45 128 9. Listed July 15, five inches deep. Ridges split August 15 . 34.35 1 701 3.75 92 35.07 715 3.70 90 1 1 38.36 1 794 | 4.95 154 1 early plowing inereased in yield from 30 to 40 per cent. The amount of seed sown to produce this re- sult also varies according to the time and prepara- tion of the seed bed. For example : Two bushels of Turkey Red planted on September 25 go as far as four and one-half planted on October 15 or eight bushels planted on November 15. Plowing It should be remembered that plowing is the most costly of crop operations and that the cost of plow- ing increases in direct proportion to the depth plowed whether the power employed be horse or tractor. But it is still further to be remembered that deep plowing is relatively cheaper, in propor- tion to the speed and time, with the tractor than with the horse. The average maximum depth ac- cording to the best authorities is approximately seven inches, — the ideal tractor-drawbar penetra- tion. Furthermore, this is a depth which as found by experiment accomplishes in the soil turnover both the incorporation of all former crop residues and, in addition, effectually cleans the surface for the subsequent tillage and seeding. There has been a tendency on the part of some tractor enthusiasts because of the great reserve power to be obtained — to advocate even deeper plowing. Official bulletins from the Dry Land Farming of United States De- partment of Agriculture report that deeper tillage than this in some ten states in the Middle West o does not pay. The necessity for deeper plowing,,; I can be overcome without a reduction in crop yield •6^1 by practicing a rotation of crops. But a rotation of crops requires a flexibility in the unit of farm power. This flexibility can be best obtained by the use of the tractor. But as has been so often emphasized only the most general principles are cited here and in all instances the highly variable factors of local soil and climatic conditions must govern all plowing procedures and crop rotations. The point to understand is this: with the present scarcity and high cost of farm labor, combined with the need for deep and ex- tensive plowing the tractor, in comparison with the horse, costs less, accomplishes more, and con- sequently, both quantitatively and qualitatively, yields a maximum of production. Limitations of the Horse Such is the ideal procedure for the production of bumper winter-wheat crops. But such a pro- cedure is barely possible with the horse as the power unit. To illustrate: the horses have just finished harvesting the wheat, and almost immediately the corn, kafir, cotton and other crops need cultiva- tion. Hay time is next on the program. And all the while the horse has been hard at work under terrific heat conditions to which he is in no wise acclimated. Plowing of a necessity is put off, sowing is delayed and when it is done, the seed is put into a soil already half-depleted of the precious moisture content. The factor of weeds allowed to grow, because of lack of time to eradicate also • enters. The result is only half or three-fourths of "'a crop and sometimes not even that. WHEAT Yields under different treatment 17,7 Disked at needing Plowed Deep in Seplember Plowed Shallow in July Plowed, Deep In July Nilrales al 6eedinq Time pounds 1o 3 feel of 6oil _£C^_RLQ.iZ'3UQIJ_- _ £PJ>1 _of_ £ic_re 22.3 16Q 4.37 GROWTH OF PLANT FOOD Increased by Deep and Early Plowing Which Is Practical Only With a Tractor Corn Wliat is true of wheat crop procedure is also true of corn. Deep plowing early in the fall or medium deep plowing in the spring has peculiar application to eoi-n culture. Corn should be planted early in order to produce the necessary crop, because early-planted corn ripens first and usually produces an earlier and better yield. Baj'ly-planted corn because of its slow, tough growth is not so susceptible to drouth as corn planted later. In addition, such corn derives more benefit from the conserved winter and spring moisture supply, has a better rootage before the advent of summer drouths and consequently stands a larger chance of maturing when these conditions materialize. All told, the chief essen- tials of crop production are heat, soil fertility, tested seed, sufficient water and adequate culti- vation methods — of the first three of these factors the Middle West has an abundance. Water it has, too, but only in terms of a proper method of moisture conservation. By controlling evapora- tion the success of the corn crop is more nearly as- sured and the corn is successfully carried through the ear-forming period to a future of early and full maturity. The tractor is the fulfillment of these condi- tions. It can prepare the ideal root bed that is de- manded by corn in these regions as the horse can- not economically do, because it can do it more quickly and thoroly. Time is the important fac- tor where there are larger acreages. As the plow- ing must be done at a certain time to obtain maxi- mum results, the tractor is capable not only of plowing deep at a high rate of speed as compared with the horse, but with the use of a minimum amount of farm labor. Grain Sorghums What has been said of corn and wheat applies largely to the various grain sorghums. These crops combine many of the good qualities of both corn and clover. They make excellent forage and the grains themselves have high feeding values. Rut their peculiar virtue lies in their adaptability to the general semi-arid conditions found in the extreme Western and Southwestern part of the so-called tractor belt. Hitherto, because of the very natural adapta- bility of this crop to the territory, farmers have frequently become careless as to their methods of crop cultivation. The very hardiness of the crop itself and the fact that it will yield the maximum return with a minimum of effort, has tended to make many farmers neglect proper tillage meth- ods. But no other crop will respond more quickly and valiantly when planted and cultivated as it should be done than the grain sorghums. Its present acreage of over six million acres — almost half of the wheat acreage of Kansas, in itself a typical grain state — can be greatly increased and made to yield in a corresponding ratio under the influence of tractor cultivation. Wliat has been said concerning corn and the applica- tion of early and deep plowing, coupled with prompt planting and early and extensive cultiva- tion, will make not only for a heightened resist- ance to drouth conditions but an increased yield greatly in excess of that usually attained. RRMN 50RGHliM BELT iiportant corn crops oC llii* Soutli^vest turnl belt for this crop Is west of iiiei Other Results Erratic and variant liarvests, ranging from "middling" success to absolute failure are the inevitable results as long as "horse" methods are followed. There has not been room to discuss all the advantages of deep plowing yet there are some others that may be mentioned at this point. The farmer wages a continuous battle against weeds and insect pests. In those fields where early plowing, deep and varied, had been carried on the root penetration of weeds is entirely discouraged. By the same token fall plowing by tractors, im- possible with worn-out and exhausted horses, ef- fectively turns under those weed crops still un- touched. Insect pests are also ei'adicated. In- sects not allowed to hibernate and live thru the winter produce no insects in the spring. Deep plowing, discing and dragging all serve to kill those insects that burrow just beneath the ground or penetrate to the frost line. All the various pupae are easily destroyed. The list includes grasshoppers, cut-worms, corn-ear worms, boll weevils of the cotton plant and numerous other crop pests that hibernate beneath the ground dur- ing the winter. In addition, to be reiterated again and again, such seasonal plowing conserves mois- ture and thus attains the ultimate ends of all Mid- Western farming methods. 2.669.905 FARMBR3 IN TflEr C/^PPBR 3TATB3 UAVE T/Y/3 TO GLry v^rr/f J, €91, 380 F'A /?Af£/iS OTIJE-R STATES 16 CAPPER. STATES^ ^^12,308,355, OOO 3Z Or//.eR STATES 3. 691, 3>80 FARMPASi ^i^\$I/, 2 79, 059. OOOy COM PAR ING THE H( 3RSE AND TRA .CTOR ^-"-^^Tm^' s > ^ — 1 ~~ — ^-^ /^W •0 2 ^^^7^ x^'x c: ^^\. xSm / \ I*. \ \ \ s P 1 0) / /^-^A "^ \ / \ « \ \ / ^ / \ / ""^^^ . \\ // / \ At^r^^^x\\ \ 1 \ / '■»'K \\ /A / \ /~~~^~^~~^I~^^^X\ 1 > \ J^OV. ST, ^~~~~~~~"-~^^^^ \ JULY 25 "T' ^ JULY 52% \ -^'^ / \ / \ '^^ / \ / \ 4- / / \^ / % X/ \ / ^ y \^ / ■^ y^ X ^" / ( 9 CHART 10 :hart Dl^iRlon of horso lal>or in actual oractioe on a farm niviMion of horse labor a» it should be dLstrlbnted to «'here the prodi rtion Is largely wheat secure maximum results CHAPTER III Which Power: Horse or Tractor? The Horse Versus the Tractor The farm tractor has displaced, on an average, one-fourth the number of horses used on Kansas and Illinois farms before the tractor was bought. But the tractor can supplant the horse for heavy work on the farm only when the farmer ceases to think of work in terms of horses and begins to think of it in terms of engines. Just as the horse power in the past supplanted man power and the hoe, so tractor power will supplant the horse and will be computed on lines of thought quite as radically different. It took man many ages to realize that by using horse-drawn machines, he could greatly increase his agricultural efficiency. He thought too long in man terms. Today few men realize the extent to which the tractor can take the place of the horse and do many things the horse cannot so profitably do. It is replacing the horse for the same reason that the horse re- placed the man and the hoe. Cost of Horse Versus Tractor. Within the last few years many sets of figures have been published to prove that tractor farming is cheaper than horse farming. And there has also been published much matter to prove the reverse. Most of these figures are based upon what each type of power can do and not what they actually do accomplish. On account of the ability of the tractor to maintain hour after hour its full ca- pacity in continuous drawbar labor, it has an added advantage over the horse or mule. It has been found by actual test that the best plowing is accomplished when the speed ranges from 2^/4 to 2l>4 miles an hour. Plowing turns under all stubble, weeds, grass and fertilizer, and pulverizes the ground. Up to a certain speed the faster a plow travels thru the ground the better it breaks up. The average team, while it will walk fast enough for a time, cannot keep up the pace all day that is necessary to do the best plowing. Horses Not At Home. All sentiment aside it should be clearly recog- nized that the horse in the wheat and corn belt is merely an incomplete power unit. He has never been fully acclimated in this Middle Western area of hot summers and freezing blizzards. The wild horse that ranged the western prairies years ago moved north and south with the seasons. Our pres- ent-day horses turned loose to shift for themselves would like their ancestors spend their summers in the north and winters in the south. Further than this the horse is not as efficient in the West as in the more eastern states; yet the demands upon him are much greater. The frequency of heavy rain storms during the summer, and the erratic weather changes that take place without warning during the period from spring to .summer, has de- manded a farm power unit that is much more flex- ible and more enduring than the horse can pos- sibly be. It is the ability of the tractor to do heavy work quickly — plowing, seeding, discing and har- rowing — under all conditions of wind and weather that lias made it the logical unit of farm power and has enabled it to surpass the horse. Horse Figures. Yet there are those who thru sentiment or ob- stinacy refuse to recognize the limitations of the horse. Let us consider definitely what he can actually do. Various experimenters, including Troutwine, King, Sanborn and others, have defi- nitely established that in a full working day of fourteen hours a horse exerts a pull on its traces equal to 1-10 to 1-8 of his weight. Under emergency conditions and for a short time only this can be in- creased to 1-2 of his weight. In order to produce the largest day's work, the maximum speed at which a horse can travel is 1 3-4 to 2 3-4 miles per hour. Furthermore, in the chapter on the subject in Bulletin 73, Bureau of Statistics, Department of Agriculture, it has been definitely established that from April to November, the active months on the farm, tests upon 135 horses, established that the average of actual work was 4.33 hours each week day, or a grand total of 906 hours for the season. For the four inactive winter months, comprising 104 working days, the average was seventy-seven hundredths hours per day. These figures can be more definitely grasped in the table of compari- sons between the relative power of horse and trac- tors. Any computation of a horse's power must also consider his relative cost of maintenance com- pared with the cost of gas and kerosene fuel for a tractor necessary to produce the same ratio of work. And it is interesting to note in this connection, as a glance at the feeding costs table on page 21 will demonstrate, that the cost of extra or increased power on the part of the horse is relatively higher in terms of greater food consumption ("horse en- gine fuel") than is the same result when accomp- lished by the tractor. The measure for mechanical power still remains that fixed by Watt : the ability to raise a pound thirt.v-one feet in one minute. Fig- uring on this basis, a 1,500 pound horse, traveling 2 miles per hour and pulling one-tenth of his weight, will develop exactly four-fifths of a me- chanical horse power. If he travels 21/. miles an hour, which is unusual, he will develop one me- chanical horse power. The average farm horse weighs much less than 1,500 pounds, and will, w'hile working continuously, develoj) from two- thirds to four-fifths of a horsepower. Even a cur- sory comparison of these figures with the work accomplished by a tractor under similar conditions will establish the greater efficiency of the latter. -Tractor One- Horse One-Tenth- Third. All sentiment again put aside, the fact remains that the tractor today affords the most efficient way of obtaining mechanical horse power for any sort of drawbar work. An 8-16 tractor traveling at the rate of 2 miles per hour, will develop at least 8 meclianical horse power. It can perform this amount of work continuously hour after hour. A pull of 1,500 pounds is equivalent to practically one-third the weight of the tractor. There you have it. The horse pulls about one-tenth of his weight, and the tractor about one-third of its weight. Some Pertinent Figures. There has been a large number of figures com- piled on the relative costs, cost of operation, rela- tive efficiency of horse and tractor labor in all crop and other farm operations. These figures have been gathered from a variety of sources and cover a number of different localities. The United States census report, 1910, in analyz- ing the crop capacity of the average Middle Western farm presented the following table of crop allot- ments : 30 acres of oats and wheat. 50 aci'es of corn. 20 acres of hay. 60 acres to include pasture, orchard, rough land, building and feed lots. It is estimated that such a farm, representing the average small farm of the tractor belt, would require for its successful working six horses or mules and one colt. How It Works Out. Farm Power, taking these figures and work- ing them out in connection with certain figures of work done per day as taken from consolidated re- ports submitted by various central states farmers, arrives at the following: 17 Ho^v decp' tract CHART 12 50 Acres of Com Land. Plowing — 4 horses, 16-ineh gang, 4 acres per day 12i/^ days Disking — 4 horses, 8-foot disk harrow, 15 acres per day 3% days Harrowing — (3 times), 3 horses, 3-sec- tion harrow, 30 acres per day 5 days Planting — 2 horses, check row planter, 12% acres per day 4 days Cultivating — (4 times), 2 horses, 1-row cultivator, 10 acres per day 20 days Harvesting — 3 horses, corn binder, 8 acres per day 614 days Total— 51.08 days, or 1,450.5 h. p. hours. 30 Acres of Wheat and Oats. Disking twice — 4 horses, 8-foot harrow, 15 acres per day 4 days Harrowing — 3 horses, 3-section harrow, 30 acres per day 1 day Drilling — 3 horses, 12x8 drill, 15 acres per day 2 days Harvesting — 4 horses, 8-foot binder, 15 acres per day 2 days Total — 9 days, or 330 h. p. hours. 20 Acres of Hay. Mowing — 2 horses, 5-foot mower, 10 acres per day 2 days Raking — 2 horses, 8-foot side delivery rake, 15 acres per day 1^ days Loading — 2 horses, 6-foot loader, 10 acres per day 2 days Total — 51/2 days, or 110 h. p. hours. "The total horse power hours of field work re- quired for these three crops is 1,890.5. At 12.5 cents an hour the horse cost is $236.30. This does not include any expense for man labor. ' ' Continuing this analysis, let us assume that the average farmer on such a 160-acre farm could sell his four horses at an average price of $150. (These figures were for 1916 and deductions should be made up or down as the market price for horses and mules and various otlier items that enter into tliis cost account have varied.) The $600 brought from the horses would partially pay for a 8-16 H. P. gasoline tractor or would be three-fifths of the cost of at least two well-known models rated at 10-20 H. P. and selling at $1,000. Let us compare the cost of the same work as done by the horse and as done by the tractor : "In the first place, the tractor will do all of the operations mentioned above with the exception of planting and cultivating the corn, and perhaps operating the side delivery rake, and for this work and other light horse jobs we have kept two horses and the colt. (Figures based on 10-hour day). 50 Acres of Com Land. Plowing — 8-16 tractor and two 14-inch plows, 5.6 acres per day 9 days (If pulling three 14-inch plows, 8.4 acres per day, 6 days.) Disking and harrowing in one operation : 8-16 tractor, 8-foot disk harrow with 2- section peg, 20 acres per day 21^ days PERCENT^GE Of 3UNSHiNE HiKh trmper «'hioh are essential to e:r:iin erops. are a handicap to the horse, not lessen traetor efficiency in deep plo«ring; it does that of the horse CHART 13 Hot weather Harrowing twice — 8-16 tractor with 3- section harrow, 35 acres per day 3 days Planting — Use the team and planter. Cultivating — Use the team and cultivator. Harvesting — 8-16 tractor and corn bind- er, 8 acres per day 6^4 days Total 20% days 30 Acres of Oats and Wheat. Double disking and harrowing in one operation : 8-16 tractor with 8-t'oot tandem harrow and 2-section peg, 20 acres per day. . . l^A days Drilling— 8-lG tractor with 12x8 drill, 20 acres per day IV2 days Harvesting — 8-16 tractor with 8-foot binder, 20 acres per day ll^ days Total \ 41/2 days 20 Acres of Hay. Mowing — 8-16 tractor with two 5-foot mowers, 20 acres per day 1 day Raking — ^With a 2-horse team. Loading — 8-16 tractor with windrow loader, 13 acres per day li/> days Total 21/2 days Note : These are July, 1916, average prices — kerosene, 8 cents, gasoline, 18.5 cents. The cost in any particular territory may be obtained by using local prices. "Here is 27% days' work with a tractor which will require 15 to 20 gallons of low-grade kerosene at 8 cents per gallon, and one gallon of lubricating oil at 35 ceiils — total fuel per day .