VOL. LX.
INDIANAPOLIS, JULY 8, 1905.
NO. 27
Traction or Steam Power Plowing.
It is more than probable Uiat the advantages to bo derived from no-called
steam or traction plowing are uot fully
appreciated because not well understood.
There are very few sections of this country but that some portions of it may be
handled iu this wholesale way. The object of this article is to throw Borne little
light on the suhject of this traction plowing, its many advantages, and, if possible,
to show its adaptability to all sections of
our country. Tbe readers of this paper,
it they have read and thought about traction plowing—nud by tbis we mean plowing by the aid of traction engines as motive power to pull tbe plows—have very
likely decided that it was all very well for
the large fanners of the Dakotas, Kansas,
California or the Northwest Territories,
ond have dismissed it from their minds
with the thought that it was not adapted
to their use. Now, ns a matter ot fact,
scarce anything could be farther from the
truth.
Very probably the first matter deserving consideration is that of the cost of
plowing and necessarily the comparison
between the cost of horse power and
tteam power for this purpose. When it
comes to the question of actual cost of
plowing, wo encounter a difficult question.
However, taking the average of a large
number of specific reports, it would seem
tbat the cost for the whole country is
about as follows:
For a single plow operated by two
horses, the cost would be about $2.00 per
acre. For a donble plow or gang of two
plows operated by four horses, the cost
would be about $1.50 per acre. -Tliese
figures are supposed to be quite reasonable and are based upon the allowance of
an average of $1.50 per aere for the hire
of a man and team to which figure is added 50 cents per acre as board for
man and team. This presumes the plowing of two acres per day.
Now, in case of the gang plow and four
horses, these, in the plowing season, together with the man and board for both
horses, and man, should be worth $1.25
each, or $G.25. If this outfit plows four
acres per day, which it should do easily,
it would bring the cost per acre for plowing down aliout $1.50 per acre, or, to be
exact, SI .50 per acre.
It is almost certain that someoue will
claim that tlie farmer, having his own
learns and having produced his own feed
imd doing the work himself and boarding
himself, should be able to reduce these
tigUTes. This is not good reasoning from
the fact that a man's time and service
eind that of his team is worth just what he
coald sell it for, or buy similar labor for
iu the open market. Certainly his food
•md the grain and roughage consumed by
his team is worth at all times tlie market
price. It these were not the absolute
facts, it would be an easy thing to
figure out enormous profits in farming,
nnd the business would soon be crowded
to death. Deciding, therefore, that our
figures are fair, and these grounds tenable
let us draw comparisons with the cost of
steam plowing.
A first class traction engine, one built
especially for the steady drag of plowing,
with the necessary hitches, couplings, etc.,
for attachment to plows, will cost around
$2500.00. The life of such an engine, if
pioperly cared for, should come somewhere between 20 and 25 years. This
presumes the. use of the engine for at
hast  100 days  each  year in  spring and
fall, plowing, threshing, hulling clover,
cutting ensilage, husking corn, shredding
fodder ete. Tho cost of repairs should
average annually about as follows: $10
for boiler tul.es; $10 for gearing, aud $10
for other and incidental repairs. This
would make a total of $30.00 per year for
repairs.
To these figures must be added annual
depreciation, interest on the money invested, which, with the aliove repair list,
would bring the total cost of engine and
hitches, etc. up to $100.00 per year. This
sum, divided by the hundred days the outfit should lie iu use, would give us a daily
expense of $1.00 for power. To this must
be added  two men for    handling engine
depth.
Now, just si word as to the practicability of traction plowing. Any pieces of
land which contains 25 acres, if it be clear
of stumps aud stones and reasonably level, may be plowed to advantage with tho
steam outfit. There is not a single community anywhere but that might use such
an outfit to its material advantage.
A man in the country owning an outfit
would not only be able to do practically
all the plowing, at a very much less cost
to the farmers than they could do it themselves, but would also be aide to attend to
the threshing, hulling, husking and shred-
■ting in the season, and the chopping of
grain and sawing of wood in tlie wintor
%%pzxizncz department
•        * )&~ ------ - ^&^W_
,*
xS^swr^y^W^
Traction Engine nnd Gang Dow.
and plows—say $1.75 each or $3.50; one
man and team for hauling water; fuel,
etc., for engine,—which, by the way, will
not fully occupy his time—$3.50; coal, %
ton, fray, $3.00 (other substances may be
used for fuel if cheaper and more convenient). Then there will be oil and sundries,
amounting perhaps to 50 cents. This
brings our total for a three man outfit up
to $14.50.
