. Better fruit. Fruit-culture. Page 14 BETTER FRUIT April. Cutting the Cost Per Box Increases Margin ORCHARD tractors are coming in more strongly each year as a factor in cutting the cost per box, and in the last few years especially the smaller machines have been perfected to a stage where the leading makes, at least, can be depended upon to stand up un- der the work and earn good dividends. Two years ago, thirty motor horse- power was a low rating for a success- ful tractor. A machine of that size was called a "small" tractor. Rut mechan- ical improvements come fast when a start is
. Better fruit. Fruit-culture. Page 14 BETTER FRUIT April. Cutting the Cost Per Box Increases Margin ORCHARD tractors are coming in more strongly each year as a factor in cutting the cost per box, and in the last few years especially the smaller machines have been perfected to a stage where the leading makes, at least, can be depended upon to stand up un- der the work and earn good dividends. Two years ago, thirty motor horse- power was a low rating for a success- ful tractor. A machine of that size was called a "small" tractor. Rut mechan- ical improvements come fast when a start is made in the right direction, and the present small tractors are really small. Good machines—weighing about what four good horses would weigh, costing the price of eight, doing the work of ten and taking up less ground space than two—are now to be had, with a responsible manufacturer's guar- antee behind them. Fifteen to eighteen motor horsepower, and eight to ten horsepower on the drawbar, is now about the average as put out for orchard work. \Miat such a tractor will do and how much money it will save are things that will differ with every farm, but where one man made a thirty-horse- power tractor pay in an orchard, ten can make make money on one of half to two-thirds that size. The type of tractor will also cut quite a figure, as more can be done with some kinds than others. Suppose that one pays the price and gets a tractor fully adapted to or- chard work. Then he could expect to work it about as follows: Sfi to .50 inches of plows is a safe load to handle at 6 or 7 inches deep in orchard or vineyard land that has had time to settle since the last cultivation. That means, at a speed of 2% miles an hour, 8 to 11 acres of plowing per day. The tree rows not plowed will just about make up for the time lost in turns, etc. A double-disc harrow, from 6 to 8 feet wide, according to soil and throw of discs, and sometimes a smoothing har- row behind, should not be too heavy a loa
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