TRACTOR AND PLOW USAGE IN THE FIRST BREAKING OF PEAT LAND <xref ref-type="fn" rid="FN1">1</xref>

A tract comprising several acres of “tamarack” swamp, drained with tile the previous fall and cleared of stumpage the following spring, was utilized to obtain accurate information regarding the tractor and the plowing equipment required for the heavy operations of first breaking of the peat soil, which was from 5 to 7 ft. deep. The paper describes the equipment used, gives details of the procedure and presents the data that were obtained.

Three different types of tractor and two types of plow, the latter having either a marsh or a breaker bottom and equipped both with and without a furrow pusher were used. Specifications of the tractors and the plows are given and commented upon, graphs and tabulations of the results being presented also. Power requirements on timbered peat and on grass marsh are compared and the efficiency of the plowing equipment is discussed.