THE TRACTOR'S COMPANION

Volume Two - Harvest and Gather

This is the second and final part of the story of farm machinery and its relationship with the tractor. The Tractor's Companion volume 2, progresses to a natural conclusion with the harvesting of an abundance of crops.

With tractor and machinery action at the forefront, Jonathan and Stephen guide us through the evolution of harvesting equipment, from early horse and steam-powered implements to the sophisticated hi-tech machines we know today. The Tractor's Companion volume 2 demonstrates a variety of harvests in the farming year, from hay and silage, to the twenty-four-hour-a-day pea harvest, cereal and straw, and on to lifting root crops. The bailer, in its many shapes and forms, is also put under the spotlight.

Jonathan gives an affectionate insight into the development of the farm tractor and how all its many functions have evolved over the years. From the earliest beginnings, the introduction of the three-point linkage, power take off and the ascendancy of the diesel engine.

This is an amazing record of machinery on the farm, both vintage and modern and of harvesting techniques used during the last century, providing a comprehensive account of this special period of the farming calendar.