$1.95. Adding to this a liberal amount for depreciation and re- pairs, interest at 6 per cent, and a day's operation (counting "lOO days' work per year), will cost alwut $4, total for 2734 days is $111. The horse labor for planting, cultivating and raking amounts to $63.75, which added to $111 makes a total of $174.75, or, the tractor does for $111 work which, wlien done with horses, costs $172.55. This is a clear saving ol $61.55, and the crops were put in in 12% d.\ys' less time. "This, however, does not indicate the differ- ence in profit in handling the job with a tractor rather than with horses. Selling four horses leaves the farmer wiih $365 worth of feed to put into but- ter fat or beef. This amount, will keep ten cows, which can return a net pi'ofit of about $300. Take out of this $300 profit, the $111 which it costs to operate the tractor, and there is still left a net profit of $189 a year in cash, and a saving of 121/^ days of man labor. (The $365 worth of feed saved would more than equal the value of the manure providing all the horses were maintained.) "Farm labor is worth at least $1.50 per day, including board. Here is a saving of $18.50, a total of $207. .50 fot- the .year, not including the saving in belt work. "Add to this the profit which can be made by having available belt power at about 2 cents per horse power hour for all the miscellaneous work that comes about almost every day in the year, and it is apparent that a good tractor burning kerosene could pay for itself long before it is worn out. Month January. . February . March Crop Hours .Woodlot 48 CHART 14 Relative efficiency of ii man with a four plow tractor compared with one who used a two bottom horse drawn plow Work Done in Season "The saving of I2V3 days of labor which were figured at $1.50 per day can be made far more profitable. On any farm, even with ample horses to take care of the work, seasons are sometimes against the farmer. Good spring plowing or seed- ing weather may be of short duration, with a re- sult that not all the acreage planted is cultivated. Again, a day gained in the harvest is oftentimes of far greater importance than the $1.50 saved in labor. With a tractor on the job you can work twenty-four hours a day if necessary to take ad- vantage of the weather. Besides this, the days gained may give the farmer an opportunity to do work for the neighbors at a good profit." Another Set of Figures These figures as to the extent and cost of horse labor may be interestingly compared with a set that recently appeared in Successful Farminff, October, 1919, under the title "The Cost of Farm Horse Labor," as compiled by W. B. W., Indiana. The soil on this particular farm whereon the cost accounts were kept is rather heavy clay with strips of creek bottom soil. The regulation Middle Western staple crops were put in, but included during the year, 13 acres of soy beans. The rest of the acreage ran 50 of corn, .30 of clover, 60 of wheat, and 12 of oats. Never more than 4 horses were used in the fields at any one time. Two operators were em- ployed most of the time, and three during the rush and harvest season. The Division of Labor The following table gives the number of hours of horse labor for each crop during each month of the year : April May. June . Julv. August . September . October. November. December. Oats 64 Repairs 65 .Wheat 34 Repairs 42 Corn 91 .Corn 542 Farm Repairs. .128 .Wheat 10 Orchard 50 Farm Repairs. . 14 Corn 370 Clover 164 .Corn 115 Orchard 15 Farm Repairs . . 30 Oats 51 Wheat (1918).. 215 Wheat (1919). .190 ..Wheat (1919).. 198 Oats 180 Orchard 5 Farm 40 Clover 20 Corn 25 ..Clover 72 Corn 124 Farm 50 Orchard 10 Wheat (1919).. 215 .Wheat (1918).. 48 Orchard 6 Farm 60 Corn 164 Clover 72 .Corn 283 Farm 10 ..Corn 168 Total 48 129 167 670 621 616 468 471 350 293 168 Total 3,995 The Grand Total The following is the grand total of comparative horse labor required for each crop: Clover 328 Corn 1,889 Oats 295 Wheat 250 Wheat (1919) 651 Orchard 86 Farm Repairs 279 Miscellaneous 713 Total 4,500 hours of horse labor for the year. It will be seen from this that the total number of 10-hour days for the 4 horses was 450 or a little more than 110 apiece for each horse. (Note that the miscellaneous total of 4,500 hours is larger than the total showing in the monthly table. This is because small items of miscellaneous farm labor have been left out of the montlhy labor sheet.) Food Amounts The food consumption for the horses during the entire year was as follows : 212 bushels of oats ; 18 bushels of corn ; 3 tons of hay. Costs were as follows: 65 cents for oats; $1.50 for corn; $1.30 a ton for hay; $254.80 the total feed cost, not including pasture thruout the sum- mer, straw, etc. It should be understood that these are on-the-farm costs and not dealer's prices. We may figure pasture costs at $1.50 per head a month or $48 for the 4 head 8 months. Miscel- laneous costs to include interest on investment, labor, horse shoeing, veterinary fees, etc., would amount to $70 more, making the total cost for the four horses $372.80 a year. The total cost for each horse would average about $93.20. Dividing $372.80 by 4,500, the number of hours the horses work during the year, the total cost of horse labor per horse would be 8.3 cents. Some Deductions In a further analysis of the table, there will be found, as many authorities have often asserted, that the farm horse is only really busy during 5 months of the year or roughly from May 1st to October 1st. Of course, thruout the year there is a wide variety of odd jobs and minor labor that the horse is called upon to perform but the prin- cipal employment is during the time indicated — the hottest part of the year. No account is ren- dered as to the value of the manure returned. The manure value is almost always a variant factor according to the methods employed for its conser- vation. Tractor Saving's Comparative tractor costs for the same amount of labor would be under average use, one-tenth to APR. MAY |jtmE|jULY| AUCISEPT-JOCT •100% p --'^- ' — ^-- HORDES 00% ^-> '^ < I ^7 TRACTORS m.^ ! * ^ 80% r^ \ - -n 70% 60% 50% 40Z =r I T -^ h y r 50% ^^ =^ io% H Relative efficiency curves: Horse and tractor CHART 15 two-tenths lower, with an annual average ad- vantage of from 12 to 40 days of belt work added, not possible with mere horse labor. Besides this, there is the humanitarian advantage of not work- ing horses during the excessive heat between May and September. The tractor, at a slightly higher initial invest- ment, accomplishes most of the crop operations that the horse performs and many that he cannot. Moreover, judged by the extent and thoroness with which the work is done, the tractor, an un- feeling powerful machine, unaffected by weather or soil conditions, costs less and endures, rela- tively, as long as the average horse. 16 CAPPBI^ STA T£-S f/AD T/J/S BUy/T^G POVU'^/^ rSN rEARS AGO A691580 I^APAT^PS yW ^>'2 OTfiErP STATE'S /.MD TJ/7S chaptp:r IV The Status of the Tractor ILT.USTRATION 16 Kinds of Tractor Work Any tabulations of yoai'-round tractor usage must take into account that, the mean a'-erage of drawbar and belt work will vary according to working conditions, which in turn v.ill be different from season to season and from year to year. There will also be years in which some of the drawbar work as well as the belt work will be greatly in- creased in certain items. For instance, it is safe to say that the unusual conditions of 1919, which witnessed a superproduction of wheat, show a much higher average for all forms of drawbar work, particularly plowing, than in all probabili- ties will be witnessed for some time to come. An analysis of the sixteen corn and wheat states, drawn from a variety of sources, discloses that at the head of strictly drawbar work, plowing oc- cupies the largest number of daj^s, followed in a more or less numerous variation by the following kinds of field work : discing, harrowing, seeding and cultivation, with at times a predominance of days devoted to the special operations of the har- vest, including both wheat and corn. Other im- portant operations which at times, according to the locality and the season, have major pi'oni inence in the drawbar work accomplished by the tractor are: ditching, hauling wheat to el3vato)'s. road building, stump pulling and occasionally the moving of buildings. Flexibility The point to emphasize in any discussion of tractor usage is the fact that it is much more flex- ible and all-round farm power unit than is gener- ally thought of or practiced. Too many farmers consider that tractor work is finished when plow- ing, harvesting and threshing are over. The various drawbar operations are too fre- quently emjihasized at the expense of belt work. There are relatively few farms that cannot provide a great amount of belt work for some type of gas engine, and particularly those larger jobs that task the capacity of any stationary gas engine under four horse-power. Recent investigations es- tablishes that, Avith proper distribution of time, so as not to interfere with the major operations of the farm, from 75 to 100 days per year of maxi- mum belt work can be found for am' tractor of from four to six horse-power rating. A tractor expert recently declared that ten day's usage of the machine under favorable con- ditions effect a saving in overhead expense suf- ficient to pay the interest on the investment, all repairs and upkeep, with a sufficient allowance besides for normal depreciation. It. is easy to realize, therefore, that the return on the mone.y invested increases as the amount of work that the tractor can do is extended. Active use of the machine results in less depreciation than if it is left standing idle. A great many farmers still have the false notion that idle farm implements re(j[uire no care. It, therefore, follows that a ma- chine in actual use frequently receives by neces- sit.y greater attention than when standing idle. Estimating the Number Any estimate that seeks to set either the actual number of tractors is use or the actual number to be in use at some time in the future is more or less approximate. But as has been mentioned, it is safe to estimate the number of tractors actually in use (1918) in the so-called tractor belt at some- where between 35,000 and 50,000 machines. This estimate, which has been confirmed in the higher figui'e by the Farm Implement Journal of Chi- cago in a recent investigation, is based upon a combined analysis of the somewhat meager pro- duction returns and sales records, by no means in- cluding all makes of tractors, and the equally meager official and government lists. the Inited States. State Bxperlment Station Gstiniates, January. 1, 1920. CAPPER STATES No.ot Tractors Kansas 8,689 \ehraska 7,292 UisHoiiri S,3«8 Qklahoma 795 (1) Texas lO.OUO towa 9,000 Illinois 12,00O (2) [ndinna 1,853 (1) Minnesota 1,575 (1) VVisronsin 2,800 S. Makota 1,527 (1) X. Dakota 3.137 (1) Arkansas 330 (1) 'Jolorndo 525 (1) VVyomin); ISO (1) \ew Mexico 375 No. of Tractors -Vlaoama 400 Arizona 23 (1) California 15,000 Connecticut Delaware . . Florida 47 (1) 100 71 (1) Georgia 543 (1) Idaho 262 (1) Kentucky 1,800 Louisiana 2,000 Maine 400 Maryland 1,000 Massachusetts 91 (1) Michigan 945 (1) Mississippi 377 (1) Montana 808 (1) No. of Tractors Nevada 19 (1) New Hampshire 23 (1) New Jersey 107 (1) New York 1,210 (1) V\ Carolina 452 (1) Cihio 7,500 Oregon 318 (1) Pennsylvania 3,700 Rhode Island 80 S. Carolina 387 (1) Tennessee 1,800 Utah 700 V'ermont 175 Virginia 2,500 Washington 209 (1) West Virginia 90 (1) TOTAL, IN THE 16 CAPPEIl STATES 67,457 50% i>f states reporting- g-ain 1920. TOTAL, IN THE 32 OTHER STATES 43,137 44 7< of statos reporting gain 1920. T(JTAL IN UNITED STATES 110,594 (i') Estimated 209r increase over January 1, 1919, (1 > 1917 FigL l.y Stale Agr ultiiral Experiii TABLE 17 i-tai-ies of State, Ja Present Sales The number of tractors so far sold has been strictly limited by the belief which the average farmer has had as to the greater adaptability of the tractor to the various production procedures of different crops. By the same reasonin"-, any es- timate of future sales will depend upon much the same peculiar factors as has been before men- tioned. The crux of the whole question centers about the necessity for education. When the full efficiency of the tractor as the common agricul- tural imi^lement most fitted to develop the maxi- mum crop possibilities of the ]\Iiddle West is fully understood by farmers there will be realized a maximum of tractor sales and an equalization of tractor distribution. An Error There has been a serious error of some statisti- cians hitherto attempting to estimate the potenti- ality of tractor sales. The usual method has been to base the possible number of tractors that might be used in the Middle West upon the acreage of ground actually worked by the horse. But the tractor is the one power-unit necessary to open up the new acres where deep plowing and extensive cultivation has been hitherto impossible with horse power. Furthermore, there has been the assump- tion that there will be a decrease in the number of horses. Such an assumption may be largely a theoretical one. As has been frequently pointed out, the next decade in tractor development will not so much displace but supplement the horse. It might be more accurate to say that the horse will supplement the tractor. The peculiar virtue of the tractor is its ability to handle big jobs more (luickly and more seasonably. A Place for the Horse But there still remains a vast amount of light work, particularly that concerned with the culti- vation of corn and light draft hauling, in which the horse can be used to great advantage. In fact as the tractor assumes more and more the majority of heavy "extensive" farm work and extends the radius of new farm land there will be a cor- responding increase in the number of possibilities of economical horse labor. Life of a Tractor Still another condition of annual tractor sales will be that determined by the kind and length of Iractor usage obtained by individual OAvners. At present the average of estimates as to length of service varies greatly with some farmers, ranging from the high average of 9.4 years to less than three years with others. The majority of trac- tor owners in such representative communities as Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Iowa, North Da- kota and Minnesota are of the opinion that trac- tors are improving and that the present-day machines actually last longer, under severe field conditions, than did the machines of 5 or 6 years ago. Until recently there has been a decided movement in favor of the lighter weight and handier gas engine tractor. More Data But 1919 has marked a reaction in the opposite direction ; many favor a slightly heavier type of gas tractor. There is also an opinion that the larger machines stand up better than the smaller ones if for no other reason than that larger-sized machines are not likely to be overloaded. While a slight overload must be frequently accommo- dated the tendency of many farmers, due to ig- norance or a natural pride in the capability of their machines, is to overload habitually. The re- sult is a rapid deterioration that is not a favorable argument for the particular make of machine con- cerned. [111(1 three men ditinti: the Mork ILLUSTRATION 18 Overload Warning from an Expert There is a very interesting discussion of the whole question of overload, with a relative com- parison between the horse and the tractor, in "Internal Combustion Engines and Tractors," by Major Oliver B. Zimmerman, International Harvester Corporation. It is herewith quoted from Chapter 12 of that book since it sums up most accurately and succinctly, both for the trac- tor manufacturer and user, various points at issue : "Many a good tractor has gone to the junk heap years before its time for the sole reason that from the beginning it was overloaded. A good farmer would not think of working his horses un- til they fell in their tracks. The warning given by their heaving and panting would not pass un- heeded. But with a tractor the heaving and pant- ing, slowing down of the speed, knock or pound in the cylinder, killing the engine by a load it cannot overcome, seem to go unheeded. As a re- sult, one part after another gives way, until the farmer finds himself all too soon with a worn-out tractor. A Misunderstanding "A misunderstanding of how much a horse can do and how much a tractor should do undoubtedly accounts for many an overload. We probably think one horse gives us one horse power, three horses, three horse power, and a tractor rated at 10 horse power on the drawbar more than three times as much power as a three-horse team. The Exact Figures "Does it? The average horse can exert a pull of about 200 pounds traveling at 2 miles per hour. 200 lb. X 10,560 ft. (2 mi.) = 2,112,000 ft.-lbs. in 1 hour; 2,112,000 -^ 60 = 34,200 ft.-lbs. in 1 min. ; 1 horse power = 33,000 ft.