eveloped in the late 1890s, the tractor (from TRACtion moTOR) revolutionized the American farming industry. With these remarkable gasoline engines, power could be transmitted to combines, hay balers, and mowers. Plus the new machine was more powerful than animals, never tired, and could cultivate more land, yielding more crops. Today, tractors are built in many shapes and sizes for specialized jobs from building dams to mowing our backyards.