I.et us be lilx-ral, however, and say that
a fourth man can be used to advantage, j
If he receives   $1.50 per   day,    this will j
bring the cost of a four man outfit up to ]
$10.00  per day.    There  might  be  condi- j
tions, such as well beaten down or packed
soil,     which     would  require    more   fuel j
than    we    have provided for.      To    be
■in the safe side we will add another dollar for this extra fuel and incidentals and j
wc have    the very    liberal    allowance of |
$17.00 as daily expenses of our four man '
outfit. Now this outfit tinder even nominal I
conditions    equipped   with     15    plows (5 j
gangs of three plows each)  should plow
50 acres per day.    This would bring the I
cost per acre for plowing down to 34 cents |
as against $1.50 per acre for plowing with ,
horses   tinder  the  most   favorable  condi-1
tions and the most liberal of wage allow- ]
ances.
In each instance the cost and wear of J
plows bas been left out of consideration]
for that item would be the same whether
steam or horses were used.
There can he no doubt after these deductions but Uiat steam plowing is infinitely cheaper than horse plowing. Then,
too, it is much better plowing, for it
covers absolutely the two great requisites
in plowing which aro to produce furrow
slices of exactly    even width    and even j
time. It is quite a mistaken idea that
steam plowing outfits are adapted to gTeat
stretches and wholesale farming only. A
study of the subject will convince any fair
minded man of the truth of the statements
contained in this article.
Wheaton, III. John C. Hanna.
—We give an illustration of traction
plowing outfit on this page. Our correspondent should also have considered
toe importance in almost every season
of quickly finishing the plowing, as oftentimes when drawn out through many
days and weeks, rains intervene, as during
tbis year, b.v whieh the plowing is delayed
and corn-planting projected so late into
June that a short crop only is secured,
thus cutting much value off of the crop.
The importance of finishing the plowing
quickly both spring and fall will readily
occur to the reader.—Editor.
■ Tlio federal court grand jury at Chicago last week indicated over twenty per
sons connected with the big packing establishments for a violation of the anti-
tiust laws. The jury had lieen in session over three months, making enquiry
into the complaints against them aud
their methods of interfering with the laws
of trade wliich the law against trusts
forbid. It now remains for the courts
to try t/iesc cases and determine the facts
fiom the mass of evidence gathered by
the grand jury.
Hundreds of lives were lost in Central
Mexico in the floods that prevailed tliere
hist week, Friday nnd Saturday. The
streets of towns and cities were filled
with the overflow of streams, and there
was  no  escape.
Cultivate  the  Vineyard.
1st 1'ivmium.—To allow for thorough
cultivation, grapes should not be set closer
loan il feet in the row, with rows 0 or 10
feet apart. While the vines are young,
some garden crop should be grown between the rows. This insures careful
cultivation, besides bciug an economy of
lxith time and space. Any soil that
will produce a good garden will do well
for grapes, and while a coating of well
lotted manure is an aid to the growth of
the vims, an excess of orgauic matter in
the soil is a detriment to them, just the
same as it is to a garden. Ground bone
is an excellent fertilizer for grape vines,
and may be applied at any time during
the season of cultivation. Early spring,
however, when the ground is first plowed,
is the best time for applying fertilizers.
Wood ashes make a good fertilizer for
grapes also, antl may be had in quantity
il carefully saved during the winter
months.
While we often root new varieties from
cuttings set iu the ground in the spring,
we have found that well rooted vines
from reliable nurserymen cost but a trifle,
compared with the labor and time required to raise a sullicient number to sit tici,
si .small vineyard, and we prefer to purchase the rooted ones.
After plowing deep and pulverizing the
soil, thu vines are set, using a ropo at
the ends of which are attached a couple
of stakes, the distance between the two,
when the rope is stretched tight, being 9
feet. A quicker way would be to mark
Ihe rows each way. The soil is packed
iu around the roots and 2 or 3 gallons
of water aro poured around each vine,
after which the moistened dirt is covered
with several shovelfuls of dry dirt, to
prevent the ground from becoming hard.
Cultivation should begin almost immediately. Itua the harrow between the vines
each way, until some crop is planted in
the spaces, then cultivate the growing
crop and the vines together, keeping the
weeds down as much as possible.
While the smooth wire trellis is used
largely by grape growers, we prefer the
single post to each vine, with wooden
braces or arms for the support of the
vine. If made tall enough, they will
accommodate the entire season's growth,
and that is all one desires, since the fruit
is borne on wood of the previous season's
growth, and should be pruned out as fast
as  the  branches   become  useless. The
single post to each vine gives free access
with the cultivator to every side of the
plant.
It is a mistake, after the vines have become established and are several years
old, to allow the space between them to
grow  up  in  weeds  or grass. It does
not take many years of such treatment
to lender a vineyard worthless, as far as
fruit producing is concerned. Cultivation
should be kept up from first to last.
Where the plants become infested by insect pests, dry rot, etc., an occasional
spraying of Bordeaux mixture is beneficial. If the season gives promise of being a dry one, much labor may be saved
by mulching the ground with straw, but
the mulch should not be allowed to remain on very long through extremely wet
weather.
Grapes will give as good returns, according to the amount of work put on
them, as any other fruit crop, and are
nlmost always a good seller.        There is
Continued on page nine.