-lbs. per min., therefore pulling 200 lbs. is developing a little more than 1 mechanical horse power. "How much could horses do exerting just this amount of power? The average resistance of the passage of a plow thru the soil is about 5 lb. per sq. in. of the perpendicular cross section of cut. This resistance varies with different soil types and conditions as shown in the table herewith : Table In sandy soil 2 to 3 lb. In corn stubble 3 lb. In wheat stubble 4 lb. In blue grass sod 6 1b. In June grass sod 6 lb. In clover sod 7 lb. In clay soil 8 lb. In prairie sod 15 lb. In virgin sod 15 lb. In gumbo 20 lb. per sq. in. per sq. in. per sq. in. per sq. in. per sq. in. per sq. in. per sq. in. per sq. in. per sq. in. per sq. in. (The soil resistance per square inch of furrow slice turned varies greatly in different sections of the country. Tests made by the Hyatt Roller Bearing Company showed that Texas cornstalk stubble required an average of 8 pounds to the square inch of furrow slice turned, while Bermuda sod required 11 pounds to the square inch of fur- row slice.) "Suppose we used 14-inch plows and plow 6 inches deep. A cross section of this plow would be 14x6 or 84 square inches. At an average pres- sure of 5 lbs. per sq. in. we have 5x84 or 420 lbs. per plow. Two plows would require a pull of 2x240 or 840 lbs. We found previously that at 2 mi. per hour a horse pulled about 200 lbs. and exefted a little over 1 horse power. If the horse had exerted only 188 lbs. pull it would have been exactly 1 horse power. Dividing 840x188, we find that we need practically 4^1; mechanical horse power to pull the two 14-ineh plows 6 inches deep. The Plowing Load "As the plows start into the soil the horses must overcome 1,200 to 1,500 lbs. resistance, or they must exert from 6 to 8 horse power. They can do this for a short time. After the plowing is well started the resistance lowers, until it reaches nor- mal, or about 840 lbs. or 414 horse power. Sud- denly the plow strikes a root or a stone or hard- pan. Up goes the resistance again to 8 horse power. Reserve Power "It must be apparent from this that it wouldn't be safe to go into a field with plows needing 41/2 horse power for ordinary work unless you had at least again as much power in reserve to take care of emergencies. A horse capable of pulling 1 M < m' ft 1 -^v l.r-«fi i^i»B2kiii^ lit least two men and eisiit Ik ILLUSTRATION IS luul is doin^ it better horse power on an average can exert from 4 to 5 horse power for a short pull. It is this reserve ]iower whieh eiiables horses to get thru with the work. "The same reserve power is needed in a tractor. If 41/; horse power ordinarily would handle the load, your tractor should have 414 more in re- serve, or a total of 9 horse power. There are times in plowing when the resistance is doubled. When those times come, if you have no reserve, you put on an overload, and in just a few moments do an untold amount of injury to your tractor." Another Warning The same note of warning is sounded in Farm- ers Bulletin No. 719, as issued by United States Department of Agriculture : "It does not pay to overload a tractor any more than it does pay to overload a horse. Three jjIows behind a two-plow tractor will cover only a little more ground, as a rule, than will two plows, be- cause the tractor usually will travel a little slower, partly because the motor is overloaded and does not maintain its proper speed, and partl.y because the drive wheels will slip more with a load heavier than the machine was designed to pull. As a re- sult, delays on account of small holes or slight grades will be more common, as Avill also me- chanical difficulties.'' To Resume — ^Tractor Life But the market seems "set" in the direction of the "light" or "medium" tractor; almost every day sees the introduction of a new make. All things considered, we may estimate the life of the tractor at not less than six years, with a maxi- mum working life full time, and with a complete utilization of maximum power, of between 900 and 1.200 days. It should be understood that this is the maximum limit and presupposes a first-quality machine, first quality care and expert operation. Average Tractor Life Perhaps it is safest to accept a more conserva- tive estimate which puts the average life of the tractor at 9 years, including drawbar and belt work, at 51 annual days — a total working life or roughly 460 days. But these or any other esti- mates are strongly conditioned not simply by the factors mentioned above but also by the propor- tion of field and belt work. A tractor deterio- rates more quickly under drawbar work than when used for belt power. Extraordinary seasons, un- der the impetus of superproduction such as 1918 and 1919, are still further factors in that deteri- oration which consequently lessens the life of the tractor. And as tractors increase in size and horse-power rating there is also a proportionate increase in the speed at which various operations may be accomplished. Thus will be seen some of the difficulties of estimating the potential market for tractors. However, one must take into account that fact already touched upon: the initial amount of cap- ital invested by a given farmer is governed pretty largely by the immediate economic conditions of each year. Consequently the level of farm eco- nomic stability, both local and national, is largely detei'minative of any ultimate purchase of trac- tors. Tractor c)al(Z5 Territory present and pro^'^ctive CHART 20 CHAPTER V The Tractor Market Current Potential Figures In the beginning of 1919, the number of horses and mules in the 16 corn and wheat states num- bered 16,047,000 with an estimated value of $1,- 532,969,000. (It is, of course, understood that these figures vary from month to month but they have held fairly constant during the entire course of 1919 and may be, therefore, taken as an ap- proximately accurate index.) The interest on such a horse and mule investment at 4 per cent is $61,318,760. The estimated number of tractors in use in the same region at the beginning of 1919 was approxi- mately 35,000 machines. The average value of tractors under present market conditions may be estimated at .$1,400, giving us a total investment of $49,000,000 with an interest return at 4 per cent of $1,960,000. Horse Preponderance These two sets of figures show graphically enough the tremdous preponderance still of the horse as the Middle Western farm power unit, and will still further exemplify why the supplementa- tion of horse and mule power by the tractor may be a somewhat extended procedure. But we may assume that the next five years, owing to the demands, more and more constant for an increased production of foodstuffs, will see the era of power farming increase very rapidly. We may, therefore, make some interesting esti- mates in concrete figures of the tractor market for the next five years. The estimated tractive efficiency of a horse or mule may be put at 60 per cent of 1 horse power. The total horse power efficiency of all farm draft animals for the 16 IVIiddle Western states would, therefore, ecpial 9,628,200 horse power. To be conservative 50 per cent of this total should be deducted for animals not in use or under three years of age. This dediiction gives a total of 4,814,100 horse power as the coefficient of prob- able horse power, more or less constantly in use on the farms of these 16 states. Percentage of Tractor Substitu- tion We may reasonably assume that of this 4,814,- 100 liorse power three-fifths of it may be displaced by tractors within the next five years. Multiply- ing 4,814,100 by three-fifths we have a total of potential tractor horse power of 2,888,460 as a minimum of tractors in use by 1925. The draw- bar capacity of the average tractor is 10 horse POTENTIAL MARKET FOR TRACTORS IN THE 16 CAPPER STATES Capper States Kansas (1) 40,225 Nebraska (1) 33,545 Missouri (3) 37,125 Oklahoma (2) 22,506 Texas (3) 35,221 Iowa (1) 45,899 Illinois (1) 41,259 Indiana (1) 31,334 Minnesota (1) 48,460 Wisconsin (1) 61,517 South Dakota ( 1 ) 24,870 North Dakota ( 1 ) 29,405 Arkansas (3) 11,612 Colorado (2) 13.790 Wyoming (2) 4,205 New Mexico (3) 8,647 Total 489,620 Every farm of 100 acres or more operated by the owner Is a po- tential market for a tractor. No tenant operated farms are included in this computation. (1) Potential sales estimated at 70% of all farms over 100 acres operated by owners. (2) Potential sales estimated as 60% of all farms over 100 acres operated by owners. (3) Potential sales estimated as .50% of all farms over 100 acres operated by owners. Basic figures from U. S. Census. 1910. Estimated increase In po- tential market for tractors due to increased acreage under cultivation 10 per cent of figures given in table. Compiled by Bureau of Research THE CAPPER FARM PRESS. TABT^E 21 power. The potential tractor sale would, there- fore, be 288,846. Of the original number of trac- tors already in use (35,000) we may assume that during the next five years, 75 per cent of them will become outworn or otherwise replaced, a num- ber totalling 24,250. The ultimate total will be still further increased b.y estimating the amount of horse power to be assumed by tractor belt work and which is now performed by stationary gas en- gines. There is at present no accurate census (1919) of stationary gas engines in use on Middle Western farms. But it is conservative to estimate that number at roughly 650,000. The average horse power rating of these stationary engines may be put at 15 or a total production of 9,750,- 000 horse power. At least 75 per cent of this total rating will be ultimately displaced by trac- tors of an average belt power rating of 20 horse power, which by the process of division, would give us an added total of tractors of 487,500. But of this total some fraction would necessarily have been included in those tractors already bought for general farm use ; in fact, this actual per- centage would be relatively large. In conse- quence of this fact, we should for safety's sake deduct 50 per cent which would leave us a total of 243,750. To these figures we may also add a total of 5,000 machines that will be bought ex- clusively for road making or other semi-rural use. This is a conservative figure in view of the pres- ent plans of the Middle West to build and con- struct some $600,000,000 of hard-surfaced high- ways. Summary The total figures may be tabulated as follows : ■ General farm use laased on substitution of horse and mule power by the tractor. . . .315,096 Based on displacement of stationary gas engines by belt tractors 243,750 Adding for road construction purposes, etc 5,000 Total 563,846 Some Exceptions No account is made in this estimate of the po- tential market for the substitution by tractors of other horse power units now in use, such as : windmills, water power and steam tractors. Wind- mills and water power will not be displaced ; they are more likely to increase. Of these factors, the only one likely to suffer substitution would be steam tractors. The number of these is not rela- tively large and their proportion has been more or less constant in the last two years and will remain 30 in view of the wide-spread acceptance of the medium-weight, medium-priced tractor. We may, therefore, fix the potential market for gas engine tractors that will develop during the next five years at between 500,000 and 600,000 witli the mean average of 550,000 as being a prob- able figure. Another Estimate If we are to accept the estimate of one author- ity that within the next few years over a million tractors would be sold on the farm market thruout the entire country, we might, pro-rating this fig- ure according to the agricultural resources of the Mid-Western states, work out a slightly higher figure for the potential market. For instance, the 16 wheat and corn states pro- duce on an average two-thirds of the total agri- cultural wealth of the entire country. There is no reason to suspect that there will be any change in this status during the next five years. In fact, pro-rating the total of this capacitative contribu- tion to the agricultural wealth of the country, we may work out a rough potential tractor sale of some 666,000 tractors, not much beyond the figure previously estimated. Still Another Estimate It is interesting to compare these two estimates with another, recently compiled by the Bureau of Research Capper Farm Press. The figures in the above table were obtained by assuming that 27 The Potential Market for a Half- CHART 22 illion Traetors every farm of 100 acres or more is a potential market for a tractor. In the computation no ten- ant-operated farms are included. This fact is noted in particular because, owing to a fairly well- established economic sales law, we know that "as tenantry increases the purchase of farm machin- ery declines." Tenantry is greatly on the in- crease, especially in Iowa and other states; this condition would, therefore, tend to reduce the total figures to those obtained by the two other estimates. Other conditions affecting the esti- mate are given below. The table follows : Capper States Number Kansas (1) 40,225 Nebraska (1) 33,645 Missouri (3) 37,125 Oklahoma (2) 22,506 Texas (3) 35,221 Iowa (1) 45,899 Illinois (1) 41,259 Indiana (1) 31,334 Minnesota (1) 48,460 Wisconsin (1) 61,517 So. Dakota (1) 24,870 No. Dakota (1 ) 29,405 Arkansas (3) 11,612 Colorado (2) 13,790 Wyoming (2) 4,205 New Mexico (3) 8,647 Total 489,620 1. Potential sales estimated at 70% of all farms over 100 acres operated by owners. 2. Potential sales estimated as 60 %• of all farms over 100 acres operated by owners. 3. Potential sales estimated as 50% of the farms over 100 acres operated by owners. Basic figures from U. S. Census, 1910. Estimated increase in potential market for trac- tors due to increased acreage under cultivation, 10 per cent of figures given in table. This would make a grand total of 538,582. Other Determinents Some of the other elements affecting estimates of the potential market on which might in the fu- ture influence the market already established are : 1. Ratio of increase in tractor use since 1910. 2. Ratio of increase in manufacturing since 1910. 3. Estimate of "absorptive" capacity of still un- developed tractor areas. 4. Determination of propoi'tion of tractors to pojjulation in any given highly developed developed region already converted to the use of this power unit with a pro-rated es- timate for the rest of the .country. 5. An inquiry into the fact that as tenantry in- creases the purchase of farm machinery de- creases. This condition, established thru the investigation of Bureau of Research, The Capper Farm Press, would consider the large increase of tenantry in such states as Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas. 1 " p / 1 = ^= = == == = = \ Kf TH TTT F^ (n L 1 ^ >y ^Ta x^~^ _l 1 II -p \ i:\ M iqn^znirt """ 1-^" 5r° pw_— K^^ [ r">J7 ^r'fn y r""^ r — U tUT/ »,^J4 ~h^ 6maha 1 Ottumwa. M 1 rS^LTT V--" ' y^'-^'rA -.J 1 It r TT-' *" \r v--*- ,Vi-- i-\--r 1 — ^// ILLINOIS \ — "rV ^ ' ' \"' -/- A X "lJ \ , , 1 43 ^JT^ ^ u^ ^ i^3 -- coLOR.^Do Hr T K :yz - / U r B^j__ U- W''~X ^— Y ^ ^ h„ nr / .^- ::? -i-~\i /^ \i i\ ^ ^ ^ e^i^ ■ , rj — J-- ovichiti —j — ™^ ""^»^ rV -r^ UXl Uin /IblNTUCKY "=H'v' 'i-^ 1 °l 1 '^rr ±Y\rV \y\ ■ — — p-.J JpK '^^ "r r "/ \ i--t '^ •"■- 1 r Ht-'TA r^ > ■ •' — ____[___ .-^ IU._ "= "=^ . in H 4 \v J T rV^ ; TEXAS L- rkm ima Cit4 \i \l \ """"? TENNii:*>»r''^ II ■'■- f / \-L (/' r4 - 1 \\\ r^xj. ^^T ~\ SALES OPjPORTUNnr CHARTS /" . THE CAPPER^'fARM^ PRESS J "^ s>0-" ( 1 nrket conditions fir tiediatc Hales of tractors from logical distribution center* CHART 23 A tabulation of the number of tractor inquir- ies, letters, communications, etc., addressed to the editors of leading farm journals. The increase in this index in the editorial of- fices of The Capper Farm Press has been roughly 50 per cent greater than 1915, and will continue to grow greater as the effects of this publication's vigorous campaign for complete farm motorization makes itself even more felt among its readers. A tabulation of the growth of tractor adver- tising as it has appeared in leading imple- ment and farm journals. Figures for The Capper Farm Press since 1915 indicate a growth in this direction of between 45 and 60 per cent, with the peak in each year com- ing in February and June. Advertising Incidentally in this connection, it is hoped the tractor manufacturers and distributors will make no false deductions as to the potential market be- cause of the seeming lack at times of interest in tractor shows, exhibitions and the larger demon- strations. It was a natural disappointment last year (1919) that the Wichita Show, one of the largest and most complete of its kind, drew com- paratively so few farmers. But it should not be forgotten that the exhibition was given in the harvesting season, at a place inconvenient in re- lation to Wichita itself and in addition received more extensive advertising among the trade than among the farmers. Tractor Shows The admission by the tractor interests that the day of the big national "stunt" is past was recognized on December 2nd and 3rd, 1919, when the tractor and thresher department of the N. I. V. A. decided to do away with the National Trac- tor Demonstration and to recognize the field test as the one best way of interesting and selling the farmer. He already accepts the idea of the tractor. But he hates to think that ultimately he pays for the "big show." Most of all he demands not a spec- tacle or "arranged" performance but a "catch-as- catch-can" field demonstration. Thus the various county shows and those tests conducted by the local dealers upon the very farms themselves of the prospective buyers is the one most productive method of selling. Certainly it is the one method that best fits in with the "try it yourself and be convinced" policy that every leading farm paper now advocates editorially and otherwise in the purchase of a tractor. Extra Markets No mention has been made of what might be called "extra sale possibilities." Among these The dn7 is g:oii when the hired hands were so plentiful they were ' in each othe IT>I.USTRATION 2 4 additional conditions that will influence a future tractor market may be mentioned three : 1. There are sixty million acres of swamp lands which, according to the estimate of the In- terior Dejjarlment are convertible into till- able areas. The extensive ditching', evacu- ation, tiling and deep tilling that would be necessary in such projects can best be per- formed by tractors. The ability of the trac- tor, particularly of the caterpillar type, to keep its footing and lay its own track is nowhere better demonstrated than on wet land where a horse or mule would be help- lessly floundered. 2. The Interior Department estimates that there are over 200 million acres of cut-over land awaiting development. Here is an immense field for the tractor and esi^ecially in such drawbar work as stump pulling, heavy root plowing, leveling, etc., preparatory to the utilization of the land for agricultural purposes. The comparatively new potato fields of Northern Wisconsin and those of hilly Aroostook County, Maine, indicate in a small measure the possibilities of tractors in this direction. There would be also a multi- tude of belt tractor work in the sawing up of waste lumber, etc. As hard-surfaced highways are more and more extended there will come a proportionate in- crease in the use of tractors in road making. Some idea of this potential use may be gained by considering the fact that in 1919 there was already passed or pending, in the 16 states of the Middle West 600 million dol- lars of bond issues for hard-surfaced high- ways. At present, out of the 1% million miles of highways in these same states, only a scant 100,000 miles or 7.4 per cent are hard-surfaced. Still New Markets No mention is made of the immense foreign mar- ket awaiting at our door in the tropics and semi- tropics, where lie undeveloped millions of acres of great agricultural potentialities that await only clearing and subsequent power farming to be made productive. 