The Latest Motor Horse.
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Particulars of a Remarkable Tractor for the Farm are to hand from Detroit, U.S.A. The Rein Control is Unique.
From the earliest days of motoring, the idea has been in men's minds of a small tractor which could be hitched on to any form of vehicle and do the work of the horse—a motor horse in fact. As far back as 1896, in the very beginning of things here, for instance,
Harry J. Lawson took out a patent for a. " motor horse," which was. to be put between the shafts of a hansom cab, or any other vehicle. But the idea died a natural death, as many other attempts at the same end have done since. But success comes to the persevering, and now it appears that a really practical development of this ideal has taken place and a, machine has been produced which will take the place of a team of four horses and can be hitched up to and used indiscriminately with any standard agricultural machine. Replacing the horses and pulling the machine, it will haul a plough, roller, disc, har
row, seeder, binder, harvester, mower, spreader or farm wagon, and, used as a stationary engine, it can be belted up to any of the farmer's fixed machines, and, so used, it will run the corn sheller, threshing machine, silo filler, winnower, cream separator, lighting plant, saw, cement mixer, or any other machine of the kind.
It is, in short, a portable engine as well as a tractor, and, what is more, it is a "one-man " machine, as it does not, when working farm machinery, require one man to drive the tractor and another to work the machine, but the operator sits in the seat of the machine and controls both machine and engine from there. In this respect it is unique, as also is it in the method of control, which is by means of reins. Just like a horse, in fact, so that there need be little difficulty in getting farm hands to do the work. The machine is built by the Detroit Tractor Co., of Detroit, Michigan, and is the result of 15 years of successive experiments in the actual work of a farm by a prac tical agriculturist. It consists of two large wheels with wide, flat grouters on the tread faces, with an engine mounted above them and a long "tail," or connecting bar, in the rear.
Time engine is a four-cylinder water-cooled one of 41in. bore and 5+ in. stroke, rating 27.2 h.p., fitted with Bosch magneto and carburetter adapted to consume heavy oil when once started on petrol. The main axle is 3..1, in. cold rolled steel, and the engine is connected up with it by means of a16 in. cone clutch and differential gear, whilst it is also arranged to operate the steering by frictional contact with the steering mechanism, and thus take the very heavy work of steering the large, heavy, wide wheels, on heavy -or any other—land off the driver. A 30-gallon fuel tank is mounted above the engine and a substantial radiator, with centrifugal pump, in front. There are two gears only, forward and reverse, and the travelling speed is 2 m.p.h. to 4 m.p.h., according to engine speed. The drawbar or " tail" referred to above is of 5 in. seamless steel tube, and a drawbar pull of 1600 lb. is developed through it, the weight of the entire tractor being 5500 lb. The control is one of the most remarkable things about it, as it is effected entirely by three reins. Two of these do the steering, as with a horse, a light pull on either one or the other connecting up the engine friction pulley with the steering drum, and turning the wheels in the direction required, whilst a pull on the third rein shifts the gear from neutral to forward or reverse. A pull on both • the steering reins together releases the clutch and, for use in very hilly country, a fourth rein may be added, pulling on which will operate the brakes.
For use when the machine is being moved about by itself, a small seat and pair of trailing wheels is bolted up to the rear end of the drawbar, as shown in the illustration. But when it is required to draw a farm wagon, or piece of agricultural machinery, this is removed and the end of the drawbar hitched on at the pulling point of the trailed vehicle, so that the driver, sitting in the usual seat, can work the -levers controlling the machinery, just as if it were being drawn by a team of horses, and, at the same time, control the tractor with the reins, as shown in the smaller illustrations, the length of the rein, of course, making it immaterial as to just how far the driver may be from his engine.
For use on extra-soft ground, extension flanges are provided, which will increase the width of the wheel faces, and, for very heavy ground in field work, detachable cones are provided which enable them to get a driving grip. The tractor will do the work of a team of four horses at one time, and, as it can, of course, work all day without a rest and can be coupled up with any of the farm vehicles, it is claimed that it will replace in the work of a farm at least two such teams. Its adaptability is great, and it may prove one of the most remarkable developments of the motor for agricultural use yet heard of.