Tractor
Early in the history of agriculture, draft animals replaced humans for such difficult tasks as plowing and pulling heavy loads. More recently, machines have replaced animals in many parts of the world. The most familiar farm machine is the tractor.
The steam tractor was developed in response to the increase in the size of farms during the westward expansion of the United States and Canada. The Case company built the first steam tractor in 1829. Several other companies soon followed with their own machines. Steam tractors (then called portable traction motors or agricultural motors) were extremely large and heavy. The boiler had to be made of cast-iron to contain the heat, and the wheels had to be large and heavy to carry the weight. These tractors were often owned by contractors who offered their services over a certain territory. The tractor would be driven to the edge of the field, where it would remain stationary; it would then reel a plow or other implement across the field along a guide line.
A few mobile tractors were later developed, the first being the French Albaret locotractor of 1856. Despite improved mobility, these machines remained hot, heavy, and difficult to operate. If they broke down in the field, they were nearly impossible to move to a repair site. There was also a constant danger of setting the field ablaze by sparks from the engine.
In 1889, the Burger tractor, the name given to it by its manufacturer, Charter Engine Company of Chicago, had an internal combustion engine affixed to a steam tractor chassis. It was the first gasoline-powered vehicle in America. However, it had so little power that it could not even pull a plow.
The first practical gasoline-powered tractor was built in 1892 by the Van Duze Gas and Gasoline Engine Company of Cincinnati at the request of Iowa farmer John M. Froelich. Its two-cylinder engine had to be constantly pumped by the operator. Weighing nine thousand pounds, it had only thirty horsepower; however, this was an improvement over steam tractors. The first industrial-scale manufacture of gasoline tractors took place at the Hart-Parr tractor company of Charles City, Iowa. Charles Hart and Charles Parr developed their machine in 1901 and started the company two years later. In 1906, they became the first to use the term tractor.
In 1904, American Benjamin Holt developed the caterpillar tractor for the purpose of carrying steam engines more efficiently. At that time some five thousand steam tractors were still being built annually. The track tractor was first used for farm work in 1914 and became the inspiration for the military tank. The Wallace Cub was a smaller, lighter model built in 1913 by the Bull Tractor Company of Minneapolis. It had three wheels--one in front and two in back--for driving in the crop furrows.
With the increase in mechanical implements available to the farmer, the all-purpose Farmall tractor built by International Harvester in 1924 answered the need for versatility and was the first of the light modern tractors.
In 1928, citrus farmers in Florida began to add rubber to their tractor wheels to protect tree roots from damage. The B. F. Goodrich tire company responded in 1931 with solid rubber tires. The next year, Firestone tire company offered inflatable tractor tires; these tended to puncture and did not provide adequate traction. The company switched to water-filled tires.
During the late 1930s, the Irish-English farm machine manufacturer, Harry G. Ferguson (1884-1960), developed the Ferguson tractor system, which integrated the tractor with interchangeable implements. This system was efficient, dependable, and affordable. They were manufactured by the Ford company throughout World War II, after which Ferguson manufactured them on his own.
Four wheel drive and air conditioned cabs added greatly to the comfort and effectiveness of tractors. The gasoline-powered farm tractor played a major role in the transformation of the farm. The number of tractors on farms increased steadily from the 1940s onward, while the number of farms decreased. The development of the tractor was not only a response to change, but also spurred change.
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