3. Irrigation and the Tractor Hut within tlie limits of the United States, and strictly within the limits of the tractor belt as previously defined, here is still another immense field of jiossibilities in the extension of irrigated farming. Already in parts of Colorado and far- ther north not to mention certain new experi- ments in Western Kansas, this has been. There are small pumping outfits now in use for 5, 10 and 15 acres of garden .small fruits, orchards, etc., all run by belt tractor power. And the da.y is soon coming when under the necessity of still greater production the present irrigation farming will not only be practicable but imperatively nec- essary. Japan, with a rainfall hardly greater than any part of our own grain belt, produces on a single acre, by irrigation, two and three crops a year averaging $160 to the acre. Some of this farming is wheat and the majority of it is small grain culture. Of course some of the high fer- tility is due to fertilization but the day of fertili- zation in the somewhat older corn and wheat land of the Middle West is already not far distant. In this same region it is inevitable as population in- creases that more rigid delimitation in the size of farms must be made with the subsequent adop- tion of a more intensive agriculture. As these methods arise they will of necessity involve trac- tors. Even today there is an increase in the locali- zation of the various farm operations, perhaps best seen in the purchase of small individual tlii'csliing machines. This increase in small threshing units has also advanced the use of the small tractor as the power source. Production Of course all predictions of the future tractor output are fundamentally conditioned b.y the fact that productive methods in agriculture will never grow less. The price of all food products has shown a steady average increase since the so- called over-production period ended in 1897. With the production cost of food products steadil.y rising there will also be an increase in the price of food products to the consumer. To be sure the last five years, and particularly the last two years, have witnessed an abnormal increase due to the war. But the average increase, when plotted, shows a progressive advance. This advance is due to the fact that relatively production, despite an ork at iiisiiit n lirii ILLUSTRATION 25 advance in ijroducing methods, is not keeping up with the constantly increasing consumer demand. In fact there is indisputable evidence that tlie present high peak of food products indicates that we are facing a so-called period of starvation just as acute in its relative extent and intensity as that which existed when the American farmer equipped with only hand tools and tlie horse, was barely able to produce enough food for his own familv. A New Farming Boiled down the whole (piestion resolves itself into a cpiestion of extensive versus intensive farm- ing, with the first method making for under-pro- duction, a shortcoming due not so much to the actual total number of acres farmed as to the yield obtained. In fact, in certain older countries such as China, Japan, and even France and Ital.y — regions having no more rainfall than our West- ern plains — there are much larger grain yields an acre than with us. It has been the American ten- dency to be misled by the fact that our man yield an acre is high. As is the case in all extensive systems of agriculture, the acreage jdeld is low. In America the average acreage yield of wheat is scarcely above 14 bushels ; in France, especially in the great grain regions of Normandy along the Seine Valley, it jumps to almost 30 bushels ; the Central Hungarian plains show almost the same figure ; while even Japan, less fortunately en- dowed in fertility than these two other areas, shows the relatively high yield of 24 bushels. On the other hand, however ,the yearly income for each farm family in America averages about $1,000, with this figure showing each year a slightly higher progression. The same figures for France run, under normal peace conditions, about $570. Consumption It is not necessary to explain the economic doc- trine which demonstrates that there is relatively a greater return for the French farmer than for the American farmer. While the total aggregate annual farm wealth of America makes a good talking point the value of such wealth is more purely a quantitative fact than a qualitative one. Under normal peace conditions each family in the United States consumes between 5 and 6 bushels of Avheat annually, together with an average con- sumption of one-half ton of meat a year. But under the new conditions, imposed by an era of industrialism, relatively fewer people practically live on farms ; more people than ever before are engaged in occupations that are non-productive judged from the ability to support themselves and provide their own food supply. A century ago over nine-tenths of the total population lived on farms and were directly dependent upon agricul- ture for a living. In 1910, however, and increas- ingly so in the decade that has elapsed since that time, only one-third of the people were engaged in strictly agricultiiral pursuits. Such a condition means that those people who do remain on the farms, relatively a much smaller number than for- merly, must not only support themselves but in addition must support three urban non-productive families. The time is not far distant when this figure will be increased to four. Under the lash of war conditions this figure actually has reached five or sis families. The New Farming Again The problem then becomes one, as has often been reiterated, of increased production. This in- creased production must be met by an extension of agricultural population to include new and un- oi)ened areas of potential farm land. In addition, it must take cognizance of more extensive methods of agriculture upon those areas already produc- ing. Witli a lessened man-power, plus a rising labor market the only way in which the farmer can meet the situation and fulfil the demands, not only of himself but of an increasing and dependent in- dustrial ])opulation, is thoroly to motorize his farm. In other woi'ds he must make himself one with the sjnrit of the age. That spirit is expressed in terms of the machine. The tractor is the only answer. Hence any estimate of the potential fu- ture of this implement must recognize exactly and analyze even more delicately the precise limits of a newer production that the economic and social conditions will enforoe upon tlie farmer. Farm Labor As an exemplification of the foregoing discus- sion it may not be in apropos to cite one or two actual conditions whicli illuminate the theory. Let us consider the rise in the farm labor market. The old fi but not i) le cradle is still used in Iiarvesti the Bi-fiit «heat belt. From iiiid then tractors was A ill sonic ii.-lrls i f Aiiicric adle to McCorni ick bind long; step ILLUSTRATION 26 Not many years ago the average farm hand re- ceived about $15 a month with board and wash- ing. This wage gradually increased to $20 and $25, then $30 and $40 as a general average. To- day farm hands receive anywhere from $50 to $80 a month "and found"; and under stress of ex- traordinary conditions such as the wheat harvest this wage will approach $225 to $240. But even at that price farm hands are often unobtainable. The shorter hours, the higher wage-scale paid by industrial concerns, the more illusory environ- ments of city life and the sapping of man power by war have all contributed to deplete the farm labor market. Some Pertinent Figures The remarkable increase in farm wages in Kan- sas in recent years is shown in the estimates by Edward C. Paxton, Kansas field agent for the Bureau of Crop Estimates. The average harvest wage paid in Kansas in 1919 was 131 per cent of the 1918 price and 253 per cent of the 1913, or pre-war price. Harvest laborers received, on the average, $5.42 per day and board in 1919, as com- pared with .$4.14 in 1918 and only $2.14 in 1933. While farm wages for ordinary labor, other than harvest work, have not been as high, they do show an even more noticeable increase. Such wages have risen from an average of $1.53 in 1913 to $2.74 in 1918 and $3.71 in 1919, including board. Shorter Hours Also For farm labor, where hired by the month with board, the Kansas farmer paid in 1919 an average of $49.50 per month ; in 1919, $40.80 and in 1913 only $24. "These estimates," says the report, "probably do not reflect the actual increase in cost of farm labor as it enters into cost of production since 1913, due to the fact that number of hours of labor have been disregarded. It is safe to say that the average farm hand in 1913 worked two hours per day longer than in 1919. The length of the work day did not become involved in farm labor until long after it had been a strike issue in the industrial world. It is also possibly true that the harvest labor used in 1919 was really less ex- perienced and efficient than that supplied in 1913. To Command a Premium "The price of farm labor in recent years has shown a trend to approximate the prices prevail- ing in the industrial market. Because of the rel- ative conditions under which farm labor and city labor are performed, it is even conceivable that the time may soon come when farm labor will ae- tuallj' command a premium. In the Old Days "Historically, it is of interest to compare farm wages now with those paid in 1893, when the fi- nancial condition of the country was at very low ebb. In 1893 the Kansas farmer hired labor by the month for an average of $16.27 with board, and $24 without board.' Today he pays three times as much. In 1893 harvest hands commanded $1.15 and board, or $1.44 and found their own. Last summer the harvest hands were paid 4.71 times as much. In those 'good old times' in 1893 Kansas farmers were hiring clay labor thruout the year, for ordinary farm work, for the magnificent sum of 85 cents and board, or for $1.10 when the hand found his own meals and lodging. Ordinary farm hands have been receiving 4.37 times as much during the past year." Power farming is the only answer to such con- ditions as these. Decrease in Farm Population The standard of intelligence of farmers, no matter of what nationality, is directly related to the income derived from farming as compared with that derived from other occupations. If farming is permitted as is now the case, to be- come less profitable per capita, in comparison with other occupations, it is inevitable that the profes- sion will be gradually given over to persons less intelligent, less efficient and less progressive than those now occu]i.ying farms. The increase in farm tenantry while not entirely attributable to this cause is partially so. It is safe to say that the 1920 cen.sus will show as did that of 1910, that a number of corn and wheat states have an actual loss in farm population. By some authorities, and particularly on the part of a somewhat superficial press, much hue and cry has been raised over this fact. Some of it is justified. That loss of rural population caused by a narrow and meager social life, insufficient and badly managed country schools, causing the younger generation to leave the farm for the city, is indeed something to cause genuine alarm. Power Farming But a sounder analysis of the decrease will show that in reality the loss in farm population is sim- ply an indication that the new age of power farm- ing has begun to show its first results. The pe- culiar virtue of improved farm machines, a virtue tliat increases in extent the more completely it is embraced, is that it enables one man to do the work that required three under the older system. In addition the partial success of power farming has enabled a number of the more elderly farmers to retire and has, by the same token, led other farmers to seek newer areas westward toward the Pacific. All these signs indicate fundamentally sound economic progress and a satisfactory ad- justment of the farmer's profession to the de- mands of the new industrial era. Confinuous plowing at ^, ' ^amc'^ depth Deep and Varied plowing Incrensed prndiietimi demands deep plowing, not a mere "skinnine" of the top siifraoe and the creation of a hard pan CHAPTER VI Tractor Facts The New Age The Capper Farm Press thruout this study of the tractor wishes to emphasize above all else, one general fact. It advocates the tractor and its ex- tended use because it believes that the farmer of the present is coming more and more to use power farming and because it believes that the farming of the future will be almost entirely power per- formed. The immediate need of the world today is for increased production. Increased production demands an extended and a quicker as well as a more consistent power than that supplied by the already depleted man labor and horse power. Tractor farming is, therefore, a step in the higher economic evolution of the age. Viewed from this point the mere sale of tractors is incidental. It is fully recognized that the horse has its place and will continue to fill it but he has limits just as clearly defined, beyond which it is bad economy and inhumane to employ him. Tractors Not Perfect Likewise it is just as clearly recognized that the tractor is not a perfect instrument. Like the steam engine, the automobile or any other ])iece of mech- anism that has today attained its degree of per- fection, the tractor must suffer various evolu- tions of type before it approaches its maximum efficiency. Even now it is so efficient that no longer is it a question of whether the tractor is practicable but which is the proper size and type to buy. Of course there still remain many diffi- culties to be solved, various technical problems that involve not only the application of the power but the generation of that power itself. But such mechanical imperfections are not insurmountable. The maximum thermatic values of the various fuels are fast being utilized and stabilized. When farmers' experience under the widely varied climatic and soil conditions of the wheat — corn belt is finally analyzed, the tractor will have ap- proached its practical ideal of standardization. Tractor Improvement Great jirogress has already been made in simpli- fication, and flexibility by tractor manufacturers, not only because they recognize that it is for their own economy and convenience but also because the more quickly comes standardization, the quicker and wider will be the sale of machines. The last four years has seen the coming of the medium and small tractor, itself an efective stimu- lation to broader power farming. Such an ex- tension marks the gradual invasion of power farming, as formerly practiced only in the most "extensive" farms with the larger steam tractor, in o the domain of the medium and smaller farm. In other words the demand of the farmers them- selves has forced upon the manufacturer the necessity of quantity production ; this necessity is already being answered in no uncertain terms by a half dozen manufacturers. That the tractor is fast being pushed toward a more jiraetical efficiency is shown by the number- les-; small-tractor manufacturers that have come ujion the market within the last two years, each offering some one or more features tending to make the tractor cheaper, a more flexible and more efficient farm machine. To be sure many of these machines will disappear thru lack of proper financing ; many more in the test of actual farm use will betray their mechanical shortcomings. But their very presence in the market is an encourag- ing sign of inventive interest and a recognition that power fai'ming has come to stay. How fast the increase in the volume of tractor business will be in the next few years is very difficult to determine. As before reiterated, granted a certain stability in market conditions and a continued general prosperity, the principal general premise upon which all estimates must be made is that of education. Education Necessary Education must include the farmer, the dealer, the manufacturer and remotely the general pub- lic. The vehicles of this educational process are already in operation. The United States De- partment of Agriculture, the various agricultural colleges, the farm press of the country, without exception, are hammering away on the farmer. Dealers and distributors, backed by the manufac- turers, are employing various means of propa- ganda. But none of these agencies can but admit the fact that tractor progress must be a natural growth based on "the buying conviction"' that follows demonstration in the field. While the large majority of all dealers agree with the opin- ion of representative tractor owners, opinion var- ies only as to the rate of ju'ogress. After all this is not so important ; the farmer should not be merely "persuaded." His first and even last pur- chase of a tractor should be inevitably the result of a profound conviction that by so doing he is benefiting himself and increasing the stability of the profession itself. The Farmer a Business Man A great deal of disapointment was manifested last year by tractor manufacturers in the appar- ent lessening of the farm interest in the tractor, a fact made very visible by decreasing sales in ^^rjm 1^;^ ^^ Planting, plowing' siiid hsi ILLUSTRATION 2S many localities. Curiously euough the real reason for this was not readily grasped. In the first place it is not sufficiently understood that in general the attitude of the farmer toward his business is that of any far-sighted manvifacturer and producer. Especially do the extensive farm- ers of the wheat belt regard their investment in machinery and other implements, not as some- thing temporary but as something that will ulti- mately yield a maximum return. In other words, an insufficient first return on a relatively large amount of capital invested does not deter the farmer from making such an invest- ment when he sees clearly that the future ivill bring an increased and higher average of earnings on the original sum invested. By the same token it is not generally recognized that the investments of farmers in any sort of farm equipment are strongly dominated by local crop conditioifs. A certain sales executive of a large cheap-priced automobile was at a loss recently to explain Mhy a certain arbitrary fixage of distribution had been exceeded and the demand was greater than the supply. He attributed such a fact to the efficiency of his own sales methods when, in reality, had he taken the trouble to investigate, he would have found that an unusual wheat and corn crojD, com- bined Avith a successful first season with tractors, had made money for these local fai'mers and that in consequence his sales of this machine, already a reality in the farmers' mind thru judicious and long continued advertising campaign in the farm papers had leaped beyond the number originally estimated. The Reverse Process By the same token the reverse process of sales diminution is well exemplified in the results cited by The Farmer in its recent tractor investigation. Here it was found that 51 per cent of local tractor dealers, upon investigation, discovered that the sale of tractors had decreased in the spring of 1919 because the land had been too wet for plow- ing. Forty per cent of the bankers in the three states of Minnesota, South Dakota and North Da- kota substantiated the opinion of the dealers. Over 16 per cent of these same dealers report that the next largest factor of farmers' indifference was the lack of cash. These last two factors are correlative. But the original assumption of both manufacturers and distributors had been quite the contrary. They had thought sales had declined owing to an inherent disinclination of farmers to pay a seemingl,y abnormal price in the face of an indicated sharp decline in the market. The tendency of the farmer is frequently to in- vest his crop returns at the moment he gets them and this explains the fact that the late spring found many farmers without large auiounts of ready money. But the principal deduction to make and one that eould be substantiated thru a study of other local conditions is that the farmers' purchasing power is in direct ratio to immediate seasonal, soil and climatic conditions. Need of Standardization Standardization of the tractor will undoubtedly come even as it has already arrived in the auto- Weather Bureau reports enfor the need of moisture conservation . Uui ck plitivin^- :iii4l frequent surfac e cultivation ore tlal. The tractor is a necessary i CHARt 29 lachir e for this purpose mobile and to a certain extent in the motor truck industry . The Society of Automotive Engineers is already at work upon the problem but as yet has made no definite announcement of its con- clusions. Governing Factors Those factors that will ultimately determine the power rating ,the quality and quantity of con- struction and the makeup and superficial appear- ance of the tractor may be summarized as follows: 1. As time goes on the test of actual field usage will eliminate, as before intimated, many of the experimental or "freak" types that are already on the market or soon will be. This condition is accurately exemplified in the evolution of automobile types during the past twenty years. 