ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED | JULY 8, 1922 | THE CANADIAN COUNTRYMAN
The relative merits of the tractor and the horse for doing farm work is a question which could be argued until Doomsday without arriving at a conclusion that would be satisfactory to all concerned. The tractor enthusiasts can quote figures to show that the tractor performs work more cheaply than horses, and those who back the horse can produce figures equally convincing to prove that for real economy the tractor is not in it with the horse.
Much of the discussion that has taken place on this subject during the last few months is, in our opinion, beside the point. One of the first things a man has to consider when he is buying a tractor is the cost. When tractors were selling at war prices and farm products were down to almost pre-war levels, a man would naturally think twice before investing in a tractor. There was a considerable drop in the price of tractors, however, this year, and one of the best arguments we know of in favour of the tractor is that quite a large number of tractors have been sold in various parts of Ontario this season. Farmers, taking them as a whole, have got no money to throw away on luxuries or playthings, and if they did not know from observation and the experience of their neighbours that the tractor was a paying investment, they would not buy them - especially under present conditions.
If one wants to get really reliable information about anything, don’t go to the man who sells it, but to the man who uses it. Unfortunately, for some reason or another, neither the Dominion Department of Agriculture or the Provincial Departments of Agriculture have so far conducted a survey among tractor owners in this country to get first hand information as to the merits or otherwise of the farm tractor. In the United States, on the other hand, considerable of this kind of work has been done. In one survey tractor owners reported that they had been able to increase their acreage under crop by an average of 14 per cent., and at the same time reduce the number of work stock kept by about 20 per cent. Of 331 farmers who had had their tractors for over six years, 105 still owned and used them for field work, and 105 had purchased other tractors and used both the for field work; 133 had replaced their old tractors with new ones, and 93 did not use tractors for field work. Of this latter number, 28 used them for belt work only, while 65 of the 331 had discarded them.
One of the greatest advantages of the tractor is that the work can be done quickly. With the short season we have in most parts of Canada, this is a very important consideration. Getting the land prepared early and the crop in at the right time often means the difference between profit and loss. In countries, such as the Old Land, where the land can be worked all the year round, there is not so much need for rushing the work as there is here.
Just as there are some men who are not fit to own a horse, so there are some men who should never own a tractor. One of the chief factors in successful tractor operation is the operator himself. If a man is not prepared to give a little time to studying his tractor, and if he is not prepared to take proper care of it, then he is foolish to waste his money in buying one. However, with reasonable care a tractor should last for ten years or longer, and prove to be one of the most profitable investments a man can make.