Down on the Farm - Art Gallery of Alberta

The Alberta Foundation for the Arts Travelling Exhibition ProgramAgricultural Mechanization continuedIn 1897 Charles Walter Hart and Charles H. Parrformed the Hart-Parr Gasoline Engine Company inCharles City, Iowa. W.H. Williams, Sales Manager in1906, decided the words “traction engine” were vagueand too long to be used in press releases, so he coinedthe word “Tractor”, a combination of the words tractionand power, instead. For this reason, and becausethe Charles City plant was the first to be continuouslyand exclusively used for tractor production, Hart-Parrhas been given the title of “Founders of the TractorIndustry”.Fordson tractorProduction 1917—1964A conventional tractor consists of a driver’s seat between two large wheels. The engine islocated in front of the driver. There are two small steerable tires below the engine compartment.This design has remained the same for almost the whole existence of the tractor. The onlyexceptions are the modern tractors with an enclosed cab for driver comfort and safety. Mostclosed in cabs come with air conditioning and heating. This makes it easier to farm in comfort.Closed in cabs also brought the idea of computers in tractors, since they can be protected.Farm Machinery has made many new advances over the past century. There are now manydifferent brands of mass produced tractors, the most popular over the past century being JohnDeere, Massey-Ferguson, New Holland, and Case IH Tractors.A row-crop tractor is a tractor designed to helpcultivate crops after they have sprouted and beforethey are harvested.There are 5 pedals within a modern tractor. Thereis the clutch, to disengage the transmission. Thereis a left rear wheel brake and a right rear wheelbrake. These help the driver control the tractorduring turns. There is a differential lock pedal. Thisassures that the same amount of power is givento both back wheels, thus preventing slipping. Thedifferential lock has to be taken off during turns sothat the wheels can operate separately. The lastpedal is the throttle. The throttle works much likethat of a car throttle. In tractors, there is also a handoperated throttle that ensures that the tractor goesthe same speed up and down the different rows.AFA Travelling Exhibition Program, Edmonton, AB. Ph: 780.428.3830 Fax: 780.421.0479youraga.ca