2. Actual capital and extended financial affilia- tions will tend, under our present economic system, to eliminate a large number of tractor makers. This will not, as is fre- quently thought by a fallacious public opinion, eliminate tliose tractors of inade- quate financial backing but whose mechani- cal principles are really sound and practical. The tendency of all big industries is to ab- sorb unto themselves by legitimate business absorption and expansion the best that weaker competitors have produced. 3. The command of materials market by large manufacturers will also be a determinant of standardization. As the tractor industry resolves itself into a relatively small num- ber of manufacturers, with production schedules keyed to a higher pitch, the raw material market tends to become stabilized. with the result that buying costs are prac- tically the same for all competitors. Stan- dardization in the actual manufacture be- comes the inevitable next step. Selling methods based upon a legitimate de- mand. This last point perhaps deserves a somewhat extended discussion. Selling Methods Tlie two elements of buying and manufacturing being, therefore, almost automatically regulated, the next actual determinant of standardiza- tion, wherein some variation may be expected, will 1)0 found in the sales policies of the different firms. Even these, making all due allowance for the personal equation of both the home office and the field sales force, tend to become stabilized in themselves. Ultimately, as has been many times pointed out, selling resolves itself into but one soundly econ- omic method ; that system which markets its prod- uct solely on its own merits as a practical per- former; which is produced in response to the na- tural needs of supply and demand ; and which dis- regards, as being uneconomic and wasteful, any sales policy that seeks arbitrarily to market a product regardless of merit or demand by the mere exploitation of clever advertising and propa- ganda. We might point out that the adherence to such a sales policy of "natural absorption" is in itself inevitable of adoption if sovmd economic principles are to be regarded. It tends not only to standardize itself but to standardize the whole in- dustry. All idiosyncrasies of local likes and dis- likes in consumer demand put aside, it is only a question of time before the fundamental factors of soil, climate and the actual buying power of the consumer will determine both the type and price as well as the sales methods of any tractor. Effects of Standardization The discussion of this last phase of the stand- ardization process of any product might be con- tinued indefinitely. Many economists have pointed out that a long drawn out and costly sys- tem "of stumbling thru," with cut prices and the ruthless elimination of weaker competitors might well be avoided by a pooling of all inventive, capital and selling resources. This has been done to a large extent in the steel industry, to a less extent in the automobile trade and to an ap- preciable exent in the implement, industry. Of course, the excuse for being of our present sys- tem is that initiative and personality are con- stantly being developed under the stress of com- petition and that ultimately a better product is evolved. But such a system is costly both to the manufacturer in his production and sales and ultimately so to the consumer. Any tendency, therefore, toward standardization which, while not removing the individual spur of originality and inventiveness, will tend to simplify and make cheaper all steps in the making and selling of tractors will be of immense benefit to all con- cerned. Service Yet, in the last analysis, the whole question is concerned with that of service. At present the very thing which prevents some manufacturers from venturing into new territory, and which de- ters the farmer from investing in a given tractor is precisely the impossibility of giving and receiv- ing an adequate repair service. Standardization in the process of manufacturing and selling will also tend to standardize service. Simplification of parts will make a machine not only easy to operate but more capable of being repaired by the farmer himself. Dealers in parts can be the quicker and the more cheaply supplied. It costs money to maintain an extensive repair service. In itself the existence of such a system may be more or less an admission of fundamental weak- ness on the part of the machine itself. Ultimately the cost of such a service must be charged to the buyer of the tractor. It is a much better sales argument to offer a machine that can be easily repaired either by the farmer himself or liy the nearest service dealer. It is commendable indeed for a man^ifacturer to be willing to send on repair missions a mechanic 40, fiO or 100 miles, but it does not have the same force for a sales argu- ment as being able to offer a machine so simplified and standardized that the need of an expert in repairing it is not necessary. Inexpert Operators It is undoubtedl3' true that probably only 25 per cent of present farm owners may be con- sidered expert operators. An even smaller per cent may be characterized as expert repair men, but it should be remembered that as the tractor market extends and the influence of various trac- tor schools, including the free service of the agri- cultural colleges, becomes more and more extended that the percentage of farmers able to operate and repair their own machines will constantly rise. CHAPTER VII State Standardization Some states are recognizing the need for tractor legislation. Such legislation aims to protect the farmers and to simplify the tremendous confu- sion that now exists in the field of tractor specifi- cations. It must inevitabl.y force manufacturers to standardize rigidly their products. For instance, the requirements of the new Ne- braska tractor law which recently became effect- ive are already having results. We quote from a recent number of Farm Im- plement News: "The law seeks to prevent the sale of experi- mental models of tractors, to prevent misrepre- sentation in making sales, and to require all trac- tor manufacturers to carry a. complete stock of repair parts within the state. In general these points are essentially those which tractor manu- facturers, thru their organizations, have been at- tempting to foster. Accurate horse power tests have been recognized for some time as a necessary feature of the tractor industry. The new law may do much in Nebraska toward eliminating in- competent machines and toward standardizing power ratings so that the Nebraska farmer may know exactly the kind and size of machine to pur- chase for his needs." Tests "The results of this legislation may be summed up briefly in the following 9 tests and one pro- vision : (a) Limbering-up run at one-third, two-thirds and full load for about 12 hovirs. (b) Brake horse- power test at rated load to show whether or not the tractor will carry continuously its rated load on the belt and to show fuel economy ; duration of test, 2 hours, (e) Brake horse-power test at vary- ing load to show governor control and fuel econ- omy ; time, 1 hour, (d) Brake horse-power test at maximum load to determine greatest load trac- tor will carry with governor set for rated belt load; time, 1 hour, (e) Brake horse power test at half load to determine fuel economy ; time, 1 hour. (f ) Draw-bar horse-power test at rated load to see if the tractor will pull its rated draw-bar load con- tinuously on the cinder track, and to determine fuel economy; actual running time, 10 hours, (g) Draw-bar horse-power test at maximum load to determine this load on the cinder track and show fuel economy. • (h) Miscellaneous tests will be conducted to make observation on any special features, (i) Endurance test to detect any fea- tures which may give continual trouble. It will take a tractor a total of 40 hours to complete these tests. "The results of these tests must compare favor- ably with the advertising matter used by the com- pany making the tractor or the machine cannot be sold in the state. Furthermore, the manufacturer must have adequate supplies of repair parts with- in the confines of the state in order that prompt I'cplacement service may be rendered." But such a law if passed by each state, each with its own local variation, might defeat its own end. What is really desired is standardization, not sectional but national. What is necessary, therefore, is not so much state standardization tests but a national tractor standard to which all tractor manufacturers must conform. But some tractor nianufacturers despite the example set for them by their automobile confreres seem loath to solve the problem of standardization. Unless they take command of the situation themselves, however, they will be forced to do so by the pas- sage of such state laws as Nebraska has already in force. 38 CHAPTER VIII Tractor Repair Service One of the facts which greatly influence tractor sales with farmers is that M'hich is concerned with service. The farmer is a peculiar and interesting individual, and an investment represents to him something that must be pei-manent and contin- uoush' effective. Performance of farm equipment must justify the advertisement of the manufactu- rers and the claims of the dealer. When these con- ditions are not fulfilled and the tractor breaks down dissatisfaction is sure to arise. Dissatisfac- tion is increased to the everlasting prejudice of all parties concerned when the rejjair service is neglected or inefficient. At present, the principal difficulty seems to be the impossibility of render- ing a quick service in the height of the work season. Either dealers do not carry a large enough stock of repair parts and supplies, or there is an insufficiency of repair men or the calls are so numerous and the distances so great that some tractor is sure to be idle when most needed. It should be said in passing, however, that a general analysis of dealer opinion covering the 16 states of the corn and wheat belt shows at least 25 per cent of all dealers interviewed declaring them- selves ready to render general repair service to the full extent of their ability. Even if these fig- ares are pretty closely matched with that propor- tion of dealers whose contracts from manufac- turers require such a service, the fact remains that most dealers out of a really sincere desire to advance the community are willing to give repair service to the limit of their ability. Suggestions as to Remedy In fact the determining factor that prevents a large percentage of dealers from giving a greater and wider service is that of absokite physical in- ability rather than an unwillingness. Various solutions have been suggested such as the establishing of central repair stations to over- come this difficulty. Some farmers, as well as dealers, have expressed the opinion that a mini- mum cost basis on all repairs rendered should be established thus eliminating "free" calls for petty, inconsequential or "cranky" causes. The principal objections to the establishment of small local central repair stations is their expense and the unnecessary duplication of parts requiring ex- cessive stocks. Since the time element is the big- gest repair factor in the height of the work sea- son, some system should be devised that will en- able repairs to be made quickly and efficiently. A Concrete Plan — ^The Traveling Repair Shop After an extended investigation and including all classes of opinion on the subject, it is the con- clusion of the Bureau of Research of The Capper Farm Press that the best solution of the question lies in the equipment and maintenance by either the manufacturer or the dealer of a traveling motor truck repair shop for tractors. The idea has been worked out by some dealers in England with success. The experience of the A. E. F. motor transport service further confirms this pro- cedure. It is perfectly feasible to mount repair shops, sufficient for most ordinary repairs, on a heavy type motor truck. Such an arrangement was the practice of all the armies in Europe. If it can be applied to motor trucks it can likewise be applied to tractor service. It should not be forgotten in addition that a large majority of tractor breakdowns are those which can be rem- edied by the replacement of some minor part or by the service of a deft mechanic. To meet this situation there might be in addition put in opera- tion a so-called "flivver service" such as any au- tomobile dealer of repute everywhere maintains for his tire customers. Another Concrete Plan II. ( '. Buffington, Jlotor Engineer, Minneapolis Steel and Machinery Company, member of the So- ciety of Automotive Engineers, as long ago as 1917 suggested a very practical system of tractor service. The outline of his service scheme is herewith quoted, as presented by Mr. Buffington at the tractor meeting of the Society of the Auto- motive Engineers, at Fremont, Nebraska, August 9, 1917: "In order to work out the system, let us take one state, North Dakota, for an example, and ci-eate a ncAv department. Call it the Dejiart- ment of Tractor Service for convenience, with headquarters at Bi-smarek. Then let us locate sub- quarters, all being geographically situated to cover the state effectually. Say, for example, Minot for the Northwest, Devil's Lake for the Northeast, Dickinson for the Southwest, and Sioux Falls for the Southeast. Next, employ ex- pert field men, and assign them to certain terri- tories. "The far-reaching scope and power of a body of men .such as might be organized under this plan can hardly be realized until we go over a few of the items of information that can be gathered. "First — The department Avould have an exact record of all tractors in the state. "Second — The department would know just when a tractor is standing idle. "Third — The department would have a record of farmers handling undeveloped land, land to break or seed crops to harvest, such as the season, of course, would determine. "Fourth — The department would know the ex- act date on which a tractor is shipped from the factory, which road it would go over, and to whom it would be shipped. "Fifth — It would be a i)art of the department's duties to know why the supplies of fuel, oil, or repair parts, are not taken care of promptly. "As can readily be seen, there is no limit to the possibilities of such a department's service under this plan. All the work of gathering the neces- sary information can be accomplished without waste of time and space." Co-operation The extent to which some manufactures and dealers fail to grasp the necessity of a complete re- pair and replacement service for tractor users is nowhere better exemplified than in those letters of complaint constantly being received by the edi- tors of all leading farm journals. The spirit of these letters, as well as the editorial attitude, can- not be better illustrated than by quoting a char- acteristic one, recently received by The Capper Farm Press, and its answer. It states its own case, and the inference if not the moral is plain: free repair service to include necessary replace- ment, and realization of the fact that actual field tests are more accurate than laboratory ones. Tractor Trouble "Can you suggest to me what to do with my tractor which I bought in the spring of 1916? Its weakest point 1 think is its connecting rods which have broken three times, and twice the crank case was smashed up badly. The company of course desires to put the blame on me. One of the worst of these smash-ups occurred just 2Yj hours after the company's own expert had over- hauled the engine and had adjusted the connecting rods. Since then I have been careful to keep the connecting rods just tight enough, but in spite of my special care they fly to pieces. The com- pany always refer me to some of their new models in their replies. Is there no redress and must others like myself who bought tractors of the former model pay for the company 's experimental tractors?" John W. Yost. Huerfano, Colorado. The E^ditor's Reply "Yon are not the only victim who has had to pay for the mistakes in design and construction of some of the so-called modern tractors. Some companies are so short-sighted that service to a purchaser is an entirely secondary matter with them. Where the demand exceeds the supply this condition is likely to prevail. This of course is the situation at present. It is manifest from your statement of the facts that the company to which you refer in your letter is in such a class. "It is needless for me to attempt to point out possible difficulties in the operation of your trac- tor, for undoubtedly the company has already pointed those out to you. Under normal condi- tions the instructions given by any company re- garding the handling of theii- own make of tractor should be followed above all else. Change in Designs "If I am properly informed, the new type of rod put out by this company provides more wear- ing surface than formerly, making it impossible to make your repairs from their new design. It is the practice of some owners when starting, to race their motor, with the idea of getting it out quickly on kerosene. Where the splash system is employed as on your engine, the lubrication may not be sufficient at first under such conditions, resulting in undue sti'ains on the parts. A Mistake in the Foundry "It is not infrequent to find one particular part continually failing on a machine and this ma.y be due to faulty material, faulty design or work- manship or faulty heat treatment of the parts. The writer is familiar with one manufacturer who was at one time having excessive repairs for one particular large annular gear on their tractor. The repairs became so numerous that had they continued it would have resulted in establishing a record for the tractor that would have stopped its sale entirely. There is little doubt in my mind that many farmers paid for such repairs, contrib- uting to the experience of the company. Upon close investigation it was found that the entire difficulty in this instance was in the foundry practice as it was at that time. This particular tractor now has a very excellent reputation. The Manufacturer Should Make Good ' ' Perhaps it may be faulty material or improper heat treatment in the case of your rods, but if yovi should wish to continue the use of your trac- tor, it would seem that the repairs would most logically come from the company. If the com- pany is not even Avilling to come half way on their service, it will eventually become known to the trade and react to their own detriment.. Un- fortunately if they sho\;ld take an attitude con- trary with your own idea, it seems that no redress can be had and the honesty of the manufacturer will govern. " Tractor Training But it should be recognized that as a tractor gradually passes the experimental stage and be- come standardized the necessity of repair service will be somewhat lessened. It will still further lessen as farmers become more expert oi)erators. Probably today 2.5 per cent of farm operators are inefficient. Tractor schools, both those main- tained as out-and-out