How to Choose a New Garden Tractor

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The John Deere 314 comes equipped with hydrostatic drive, a feature which allows an infinite gear ratio range.
The John Deere 314 comes equipped with hydrostatic drive, a feature which allows an infinite gear ratio range.
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The Case 224 is one of many garden tractors in that firm's
The Case 224 is one of many garden tractors in that firm's "stable" of lawn and garden workhorses.
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Gravely offers a front-mounted mower attachment which makes installation and removal a snap. 
Gravely offers a front-mounted mower attachment which makes installation and removal a snap. 
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The Power King might just be the
The Power King might just be the "ugly duckling" of the lot, but it's still a sturdy, well designed piece of equipment.
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The Ariens GT-17 features a power takeoff unit and 17-horsepower Kohler engine.
The Ariens GT-17 features a power takeoff unit and 17-horsepower Kohler engine.
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This chart compares several quality garden tractors from 1979, all of which have 10 to 20 horsepower range.
This chart compares several quality garden tractors from 1979, all of which have 10 to 20 horsepower range.

It’s a fact: home gardening is becoming more and more popular with each new year. As a result of this backyard growing boom, retail sales of lawn and garden products have — in the United States — increased from $2 billion in 1972 to a projected $14 billion in1979! And while buyers are inundating garden centers with new business, the equipment dealers are swamping their customers with an unbelievable variety of machinery and tools with which to ease their plowing/tilling/mowing chores.

This spring, for example, there were no fewer than 115 different sizes and shapes of new, gasoline-powered, 10- to 20-horsepower garden tractors lining showroom floors across the country . . . with prices ranging from $1,850 (for some of the lesser-known brands) to almost $4,000 (for the most fully equipped, “flashy” models).

Of course, because of the wide variety of machines on the market, there is some question as to what the term “garden tractor” actually means. But, according to the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (which is responsible for sorting out the various categories of lawn and garden machinery), a garden tractor is properly defined as a “self-propelled riding vehicle — designed for general purpose lawn and garden work — which must have all attachments removable . . . and be capable of pulling a plow.”

Why are Garden Tractors so Popular?

Market analysts in the outdoor power equipment industry aren’t exactly sure what’s behind the phenomenal growth of their field, but there are a lot of theories making the rounds. It’s finally being recognized, for instance, that one-family dwellings are on the increase again, and that the “back to the suburbs, back to the country” movement is growing stronger every year.

  • Published on Jul 1, 1979
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