institutions of learning, as well as so-called "Demonstration Schools" pro- vided by various tractor companies and commer- 40 cial schools are already having their effect in this direction. Consolidated country high schools, too, as applied vocational agricultural mechanics be- come more and more a part of their curriculum, will add their influence in this direction. Farm Objections There are still many objections to the tractor and still a large class of farmers who if not ac- tively opposed, are indifferent or skeptical. An analysis of these classes of farmers conducted in Oklahoma, Kansas, Illinois, Minnesota, North Da- kota and South Dakota discloses that the majority of those causes which make farmers opposed are purely physical ones. The list of the causes com- prise : wet fields, too hilly fields, too circum- scribed fields, too heavy soil, etc. In another class of physical objections are those which in- volve : too many types of tractors, too little de- veloped horse power in draw-bar work, non- flexibility of tractor types, such as slow move- ment, inability to turn square corners, too lim- ited tractor plows, insufficient repair service, etc. It is obvious that the physical dificulties of the first named class will gradually disappear as the imperfections listed in the second class likewise disappear in the process of perfection. There are types of tractors today which can be used as suc- cessfully on wet land as on up-and-down country. Because the tractor was first successfully used to break long level stretches of virgin prairie sod, and because the tractor itself was a heavy steam engine affair, a great many fai'mers still think this machine, in its place most efficient, is the only type of tractor available. The right kind of edu- cation alone can remove such prejudices. AVERAGE HOURLY Coupled with hea\ The tractor essfully V CHART CHAPTER IX More Tractor Facts Specific Objections It may not be unprofitable to consider some farmers' objections and the handicaps under which the tractor of today works. The need of standardization lias already been emphasized and the day is not far distant when this must come. It not infrequently happens that the ]irospective trac- tor owner is completely confused when he seeks to study the various tractors now on the market. The combination horse-power ratings, rotative speeds of both pulley and engine, tractive speed, draw-bar pull, 2-cycle as opposed to 4-cycle en- gines, caterpillar as opposed to spur-wheel types, 3-wheel as opposed to 4-wheel, etc.; all these things are being set forth in a bedlam of publicity and propaganda that serves only to confuse the prospective fai-m buyer. For instance, there are tractors on the market with engine speeds differing from 1,000 to 1,800 revolutions per minute, forward speeds varying from 1 to 7 miles an hour, draw-bar horse-power development ranging from 2 to 45, 50 and even 60 horse-power ratings. Other varying specifications make it difficult for any one, unless he is a trained automotive engineer, to get head or tail out of the jumble. It is this confusion that sometimes makes the farmer hesitate to invest his money in a thing lie does not fully understand. Tractor advertising copy, frequently too technical in its language, in- creases the difficulty of the prospective purchaser. Preferred Types Then there is a wide difference of opinion, de- pending somewhat on the community, as to what is the best form and type of tractor for all-round farm usage. In the Northern spring wheat belt about 70 to 80 per cent favor a 2-plow or S-jilow machine with a very respectable number, still de- pendent on the community, favoring the 3- or 4- plow machine, particularly the latter. This opin- ion of the farm users is substantiated pretty closely by the combined opinions of dealers, bankers and non-owners. In contrast to this, the type favored farther to the South, particularly in Kansas and Oklahoma, is the 4-plow machine ; altho the preference is influenced according to the crop that is being considered. Corn growers favor the light rather than the heavy type. Difference of Opinion There is also a wide difference of opinion as to what is the most advantageous and practicable way to operate, whether by one man operating itii of this II^bUSTRATION 31 both the tractoi' and the following machine, or a two-man team. There is also the question of whether it is better to operate the implement from the seat of the former or the seat of the latter. The majority of opinion thruout the 16 states favors, however, the one-man operator and the point of operation from the seat of the tractor. It is rather interesting to note that non-owners are of the opinion that it is easier to operate from the seat of equipment than from the seat of the trac- tor. This in itself is an interesting psychological fact; it betrays that state of mind that naturally favors the thing with which it is most familiar. Another indication shows some farmers are dis- satisfied with present types offered and also wish to postpone investing until a machine of the par- ticular horse power, weight, etc., that their indi- vidual fancj' desires is put on the market. By this same theory there is a wide variety of opinion as to what types of tractors are suitable for the local soil conditions in certain particular commun- ities. In this latter ease it will be usually found that the feeling which favors one type or one make over another finds its origin in that peculiar psy- chology always characl eristic of any mass action in a rural locality. A certain community favors a certain type of machine because the first machines used were brought in by the most prominent and progressive farmers. The same phenomenon has been before frequently noticed and has greatly influenced certain dealer methods in the sale and distribution of certain makes of automobiles and farm trucks. Which Fuel There is still a difference of opinion as to which is the better fuel, gasoline or kerosene. Approxi- mately 55 to 65 per cent of tractor owners in the 16 wheat and corn states are today using kerosene for tractor fuel with fully 55 per cent of this group agreed that not only is kerosene cheaper but, on the whole, just as efficient in view of its lesser price, as gasoline. In the past there has been a good deal of discussion as to the actual practicability of kerosene. Even today a majority of tractor owners, including those who own kero- sene machines, are of the opinion that this fuel causes more minor troubles of operating and a greater number of minor repairs. Gasoline vs. Kerosene The jirincipal troubles and deficiencies are: less actual number of hours of work with kerosene than gasoline before it is necessary to drain the oil siipply and fill with more oil in order to pre- vent lubrication troubles ; more frequent cleaning of sparkplugs; more frequent overheating; more frequent difficulty with the fuel due to a small water content ; and certain other minor difficul- ties that range from trouble with the bearings and pistons to the excessive carbonization and crack- ing of spark plugs. As a matter of fact, however, the balance of efficiency between the two fuels is pretty evenly maintained. If gasoline develops slightly more power and is cleaner to handle it is also more expensive in proportion to the amount of power it develops. However, it is also worthy of note that the trend of tractor development in so far as fuels are concerned, will be more and mcu'e in the direction of a heavier essence. The days is not far distant, owing to the limitation of fuel sup])lies, when the heavy base and crude oils must be used. Of course, as this becomes neces- sary changes in engine design will keep pace with the fuel necessities. Attached Implements Still another consideration that enters into the discussion is that which concerns the kind and type of machine, including kinds of attached im- plements, that should.be used. In the very be- ginning of tractor usage, and even today, there has been the natural tendency of many farmers rather than to abandon entirely old implements to use them under more or less make-shift con- ditions with the new power unit. In the long run this is not true economy altho, owing to limited capital, it is generally impossible for the farmer making his first investment in the ti'actor to iluable ILLUSTRATION 32 abandon entirely his former horse-drawn imple- ments. But at least the plow and the disc should be made for the tractor and if possible the binder hitch, harrow and drill should also especially fit the new power unit. A complete set of special tractor implements for the farmer who could afford it would include be- sides those mentioned the following : carrying truck, corn harvester, self-binder, 2-row cultivator, breaking-plow, drag, packer, clod crusher, 4-row corn cultivator, etc. For belt work it would in- clude wood saw. ensilage cutter, feed mill, shred- der, seeding and husking machine, potato digger, well driller, small stone crusher for cement work, small corn or wheat thresher, portable saw mill and other minor uses according to particular con- ditions. The Dealer There is also an uncertainty in the tractor sit- uation which sometimes operates to cause jealousy in a given community and frequently limits com- plete distribution. This is because there exists a considerable difference of opinion as to whether a tractor should be sold by the already-established implement man, the gai-age keeper, the automobile dealer, or a specialist by himself. It is the opin- ion, however, of most Southwestern farmers, an opinion strongly corrobated by the farmers of the Northwest, that the regular implement dealer, by reason of his greater and larger familiarity with farm machinery and the needs of his farm com- munity ,is best fitted to handle the distribution of tractors. Again the Dealer In speaking of the position of the tractor dealer a word should be said as to the peculiar place he occupies in any farm community. Since 1850 there has been a gradual change in his responsi- bilities thru the encouragement of the implement manufacturers and their long-time credits. Complete Selling Service Tlie live dealer realizes the responsibility of his jiosition and undertakes to inform his clientele of precisely what he can offer in the way of machines and of subsequent repair service. Backed by jiroper selling organization in the factory, and backed in addition by a judicious advertising campaign localized in the newspapers and cen- tered in the great farm papers of the corn and nheat belt itself, no tractor dealer need fear the problem of local sales. There is no limit in the power and influence he can wield especialh' if either he or the manufacturer takes advantage of The Complete Selling Plan originated and de- veloped by Tlie Capper Farm Press. The Com- plete Selling Plan puts territory, carefully an- alyzed for all its trade possibilities, directly into the hands of the dealer. It also opens up new tractor territory for the manufacturer, it develops every phase of a selling campaign, analyzes terri- tory and secures distributors and dealers. Proved by Experience The influence of such a dealer-and-farm paper co-operation is proved by the experience of Kan- sas where analysis show that tractors have been sold more heavily in its so-called wheat belt than in other portions of the state. The reason for this is not only because the tractor is especially adaptable to wheat farming, but also because in this particular wheat belt there has long been carried on, thru the Complete Selling Plan, a cam- [laign of education among farmers and dealers. The farmer has been made to see by actual demon- stration just how the tractor is the ideal instru- ment for increasing wheat production. The agri- cultui-al colleges and experiment stations, ably seconded by the farm papers, have consistently preached the need of deep and early plowing, of the quick planting of large areas at seeding time, of fast harvesting when the grain is ripe. "While s\v»th and is [iiilli'd by en operate this outfit 10-::0 kero- ILLUSTRATION 33 these same arguments could have been applied under the same general conditions in Illinois or the Dakotas, the fact remains that the sale of tractors to Kansas wheat farmers has been the re- sult of a deliberate campaign in education. Attitude of Country Bankers One of the general objections frequently voiced both by prospective tractor users and by dealers is that country bankers are adverse to lending money for the purpose of buying tractors. While this statement may be true in certain instances, an investigation in several parts of the wheat belt discloses quite a different attitude of mind. Oklahoma Opinion In a recent trade investigation conducted by The Capper Farm Press in Oklahoma during the summer of 1919, every country banker of conse- quence in a territory lying just west of Okla- homa City, and comprising some of the best agri- cultural land in the state, was interviewed on the tractor question. Of the 35 bankei's interviewed only one said that he would not lend money to a farmer of established probity in order that he might purchase a tractor. Several said that they would prefer to lend money for the purchase of a tractor than for the purchase of an automobile or a truck. The one banker who was adverse to lending for a tractor was a farmer himself and financially interested in the raising of draft horses. The inference is plain. Increased Sales In several widely separated towns in this terri- tory it was found that local tractor sales in the summer of 1919. as contrasted with previous years, had increased from 60 to 300 per cent. Ten tractors were sold in one morning in a large wheat belt center ; on another occasion eight trac- tors were sold in almost as manj^ minutes. Both the farmer and the dealer were frank to attribute this notable increase in tractor sales to the fact that increased crop prodiiction demanded increased farm power and that the principle of early plow- ing, in July or August, as advocated by John Fields these many .years thru the columns of The Oklahoma Parmer, Oklahoma section of The Cap- per Farm Press, Avas at last being definitel.y recog- nized. In general the tractor demand, with one or two exceptions ,was greater than the supply. In passing, it is perhaps interesting to note that the reduction in price of two well-known tractors, as well as the first marketing in that vicinity of another small-unit, low-priced tractor visibly stim- ulated the sales. Owing to the excessive heat and the loss of a number of horses in the 1919 harvest, it is not infrequent to see convoys of five to seven wagons, tractor-drawn, being hauled to the ele- vators thruout Central Oklahoma. Northwestern Experience In a very thoro investigation of the Northwest- ern tractor market conducted by The Farmer, St. Paul, Minnesota, over 55 per cent of certain coun- try bankers, leading representatives of their pro- fession in the three states of I\Iinnesota, South Dakota and North Dakota, were of the opinion that the tractor had been a profitable investment for tractor owners. Likewise 68 per cent of the bankers were willing to lend money for the pur- chase of a tractor. These bankers just mentioned were not included in the whole investigation. But the 704 bankers that reported on all the queries of the questionnaire in the entire tractor survej' — men vitally interested in the advancement of their customers — reported over 85 per cent strong in their willingness to lend money to farm- ers for the purchase of tractors. Over 66 per cent would go further and directly encourage responsi- ble farmers to make such purchases. Forty-five and two-tenths per cent Avere of the expressed opinion that the farmer who needs a tractor is justified in borrowing money where he can if he lacks cash. Seventy-six per cent were certain that tractor farmers would eventually, under the adoption of new cultivation methods, be forced to fit their farms, by enlargement and otherwise, to develop the more economically the entire potential possi- bilities of the tractor. Such adjustments generally mean an expansion of laud ; such expansion requires new capital. The banker stands ready to meet such an emergency. In the same community over 85 per cent of all tractor owners reported that their implements were a profitable investment. Over 66 i^er cent re- ported that thru their tractors and their ability to do custom work they had been enabled to earn on an average of $774.50 extra in addition to that profit secured by working for themselves. All of these figures check very closely with those ob- tained in the Oklahoma investigation altho prob- ably slightly lower than the figures for Kansas where, as has been previously explained, tractor interest and the tractor market have been more highly developed than elsewhere in the wheat belt. Tlic (Jualitv of Opinion In considering the figures it should be borne in mind that a banker reports for a community which roughly includes the entire trade radius of his particular town, while the individual farmer re- ports only for himself or at the best his immediate neighborhood. However, in every instance the relative relation of the banker's and the farmer's figures indicates the same general tendencies. 46 CHAPTER X Tractor Advertising Yet there is one more consideration that affects both the processes of standardization and the serv- ice policy. This is advertising. In the beginning of the game, advertising as a determinant factor in the marketing of a product was more or less subsidiary or auxiliary. Especially was this true of many of the older and long established products where the demand had already been created and where consequently advertising was not neces- sary to CTiltivate buyer interest. So it is even to- day in many of the older industries. One of the last things they consider in the placing and selling of the given product is the size and amount of the advertising schedule. How Advertising Helps But with the growth of advertising to the pro- portions it now assumes, with its own highly in- tricate method of stimulating merchandise de- mand, any new industry must reckon from the very beginning upon that assistance which adver- tising will lend in the successful marketing of its product. First of all, the process is generally to create a national or a somewhat extended local- ized interest in the new goods. After that comes a campaign to reinforce a closely co-ordinated dis- tributor and retail organization. The last step is to continue stimulation of consumer demand by a constant re-affirmation of the particular vir- tues of the given product so that the consumer feels, thru habitual and self-inculcated conviction, that the particular product is indispensable to him and his comfort and profit. Many examples might be cited to illustrate this. But as yet advertising as applied to the tractor industry has not gone beyond the first two stages and in many instances has scarcely passed the first. Creating Consumer Demand The principle of creating consumer demand by the use of those media most closely in touch with the particular classes of people to be sold is well recognized. Perhaps the best analogy for the tractor manufacturer is that furnished by the au- tomobile trade. Here is an industry still young enough and still largely dependent for the ex- tension of its products upon a continued stimula- tion and development of new consumer prospects. Hence the tendency in tractor advertising should be to concentrate upon those media which appeal most directly and with the greatest authority to the class that will be ultimately the biggest buyer of the machines. The automobile industry is al- ready following this policy of concentration and it is not infrequent to find certain individuals in the list of automobile manufacturers staking their entire play for consumer demand upon a closely interrelated group of high-class magazines and newspapers. Concentrated Media It is, therefore, inevitable that the tractor in- dustry must concentrate upon certain newspapers with a wide rural influence, less upon imi)lement and trade journals and more and more upon cer- tain farm papers. The Best Media The final selection among these last named periodicals must inevitably include such a medium as The Capper Farm Press. Here is a group of papers that represents exactly the ideal field for tractor advertising. Its circulation is confined exclusively to the so-called tractor belt; its var- ious sections are the recognized voices of author- ity among over a million farm readers ; it is in- fallible iipon all matters of crop advice and crop procedure. As a whole The Capper Farm Press comes very near to fulfilling every ideal condition of a tractor medium. It offers a long-e.stablished reputation in the exact geographical region and among the very class most likely and capable of buying tractors ; furthermore it possesses the strongest sort of reader concentration and enjoys the most intimate kind of reader confidence. The Buying Power of the Farmer and the Selling Power of the Farm Paper are the two potential factors which ought to be kept everlastingly in mind. 47 CONCLUSION The foregoing Tractor Analysis has been com- piled with but one purpose in view : service. It has long been the ideal of The Capper Farm Press, thru its Bureau of Research and other depart ments, to present accurately the soundest body of Middle Western farm opinion. In divers ways and thru various agencies, this presentation has in the past been of service not only to the farmer but al- so to that great body of mei-chants and manufac- turers that are directly dependent on the agri- cultural market for the sale of their products. This present volume, therefore, seeks to con- tinue a tradition already established and already confirmed not only by the success of The Capper Farm Press in interpreting the agricultural prac- tice of some 1,100,000 farm subscribers in the Mid- dle West but, in addition, further substantiated b.y the multiplicity of its advertisers who have long recognized the peculiar and unique advantages of- fered by The Capper Farm Press in reaching the great and constantly growing farm market of the corn and wheat states. In this last respect it may not be immodest to state that The Capper Farm Press has peculiarly justified the confidence of tractor manufacturers, distributors and dealers. It hopes that this pres- ent analysis will not only reaffirm a reputation already established but will e.xtend it still further to meet the demands of an increased market and even greater prosperity. Farm papers in general and The Capper Farm Press in particular are more than mere magazines that periodicall.y represent a mass of miscellaneous information that more or less concerns farmers and farming. The right sort of agricultural paper aims to be more than informative ; it seeks to in- culcate facts ; it endeavors to mould opinion ; it undertakes to shape ideas and to direct their sub- sequent expression in terms of action. The var- ious regional sections of The Capper Farm Press fulfil the requirements of the right sort of farm papers. They are absolutely dedicated to the principle of the greatest good for the greatest number of farmers. The Capper Farm Press is therefore a directive as well as a causative force in the socialization and economic life of the Mid- West farmers. The Capper Farm Press has upheld fi'om the very beginning in editorials and articles, the cause of tractors and power farming. It has supported every progressive project that promised the right kind of returns with the greatest subsequent economy to the farmer. It has done this not only because it has believed that the socialization of the countryside is more quickly accomplished thru the medium of power farming but also because it has believed that along with pure-bred stock and scientific crop culture, tractor methods are the inevitable attributes of progressive farming. 48 APPENDIX There is appended certain statistical informa- tion relating to the agricultural resources of the 16 Capper states, as follows : Classified statistical data that shows the extent and numbers, disti-icts, dollars and cents valua- tion, etc., of the 16 corn and wheat states, better known as "The Capper States." Under this head are cited, in every available instance, figures up to and including 1919, compiled either from the official reports of the various federal and state departments or thru original investigations car- ried out by the Bureau of Research of The Capper Farm Press. Value of Capper Territory To give one a little idea of the values of these states the Bureau of Research, The Capper Farm Press has made a careful compilation of the value of all farm property in the sixteen Capper States from the 1910 Census. From these figures it will be seen that the vahie of all farm property in the sixteen Capper States is over nine billion dollars more than that of all the other tliirty-two states. In these sixteen states 2,669,905 farmers have an average value for their farms of $10,247. In the thirty-two other states there are 3,691,597 farmers with an average per farm of $6,324. These figures and graphs are merely given to show the intrinsic worth of such a territory as the sixteen Capper States. VALUE OF ALL FARM PROPERTY* U. S. Census 1910: $40,991,499,090; increase of 100.57, , 1900-1910. 16 Capper States: $25,017,926,835; average in- crease of 147.07f , 1900-1910. The value of all farm property in the sixteen Capper States at the 1910 Census was over nine billion dollars more than that of all the other thirty-two states. Watch the 1920 Census! Capper Value of all % Increa.se No. of Av. Val. States. Farm Prop'ty. 1900-10. Farms, per Farm. Kansas .$2.0.39,380,! IIO 1.36.0 177,841 $11,470 Nebraska. . . 2.079,818.647 178.1 129,678 16,038 Missouri . . . 2,052,917,488 98.7 277.244 7,405 Oklahoma . . 918.198,882 230.9 190,192 4,828 Texas 2.218,645,104 130.5 417,770 5,311 Iowa 3,745,860.544 104.2 217,044 17,259 Illinois 3.905,321.075 94.3 251,872 15,.505 Indiana. . . . 1.809.135.238 84.9 215,485 8,396 Minnesota. . 1,476,411,737 87,3 156,137 9,456 Wisconsin. .. 1.413,118,785 74.1 177427 7,978 So. Dakota . 1,166.096,980 291.0 77,644 15.018 No. Dakota . 074,814,200 281.9 74.360 13.109 Arkansas. . . 400,089.308 120.5 214.678 1.864 Colorado.... 491.471,806 205.2 46.170 10,645 Wyoming. . . 167,189,081 147.8 10.987 15,217 New Mex . . . 159.447,900 196.6 35,676 4,469 * 1910 Census figures ; vol. 5, p. 82. Value Farm Products Prom the Crop Reporter issued by the United States Department of Agriculture we find the total value of farm products including the live- stock and poultry for the sixteen Capper States total $12,308,355,000. In the thirty-two other states it totals $11,279,059,000. This simply means that the two million farmers in the sixteen Capper States have twelve billion dollars to spend while the three million farmers in the thirty-two other states have eleven billion dollars to spend. VALUE OF ALL CROPS, 1918 Crop Reporter U. S. Dept. of Agriculture Value of all crops United States, $14,090,769,000. Total value farm products includes value of livestock and poultry products. (Crop Reporter, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.) Value Crops, Value Live Stock All Crops. and Poultry Kansas .$424,298,000 .'j;854,153,000 Nebraska 390,944,000 830,064.000 Missouri 483,4.36,000 066,077,000 Oklalioma 264,502,000 493,873,000 Texas 895,651,000 • 1.173,070,000 Iowa 821.920,000 1.010,052,000 Illinois 879,679,000 1,416,866,000 Indiana .507,563,000 864,793,000 Minnesota 562.545,000 924,-394,000 Wisconsin 417,888,000 780.256,000 So. Dakota 438.880.000 696,847,000 No. Dakota .375.601.000 539,197,000 Arkansas 331,479.000 470,517.000 Colorado 1.53.6.39,000 .3.3O.6!>i.00O Wyoming 61.7.52.000 200.108.000 New Mexico 40.711.000 151,397,000 Total $6,849,488,000 $12,308,355,000 Total value of all crops, livestock and poultry. Capper States, $12,308,355,000. Total value same items, 32 other states, $11,- 279,059,000. Total value of all crops, livestock and poultry in U. S., $23,587,414,000. Sixteen Capper States, 33% of the U. S., have 52.18% of the total value of all farm resources. Thirty-two other states, 66% of the U .S., have 47.82% of the total values of all farm resources. RELATIVE INCREASE IN VALUE OF ALL FARM PROPERTY, 1900-1910. Value 19no. Ratio Mf iinrt-ase, U. S.. 1900-1910. Ratio of increase. IS Capper states, 1900.1910. The Bread Basket of America Without bread man would starve. The super- structure of civilization rests on the wheat field. The Capper States produce nearly three-fourths of the entire wheat crop of the United States. In every important item of agricultural production of the temperate zone, this great territory stands pre-eminent, without a rival, tlu' woi'Ul ai'ound. WHEAT, 1918 VALUES (U. S. Monthly Crop Reporter, Feb. 1, 1919.) The 16 Capper States produce nearly three- fourths of all the wheat of the U. S. 16 Capper States total .$1,332,731,000; 32 other states total $541,892,000. Capper States. Bushels. Value. Kansas lOi.OOS.OOCI .f 202.!»96,000 Nebraska 43,141.0110 ,S4.!»8.S.OOO Missouri 58.154,000 lOs.llOO.OOO Oklahoma 32,S!J!>.000 00.127,000 Texas 8,920.000 lit.lTS.OOO Iowa ii»,G50.ooo ::J!i.:;oo.ooo Illinois U(».!)!I1.00() 12C..S(11.000 Indiana 4!I.427.000 102.s0s.o00 Minnesota 70.710.000 102.(J0S.ootl Wisconsin !»,s37.00O 20,100.000 So. Dakota 71..305.000 141.890.000 No. Dakota 101.010.000 205.050,000 Arkansas 3,048,000 0,389.000 Colorado 13,335,000 20,003,000 Wyoming O.COO.OOO 12.474.000 New Mexico 3.334.000 7,001.00 The Corn Family Corn, by the departed philosophy of yesterday, meant "more wliiskey." It has always meant 'more hogs and more properity. " The corn belt of the world is in the sixteen Capper States, and besides, the greatest acreage and the greatest yield of the grain sorghums are in the southwest states of the Capper territory. CORN AND GRAIN SORGHUMS, DEC. 1, 1918, VALUES (U. S. Monthly Crop Reporter.) The sixteen Capper States produce nearly two- thirds of all the corn of the United States. Sixteen Capper States total .$2,184,722,000; 32 other states total $1,440,678,000. Capper States. Bushels. Value. Kansas 03,630,000 .$95,009,000 Nebraska 123,080.000 157,550.000 Missouri i:;:;.s(lo,oon 101.420. OOO Oklahoma 39.(;:!5.0(io (;2,8(;5,()oo Texas ;i.';.075,0(io 157.552.000 Iowa 375.i;-j4.oon 45s, 201.000 Illinois .•',51.450.0110 421.740.000 Indiana 1(;9,.5.54.000 2Ol,70!i.000 Minnesota 110,000.000 122.100.000 Wisconsin 09,538,000 90,399.000 So. Dakota 108.188.000 119.007.000 No. Dakota 9.190.000 11,955,000 Arkansas 35.100.000 0.3.180.000 Colorado 12,815.000 17,492.000 Wyoming 1.000.000 1,400,000 New Mexico 7,832,000 13,023,000 The Kingdom of the Hog Corn, alfalfa and hogs are the bulwark of the Mid-West farmer's prosperity. The relation to tractor farming is obvious. The Capper territory has ninety-five per cent of the Poland China hogs (the most widely distributed breed) of the United States. PUREBRED POLAND CHINA HOGS IN THE UNITED STATES 1918 (1) Of this most widely distributed and representa- tive breed of hogs, the sixteen Capper States have nineteen-twentieths of all in the United States. Sixteen Capjjer States 371,760, 95% of all in U. S.; 32 other states 19,480, 5% of all in U. S. Capper States. No. Head. Per Cent. Kansas 48,8.80 13.14* Nebraska 09,720 18.75* Missouri 113,000 30.55* Oklahoma 22,120 5.95* Texas 19,960 5,36* Iowa 07,080 18,04* Illinois 9,300 2.50* Indiana 2.040** Minnesota 1.600** Wisconsin 680** So. Dakota 5,600 1.50* No. Dakota 480** Arkansas 5.4.S0 1.40* Colorado 2,720** Wyoming 240** New Mexico 200** * Percentage of all in U. S. ** Less than one per cent of total for U. S. (1) Estimate based on registrations for 1918 in the .smaller of two Poland China records. hiiportant Changes in Crops in 1920 Reduced acreage of winter wheat indicates a record acreage of corn and other cultivated crops in 1920. The official estimate of the U. S. Bureau of T'rop Estimates (Dec. 15, 1919) shows a decrease of 23.2 per cent of winter wheat sown for 1920 crop as compared with the seeding for 1919. This leaves 11,719,000 acres in the United States on which wheat was grown in 1919 which will be devoted to other crops. This indicates abnormally large planting of corn in the spring of 1920 and probably a large increase in acreage utilized for other cultivated crops. In- crease in hay crops will probably be normal as these crops for the most part require a year for preliminary seeding. Alfalfa acreage shows a nonnal increase. 50 POTENTIAL MARKET FOR TRACTORS IN THE 16 CAPPEK STATES CAPPER STATES Number Kansas ( 1 ) 40,225 Nebraska ( 1 ) 33,545 Missouri ( 3 ) 37,125 Oldahoma (2) 22,500 Texas (3 ) 35,221 Iowa (1) 4.5,syy Illinois (1 ) 41.259 Indiana ( 1 ) :il,3?A Minnesota ( 1 1 4S,4G0 Wisconsin ( 1 ) Gl,517 South Dalvota ( I ) 24,870 North Dalvota ( 1 ) 20,405 Arkansas (3 ) 11,012 Colorado (2 ) 13,790 Wyoming (2) 4,205 New Mexico ( 3 ) 8,647 Total 4.89,620 Every farm of 100 acres or more operated by the owner is a potential market for a tractor. No. tenant operated farms are included in above computation. (1) Potential sales estimated as 70% of all farms over 101) acres operated by owners. (2) Potential sales estimated as 00% of all faiTus over 100 acres operated by owners. (3) I'otential sales estimated as 50% of all farms over 100 acres operated by owners. P.asic figures from U. S. Census, 1910. Estimated increase in potential market for tractors due to increased acreage under cultivation 10 per cent of figures given in table. Compiled by Bureau of Research THE CAPPER FARM PRESS. TRACTORS IN THE UNITED STATES STATE EXPERIMENT STATION ESTIMATES JANUARY 1, 1920. CAPPER STATES Othef Tractors States Tractors Other States Tractors Kansas 8,689 Nebraska 7,292 Missouri 8,368 Oklahoma 795 (1) Texas 10.000 Iowa 9,000 Illinois 12,000 (2) Indiana 1,852 (1) Minnesota Alabama 400 Arizona 23 ( 1 ) California 15,000 Connecticut 47 ( 1 ) Delaware 100 Florida 71 ( 1 1 Georgia 543 ( 1 ) Idaho 262 (1) Wisconsin 2,800 So. Dakota 1,527 (1) No. Dakota 2,137 (1) Arkansas 336 (1) Colorado .525 (1) Wyoming 186 (1) New Mexico 375 1,575 (1) Kentucky 1.800 Louisiana 2,000 Maine 400 Maryland 1.000 Massaclnisetts 91 ( 1 1 Michigan 945 ( 1 ) Mississippi 377 ( 1 ) Montana 80S ( 1 ) Nevada New Hampshire New .lersey . . . New York No. Carolina . . Ohio Oregon Pennsylvania . Rhode Island . , So. Carolina . . Teiniessee .... Utah Vermont Virginia Washington . . . West Virginia . ■ 19 (1) . 23 (1) . 107 (1) .1,210 (1) . 452 (1) .7,500 . 318 (1) ,3,700 . 80 . 387 (1) .1,800 . 700 . 175 .2,.500 . 209 (1) . 90 (1) Total in the 16 CAPPER STATES. 67,457. 50% of states reporting Jan. 1, 1920. Total in the 32 Other States, 43.137. 44% of states reporting .lanuary 1, 1920 Total in United States. 110,.594. (1) 1917 Figures. (2) Estimated 20% increase over .Ian. 1. 1919. Compiled by Bureau of Research THE CAPPER FARM PRESS. 51 1. " 3 Oh O .. 6 IS 1 H O a COiMCOi-'O". irtOOlfS'Xi.-l 1 1 .-1 ,— ,-. r-l M C-l !M M -^ M- COcOOOfMOtniMOt-i ^ I- (M M ID (- t- CO >-H t- < OJC-. t-c-ooint-oo WNWM May 10, 1919 Three July 10. 1919 Two July 25, 1919 One September 25, 1919 One October 25, 1919 One December 10, 1919 Major Tractor Articles Date Kansas Farmer and Mail and Breeze : Two January 4, 1919 Xliree January 11, 1919 One January 18, 1919 One February 1, 1919 Two February 8, 1919 One February 22, 1919 One March 8, 1919 T\vo Marcli l.">. 1919 One April .">. 1919 One April 12. 1919 Two May 3, 1919 One May 31, 1919 One J'lue 14, 1919 One July 5, 1919 Four .Tuly 12. 1919 Three July 20, 1919 One Augu.st 9, 1919 One August 30, 1919 One September 13, 1919 One October 11. 1919 One November 15, 1919 One November 29, 1919 One December 6, 1919 One January 24, 1919 A Partial Tractor Bibliography: Period- ical and Book. For direct reference t( issue of i>ulilirati(ins index. Example; l!all I'.rarins Tractors. See Design, D, Item 2, Refer to Cross Index under Scientific American, Item D-2. for volume, page and date. INDEX Aitachmeiits A ('ultivating B Demonstrations C Design ^ Development ^ Ditching F Efficiency C" Eiectrie Tractors H Food Situation 1 General J Harvesting K Hauling A' Horse and Tractor M Large Farm Tractors N Odd Jobs O Operation P Plowing ^ Road Work ^ Schools, Tractor S Small Farm Tractors T War, Tractors in U BIBLIOGRAPHICAL CROSS INDEX PERIODICALS No Publication Vol. Page Date R. 1 American City 19 313-15 Oct., 1918 R. 3 American City H in-13 July. 1917 R. 4 American City ^0 . .527-S June. 1919 R. 6 American City 2o4/J^-20 Mar.. 1919 R. 7 American City 20"''^524-6 June, 1919 J. 11 Country Life 33 llfi-i Nov., 1917 M. 5 Country Life 37 70-2 Nov., 1919 J. IB Current Opinion fil 350-1 Nov., 1916 M. 2 Current Opinion 02 219 Mar., 1917 J. G English Magazine 49 750-2 Aug., 1917 G 1 Farmers Bulletin 963 1-30 191S J. 6 Farmers Bulletin 1004 1-27 191S J. 21 Farmers Bulletin 1035 1-32 1919 M. 1 Farmers Bulletin 719 1-24 1916 J. 22 Forum 61 494-501 .\pril. 1919 P. 4 Garden Magazine 29 29-31 Feb.. 1919 No. Publication Vol. Page Date B. 1 Illustrated World 27 725 July, 1917 C. 2 Illnsli:ii.d World 30 289-92 Oct., 1918 J 10 Illiisli.it.il World 26 77-S2 Sept. 1916 J. 23 Illii.'^iiMt.Ml World 31 879-80 Aug. 1919 J. 24 lUuKtruted World 31 846 Aug. 1919 V. 6 Illustrated World 30 375-8 Nov. 1918 J. 14 Independent 95 388-9 Sept. 21, 1918 J. 16 Independent 94 321 May 25.1918 M. 3 Independent 86 337 May 29. 1916 S. 1 Industrial Arts Magazine S 508-10 June. 1919 P. 5 Kansas State Agricul- tural College. Div. of Col. Extension circular. 13 1919 P. 6 Kansas State Agricul- tural College, Div. of Col. Extension circular. 16 1919 n. 17 r>iterary Digest 61 28 May 31, 1919 J. 1 IJterary Digest 59 24 Nov. 23, 1918 ,r. 3 Literary Digest 51 1231 Nov. 27, 1915 J. 5 Literary Digest '51 12-19-20 Nov. 27, 1919 J. 20 Literary Digest 62 26 Aug. 30. 1919 S. 2 Literary Digest 60 46 Jan. 4, 1919 U. 4 Literary Digest 57 23 June 8, 1918 U. 5 Literary Digest 53 891 Oct. 7, 1916 J. 28 Okla. Farmer. Tractor Facts 1919 J. 7 Outlook 110 760-7 .Sept. 28, 1915 J. 7 Outlook 116 334-5 June 27, 1917 A. 1 Scientific American Ill 196 Sept. 15. 1917 C. 1 S.i.iitifi.- .\inerican 119 35 Nov. 2, 1918 D. 1 .s, i, iiiiii. AmericaTh- 116 323 Mar. 31. 1917 n. 2 SrMiiiiii, American 116 388 April 21. 1917 D. 3 .■^. I. lit 111. American 118 458 May 18. 1918 D 4 s. i.iititi. A li.tiii 115 554 Dec. 16, 1916 V. 5 S.I. lit III.' Aiii.ii. :ui 119 132 Aug. 17, 1918 D 6 S.i.iititi. \iii.ii.,iii 113 344 Oct. 16. 1915 r,' 7 .s iiitiii. Am. II. an US 100-1 July 29, 1916 -> ,S S.I. I, till.' \iii.ii.:,ii lis 76 Jan. 19, 1918 n 9 S. mil till. A 111.' I I, till 119 54 Julv 20, 1918 U 111 S i.iiiili. \iii.ii.,.ii 111 525 Dec. 26, 1914 D 11 Sii.iil 111. \. 11. 11. tin lis 109 Feb. 2, 1918 D 12 S.i.iitili. American 117 479 Dec. 22. 1917 d' 13 S. 1. lit \morican 119 396 Nov. 16, 1918 d' 14 S.i.iitni. American 114 512 May 13, 1916 D 15 S.I. Ill 111. .\merican 114 327 Mar. 25, 1916 • d' 16 S.i.iitiii. American 116 498 May 19, 1917 D IS S.I. unit. American 120 662 June 21, 1919 D 19 S. 1.1. nil. American 120 122 Feb. 8, 1919 d' "ii s.t.iitiii. \inerican 119 482 Dec. 14, 1918 d' 21 S.i.iitiii. \merican US 260 Mar. 23, 1918 D i.> s. I. til It 1. American 114 106 Jan. 22, 1916 e' "i s.i.iiiiti. American 119 516 Dec. 28, 1918 E' 2 S.I. tit II I. .\inerican 117 383 Nov. 24, 1917 p' 1 S.I. iititi. American 82 228 Oct. 7,1916 a " s.i.iiiili. American 115 96-7 July 29. 1916 O' 3 S. i.tiiili. American 121 90 July 26, 1919 H 1 S.I. 1. American 119 318 Oct. 19, 1918 h' ■■ S.i.iiIiH. American 116 286 Mar. 17. 1917 H 3 S.i.iiiili. .\merican 114 106 Jan. 22, 1916 [ ■ 1 s.i.tiiili. .\merican 119 396 Nov. 16. 1918 J -J s.i.iitiii. American 117 3S3 Nov. 24. 1917 J. 4 s.i.titiii. American 81 282-3 April 29, 1916 J 9 S.i.iitHi. American 118 17 Jan. 5. 1918 J 12 S.i.iiiili. .\merican 117 274 Oct. 13, 1917 J. 13 Sciriitirn- American 119 92 Aug. 3, 1918 J IS .Scieniific American 113 471 Nov. 27, 1915 J 19 .Scientific American US 260 Mar. 23, 1918 j! 25 Scientific American 120 232 Mar. 8, 1919 K 1 Scientific American 112 612 June 19, 1915 L 1 Scientific American 118 15 Jan. 5, 1918 L. 2 Scientific American 116 S6 Jan. 20. 1917 L 3 ScicTltific American 114 406 April 15, 1916 L 4 S.'i..|iiiri.' Aiii.ii.aii 116 194-5 May 19, 1917 M. 4 Sii.tiiiti. \ii...i.;iii IIS 343 April 13, 1918 O. 1 S. 1. 1. \ II. an 119 290 Oct. 12, 1918 P. 1 S.i.iitiii. Aiii.Ti.'an 119 358 Nov. 2, 1918 P. 2 S.i.ailiti. .\merican 115 330 Oct. 7, 1916 p .3 S.I. tit 111. .\merican 119 358 Nov. 2, 1918 q' 1 s. fill 111. .\merican 119 318 Oct. 19, 1918 R 2 S.i.iiiilt. American 117 479 Dec. 22, 1917 r' 5 Scieiitili. Am. a i. 1(11 115 374 Oct. 21, 1916 T 1 Scientil'i. \in.ii.tin 114 80 Jan. 15, 1918 T 2 Scientili. Ain.ii.an 112 304 April 3, 1915 t' 3 Scientili.' Am.ii.-an 112 306-S April 3, 1915 U 2 Scientific American 117 22 July 14, 1917 U 3 Scientific American 116 600 June 16, 1917 U. 7 Scientifc American 119 125 July 17, 1918 E. 3 Sc. Am. Quarterly 227 194-202 Jan., 1917 M. 6 Successful Farming 1919 J. 17 Sunset 94 321 May 25, 1918 N. 1 Technical World 23 340-2 May, 1915 IT. 1 Touchstone 2 606-11 Mar., 1918 J. 29 Tractor Field Book Farm Implement News —Chicago 1918 J. 30 Tractor Field Book Farm Implement News —Chicago 1917 U. 8 World's Work oa 363 Feb.. 1918 A. Attachments : 1. Ti-actor attacliiiu'iits for pleasnro car chassis- Scientific American. B. Cultivating : J. Cultivating curn liy tractor>^ -Illn;. Xovel French agricultural tractor — Scientific American. 10. Powerful motor tractors — Scientific American. 11. Steel mule that drives like a liorse — J. M. Baird ; Scientific American. 12. Track laying truck-tra. Common tractor trouldes — H. H. Fenton. Kansas State Agricultural College. G. The Farm Shop — H. H. Fenton. Kan^ts State Agricultural College. 7. Discussion of tractor servici' — H. C. P.uffington ; i:)e:it Parrel t. Tractor Service. Q. Plowmg : 1. Gasoline tracttn- for calih Scientific American. 2. Power and the plow — L. W. Elli A. Kumely. R. Road Work: 1. Building reads witli a tractor — W. Evans; Amer- can City. plewing-diagram — nil Edward 2. Tra<-tor and trailer for mad work — Scientifit.' American. ;'.. Value of a tractor in building earth roads — J. B. Woods: American City. 4. Adaptable motor equiupment for road mainte- nance plan — American City. •"p. Truck tractor for highway construction — Scien- tific American. li. Tractor in road work — ]. F. Phy ; American City. 7. Grading with tractors and heavy blade graders — Am(>rican City. s. The Art of Road Making — Harwood Frost. Mem- ber (if American Society of Mechanical Engineers. S. Schools, Tractor: 1. I'aliforiiia's traveling tractor school- — J. C. Bes- wick : Indeepndent Arts Magazine. 2. Authoritative statements on farm tractor prog- ress and education — J. F. Cook ; Literary Digest. T. Siiiail-type Farm Tractors: 1. IJght weight ga.« tractor for the farm — Scientific American. 2. Small farm tractin's — Scientific Anieriiaii. 3. Progress in small farm tractors — L. W. Ellis; Scientific American. I'. War, Tractors in; L Farm tractorf^. war and women — Touchstone. 2. Tractor l)ehind tlie lines — Scientific American. .".. Tractors and the war — Scientific American. 4. Tractors replace dr.-ifled men — Literary Digest. .". Conquering lieavv roads in Frame — Literary Digest. (;. Mechanical army mules— H. Sheldon ; Illustrated World. 7. Motor trucks in llie war — Scientific Ann^rican. 5. American tract. PHYSICAL CONDITIONS. Chart 2 — Natural home of the tractor in the great al- luvial basin between the Alleglianies and the Rock- ies — p. !). Chart 3 — Rainfall b.v months of various sections — p. 10. Chart 4 — The abilit.v of tractor to jijow deeply and sea.sonably. etc — p. 11. Chart 5 — Value of early plowing for winter wheat — p. 12. Table 6— How different methods of plowing affect winter wheat yields — p. 13. Chart 8 — Grain sorghum belt — p. l."i. Chart 13 — Percentage of suiishiiK — p. I'.i. Chart 27 — Increased production demands deep plow- ing — p. 33. Chart 2!) — Need of moisture conservation — p. 30. Chart 30 — Average hourly velocity of wind — p. 42. Illustration 31 — Tractors used in harvest fields can go on uo matter how- hot the weather gets — p. 43. PROGRESS AFFECTING TRACTORS. Illustration 1 — Hand-sowing of grain before farm ma- chinery revolutionized agriculture — Modern power- farming In the wheat belt. ( )ne operation plows, harrows and sows the crop — p. S. Chart 7 — Wheat yields under ilifferent treatment — jiractical only with tractor — p. 14. Illustration 24 — The day is gone when hired hands were so plentiful they were in each other's way — p. 30. llliistraticm l'."i The tractor will work at niglit when crops must lie .saved — p. 31. lllustralioii 2(i — From cradle to McCormick binders and then ti-actors— p. 32. territory present and pros- TRAt^TOR MARKET. Chart 20 -Tractor salt pective p. 2(i. Talile 21- -Potential market for tractors in the IG Capper States — p. 27. Chart 22 — The potential market for a half-million tractor.s— p. 28. Chart 23 — Where market conditions lavor immediate .sale of tractors. . . . - p. 211. rSES OF TRACTORS. Illustration If)— odd .jobs of belt work make the trac- tor an all-round machine — p. 22. Table 17 — Estimate of tractors in use — p. 23. Illustration IS — Nine horses and three men doing the work of one tractor — p. 24. Illustration 19 — This man is doing the work of at least two men and eight horses.... — p. 25. Illustration 25 — The tractor will work at night when crops nuist be saved — p. 31. Illustration 2.S — Intensive motor farming. Planting. plowing and harrowing at one operation — p. 35. Illustration 31 — Tractor used in harvest fields can go on no matter how hot the weather gets — p. 43. Illustration 32 — Tractor one of the most valuable ma- cliines on the farm in making .seedbeds for wheat — p. 44. Illustration 33 — Harvester-thresher operated by two nu'n — p. 45. ADDITKtNAL TABLES AS FOLLOWS: Value of all farm property — p. 49. A'alue of all crops — p. 49. Relative increase in value of all farm property — p. 49. Wheat, 191. S values— p. 50. Corn and grain scu'ghums, December 1. 1918. values — p. 50. Purelired Poland China hogs in the I'nited States 191.8— p. .-)0. Potential Market for tractors — p. 51. Tractors in the I'ldted States — p. 51. Table on Crop .\creage b.v years — p. 52. SUBJECT INDEX OF "THE TRACTOR" ATTITUDE OF COUNTRY BANKERS. 1. Attitude of country banJvers — p. 45. 2. Northwestern experience — pp. 45-46. 3. Oklahoma opinion — p. 45. 4. Quality of opinion — p. 4(1. ADVERTISING. 1. Advertising — p. 29. 2. Concentrated media — p. 38. 3. Conclusion — The Capper Farm Press and its sup- port of power farming — p. 48. 4. Creating consumer demand — p. 38. 5. How advertising helps — p. 38. 6. The best media— p. 38. APPLICATION OF TRACTORS TO MODERN FARMING METHODS. 1. A new farming — p. 31. 2. Consumption — p. 31. 3. Decrease in farm population — pp. 32-33. 4. Farm labor — pp. 31-32. 5. Flexibility — p. 22. 0. Irrigation and the tractor — p. 30. 7. Power farming — p. ^3. 8. Production — pp. 30-31. 9. The new farming again — p. 31. 10. The new age — p. 34. 11. The reason why — p. 11. 12. Tractor savings — p. 21. CLIMATIC CONDITIONS. 1. Climatic influences — 4ip. 10-11. 2. Practical proof — pp. 11-12. 3. The reason why — p. 11. 4. The big problem — p. 12. COMPARISON OF HORSE AND TRACTOR. 1. A i)lace for the horse— p. 23. 2, Additional table of figures on relative cost, cost of operation, relative efficiency of horse and trac- S^, tor labor in all crop and farm operations — pp. 17-18-19. 3. Additional factors in comparing horse and trac- tor— p. 21. 4. Another set of figures — p. 20. 5. Cost of horse power, maintenance of versus cost of tractive power, cost of fiiel.s (gasoline and ker- osene — p. 17. G. Cost of food consumption for horse during entire year — p. 21. 7. Comparison of relative cost of horse and tractor —p. 16. 8. Current potential figures — p. 2(3. 9. Exact figures — p. 24. 10. Horse versus tractor — p. 1('>. 11. Horse — incomplete power unit in wheat and corn belt— p. 10. 12. Horse preponderance — p. 20. 13. Horse l-lO—tractor 1-3— p. 17. 14. Misunderstanding — p. 24. 15. Overloading hor.se and overloading tractor — p. 25. 16. Percentage of tractor substitution — pp. 20-27. 17. Reserve power — pp. 24-25. 18. Seasonal work — p. 20. 19. The plowing load — p. 24. 20. Tractor savings — p. 21. CORN. 1. Corn— p. 14. CROPS GROWN. 1. Corn— p. 14. 2. Crops grown — p. 10. 3. Grain sorghums — p. 14. 4. New crops — p. 7. 5. Winter wheat — pp. 12-13. DEEP PLOWING. 1. Corn— p. 14. 2. Grain sorghums — p. 14. 3. Other results— p. 15. 4. Plowing — p. 13. 5. Winter wlieat — pp. 12-13. FUELS. 1. Gasoline vs. kerosene — p. 43. 2. Which fuel— p. 43. GEOGRAPHICAL CONDITIONS. 1. Another boundary — possibility of going farther west — pp. 9-10. 2. Boundary of tractor belt — p. 0. 3. Extra markets— pp. 29-30. 4. Tractor farm.s — horse efficiency limited — p. 9. 5. The Middle West — ideal tractor market — p. 0. GRAIN SORGHUMS. 1. Grain sorghum.s- -p. 14. HISTORY. 1. A new era begins — p. 7. 2. A change for the better — p. 7. 3. Adoption of gas engine — p. 7. 4. New crops — p. 7. 5. Not only true but interesting — p. 7. 6. Parallel incrca.se of farm wealth aiul use of farm machinery — p. S. NUMBER OP TRACTORS. 1. Current pfitential figures — p. 20. 2. Estimating the number of tractors — p. 22. OBJECTIONS. 1. Fann objections — p. 41. 2. Difference of opinion — pp. 42.43. 3. Service— p. 37. 4. i-'pecific objections — p. 42. 5. Standardization — preferred types — p. 42. 6. Tractor repair service — pp. 39^1 inclusive. OPERATION AND MECHANISM OF TRACTOR. 1. Another warning — p. 25. 2. Attached implements^ — pp. 43.44. 3. Average tractor life — p. 25. 4. Difference of opinion — pp. 42-43. Education necessary — p. 34. Exact figures — p. 24. Gasoline vs. kerosene — p. 43. Inexpert operators — p. 37. Life of tractor— p. 23. Misunderstanding — p. 24. More data— ^ type of tractor — p. 23. Need of standardization — pp. 35-36. Overload warning from an exi)ert — p. 24. I'lowing load — p. 24. Reserve power — pp. 24-25. To resume — tractor life — p. 25. Tractors not perfect — p. 34. Tractor improvement — p. 34. Tractor trouble — p. 40. Tractor training — pp. 40-41. Service — p. 37. Which fuel— p. 43. PHYSICAL CONDITIONS. 1. A new farming — p. 31. 2. Climatic ((jnilitions— pp. 10-11. 3. Consumption — p. 31. 4. Corn— p. 14. 5. Crops grown — p. 10. 6. Extra market.s— pp. 20-30. 7. Farm objections — p. 41. 8. Grain surghunis — p. 14. 9. Irrigation and the tractor— p. .30. 10. Increased sales — p. 45. 11. Limitations of the horse — p. 13. 12. Northwestern experience — pp. 45-46. 13. Other results — p. 15. 14. Plowing — p. 13. 15. Practical proof — pp. 11-12. 16. The reason why — p. 11. 17. The big problem — p. 12. IS. The reverse process — p. 35. 19. The new farming again — p. 31. 20. Work done in season — p. 20. 21. Winter wheat— pp. 12-13. RELATION OF TRACTOR TO THE NEED OF INCREASED PRODUCTION. -p. (. -p. 7. 1. A new era begins — p. 7. 2. A change for the better- 3. Adoption of gas engine- 4. Consumption — p. 31. 5. Increased sales — p. 45. 6. New crop.s — p. 7. 7. Other results — p. 14. 8. Production— pp. .30-31. 9. Power farming — p. .33. 10. The age of machinery— 11. The reason why — p. 11. 12. The new age — p. 34. STANDARDIZATION. 1. Effects of standardization— p. 37. 2. Governing factors- p. 36. 3. Need of standardization — pp. 3.5-36. 4. Preferred types — p. 43. 5. Selling methods — pp. 36-.37. 6. Service — p. 37. 7. State standardization — p. 38. S. Tests— p. 47. TRACTOR MARKET. 1. Advertising — p 19. A new farming — p. 31. Again the dealer — p. 44. Complete selling service — p. 44. Conclusion — Capper Farm Press and its support of power farming — p. 48. Consumption — p. 31. Current potential tractor figures — p. 26. Dealer — p. 44. Decrease in farm population — pp. 32-33. Effects of standardization — p. 37. Error in estimating the potentiality of tractor sales — p. 23. Extra markets — pp. 29-30. Farm labor— pp. 31-32. Governing factors — p. 36. 15. Horse pi-epoiulerance — p. 26. 10. How advertisiiiK hflp.s — p. 38. 17. Irrigation am] the tractor — p. 30. 18. Life of tractor— p. 23. li). More data— p. 23. 20. Percentage of tractor substitution — pp. 2G-27. 21. Power farming — p. 33. 22. Present sales — p. 23. 23. Production— pp. 30-31. 24. Proved by experience — pp. 44.45. 25. Otlier determinents of tractor market — pp. 28-2! 26. Selling metliod.s— pp. 36-37. 27. Service— p. 37. 28. Some exceptions — p. 27. 29. Still new markets — p. 30. 30. Summary — p. 27. 31. The Middle West — ideal tractor market — p. 9. 32. Two estimates on number of potential sales- pp. 27-28. 33. Tractor .shows— p. 20. 34. The new farming again — p. 31. 35. Tractor facts— pp. 34-35. 36. The reverse process — p. 35. TRACTOR REPAIR SERVICE. 1. A mistake in foundry — p. 40. 2. Buffington's plan — p. 39. 3. Concrete plan— the traveling repair ship — p. 39. 4. Co-operation — p. 40. 5. Change in designs — p. 40. 6. Service — p. 37. 7. Suggestions as to remedy — p. 39. S. Tractor trouble — p. 40. 9. Tractor training — pp. 40-41. 10. The manufacturer should make good — p. 40. TYPES OP TRACTOR. 1. Change in designs — p. 40. 2. Farm objections — p. 41. 3. More data— p. 23. 4. Preferred types — p. 42. 5. Specific objections — p. 42. 6. To resume — tractor life — p. 25. 7. Tractors not perfect — p. 34. 8. Tractor improvement — p. 34. WINTER WHEAT. 1. Winter wheat — p. 12. You Can Reach the Farmer Only Thru the Agricultural Press 81 Developing M aximum Reader H. P. A GRICULTURE is diversified; soil and climatic ^ ^ conditions are widely varied in different sec- tions. What is seasonable today in the North may be a month old down South. The farmer growing spring wheat is not interested in cotton. ^ Recognizing these truths THE CAPPER FARM PRESS does not try to cover the entire United States, nor even the Midw^est, with a single farm paper. Instead it maintains five distinct editorial staffs, living in and knowing their respective terri- tories from the ground up — and down. Each sec- tion is able to give a close-up service and present timely advice to its subscribers at all times. The Drawbar Pull of Editorial Service qpHE CAPPER FARM PRESS is read by more J- than a million worth-while farm families of the great Central West— the winter wheat belt, alfalfa belt, corn belt, dairy belt, hog belt and tractor belt— the country's "ready-money" belt. It enables adver- tisers to present their sales message to our million farm families with all the force that goes with such enormous circulation, plus the added power from the localized reader interest maintained by the more intimate relations of our editors with their subscri- bers under the sectional plan of editing. The different sections are: CAPPER'S FARMER— Mid-West Trade Territory NEBRASKA FARM JOURNAL-Omaha Trade Territory KANSAS FARMER and MAIL and BREEZE -Kansas City Trade Territory OKLAHOMA FARMER— Oklahoma City and Wichita Trade Territory MISSOURI RURALIST— St. Louis Trade Territory CAPPER FARM PRESS TOPEKA, KANSAS ARTHUR CAPPER, Publisher MARCO MORROW, Ass't Publisher Chicago New York Detroit Kansas City St. Louis Omaha Oklahoma City < Uf'l>rJiit**il from doiihle-pu);;*' spread t IMI'LKMKAT A TRACTOR TRAIJK JOURNAL. Already Half Sold These forty-nine manufacturers have advertised their Tractors to over one million farmers thru the different sections of The Capper Farm Press. Goods advertised in such a medium are already half sold before the customer looks for a dealer Advance-KnnM'l.v Co. Allis-Clialiiiers Co. Anieriran Tractor Corporation Appletoii Alfg. Co. Aultnian & Taylor Machinery Co. Avery Co. Bates Machinerj' & Tractor Co. J. I. Case Plow Works J. I. Case T. HI. Co. Cleveland Tractor Co. The Coleman Tractor Corporation Dart Truck & Motor Corporation The Daufh IMfg. Co. Dayton-Dowil Co. Deere & Co. Electric WTieel Co. Bnierson-Brantingham Co. Fordson Tractor Co. The General Ordnance Co. Gray Tractor Co. Hart-PaiT Co. Holt iMfg. Co. The lluber iMfg. Co. Illinois Tractor Co. Indiana Silo and Tractor Co. International Harvester Co. The Iron Horse Tractor Co. .loliet Oil Tractor Co. J. T. Tractor Co. Kinnard & Sons Mfg. Co. LaCrosse Tra«tor Co. Minneapolis Steel & Ma«hinery Co. .^loline Plow Co. .Monarch Tractor Co. Xelson Tractor Co. Nichols & Sheppard Co. Nilson Tractor Co. Pioneer Tractor Co. Rock Island Plow Co. Russell & Co. Samson Tractor Co. Sunflower Tnu'k & Tractor Co. Toro .Hlotor Co. To«iiseiid Mfg. Co. Triunti)h Truck & Tractor Co. Wallis Tractor Co. O. J. Watson Co. Western Electric Co. The Wisconsin Farm Tractor Co. CAPPIR FARM PRESS ARTHUR CAPPER MARCO MORROW Publisher Assistant Publisher TOPEKA, KANSAS CHICAGO NEW YORK DETROIT KANSAS CITY ST. LOUIS OMAHA OKLAHO.MA CITY REPRESENTATIVES OF TheCapF >er Farm Press ARTHUR CAPPER MARCO MORROW Publisher Assistant Publisher Advertising TOPEKA, Capper Building NEW YORK, 501 Fifth Ave. L. R. BOOTH JOSEPH KUNZMANN, Manager FRANK G. ODELL E. J. ROBBINS B. P. BARTLETT PHILIP ZACH C. J. MASSECK J. G. BOYD GUY SCRIVNER A. B. LE STRANGE C. E. SWEET J. G. BRADLEY KANSAS CITY, Graphic Arts Bldg. W. R. CODY M. G. ODELL R. W. MITCHELL, Manager E. C. QUICK J. B. WARREN J. W. LOCKWOOD R. W. LINLEY ROY R. MOORE ELEANOR EAKINS ST. LOUIS, Chemical Bldg. CHICAGO, 109 N, Dearborn C. H. ELDREDGE, Manager L. M. HUTCHINSON J. C. FEELEY, Manager C. C. CLARK OMAHA, Farnam Bldg. S. C. BERBERICK W. M. TEMPLE, Manager B. J. REYNOLDS L. B. McMAHON A. G. WALLACE V. A. LENOIR E. A. OLMS DETROIT, Ford Bldg. OKLAHOMA CITY, Far. Nat. Bank Bldg. M. L. CROWTHER, Manager RAY H. HAUN, Manager ROY EVANS WALTER BASTEDO H. C. SHUTTEE Editorial TOPEKA OFFICE OKLAHOMA CITY OFFICE F. B. NICHOLS JOHN FIELDS T. A. McNEAL GEORGE BISHOP JOHN W. WILKINSON W. A. CONNER G. C. WHEELER SAMUEL O. RICE E. H. WHITMAN OMAHA OFFICE RAY YARNELL A. G. KITTELL T. W. MORSE J. O. SHROYER DR. C. H. LERRIGO B. C. ROE C. E. JABLOW STELLA NASH BERTHA SCHMIDT KANSAS CITY OFFICE MRS. IDA MIGLIARIO SANDERS SOSLAND SAMUEL SOSLAND ST. LOUIS OFFICE GRIDLEY OFFICE JOHN CASE GEORGE JORDAN HENRY HATCH A. A. JEFFREY HARLEY HATCH LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 002 758 702 1 9