What Kind of Tire Is This

I found this Ford 4000 on CraigsList in South Georgia and it has rear tires line none I've seen before. Thought they might be irrigation equipment tires but Google didn't turn up any that looked like these with the center lug a continuous surface. Is this a special kind of tire or just odd looking? Thanks.
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In New Zealand in the 1940s Firestone sold a tyre rather like that but much lighter bars. The advertising films came from USA and British Fordson Majors (E27N) often came fitted with them.The idea was that with the continuous centre rib corn stalks in wet ground had no gaps to get caught in and create an almost smooth tyre. Guess it made a big deal from one situation. The bars were curved as they went to the outside of the tyre. The pattern didn't seem to last too long and Firestone also brought out a similar pattern but with all straight bars. I presume a lot comes down to patent rights.
 
That ad about Titan tires for parade and on-road use certainly makes sense. The ad says limited production so maybe that's why they're not very common. It's not my tractor so no way to know how many plys or where the tires came from. Interesting. Thanks for the information.
 

Looks like some of the early style rice tires, friend had a combine with tires like that years ago, said it came from Arkansas where a lot of rice was grown.
 
I googled 'rice and cane tires' and found a bunch of pix but not one that matches the tires shown on that 4000 in my original post. However, they all have huge lugs and sort of a center lug. Wonder it that center lug acts sort of like a keel to a boat to keep the tire from sliding right or left? Will try to post a pic of one version of the tire.
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I'd say rice/cane tire, too. I have one, a Firestone I think, as part of a set of duals. It still has good lug depth compared to a
regular ag tire, but is worn enough that the lugs are even with the center rib, much like your picture. I don't know if the center
rib is there to limit side-slip, or to stabilize those deep lugs.
 
Hadn't thought about the possibility of stabilizing the lugs. That certainly seems likely for those deep lug tires that were in the pic that I posted earlier. Is that also the case for ag tires? My tires are relatively new and have a slightly turned down section at the end of the lug near the middle of the tire. Is that the reason for that turned down section? I can see how that would help add strength to the overall lug.
 
FORD Engineers were constantly trying to find the perfect tire tread that would work in all soil conditions. Harvey Firestone and Henry Ford were very good buddies, part of the infamous 'Four Vagabonds' (see LINK below) who also included Thomas Edison and John Burroughs. They spent weeks, months traveling around the country camping in remote areas of the USA. Ford and Firestone families were married into each other at one point. Martha (Firestone) Ford, daughter of Harvey Firestone Jr., currently is the owner of the Detroit Lions, and married William Clay Ford, son of Edsel Ford and grandson of Henry Ford. When the first 9N Ford-Ferguson tractors rolled out, they had rear tires with 45? closed center bars. Ford offered a 10 x 28 rear tire option by 1941 that had an open center tread. When the 8N Model was introduced n July, 1947, it now came with Firestone Champion Spade Ground Grip rear tires with closed centers once again only with a curved/angled bar style. They were used as OEM equipment until 1950 models opened up the centers again. Ford never did come up with the universal tire tread design. Ford had invested in rubber plantations in South America, which eventually turned into non-productive money pits and eventually were sold off. At the Rouge Plant in Dearborn, MI, Ford housed, amongst others like their own iron and steel making facilities, a glass plant, a sawmill, plastic (soybean) plant making oils and paints, and a tire plant to name a few. Tractor tires were supplied by Firestone, Goodyear, and Ford too. Ford sold all their tire molds and equipment to Russia soon after 9N production began at first on a lend/loan basis but eventually sold everything outright. Firestone re-introduced their Spade/Guide Grip rear 10-28 tires over 25 years ago and are still sold today. I bought a pair from Miller Tire to complete my restoration of my early 1948 back in 2003. All 1948 and 1949 8Ns came with these tires. here's a peak...

EARLY 1948 8N, RESTORED TIM DALEY OWNER/OPERATOR:
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Tim *PloughNman* Daley(MI)
The Four Vagabonds
 
Very interesting information on tractor tire patterns! I clicked on the link about the Four Vagabonds which was also very interesting. Had never heard of those adventures so did some further looking and found a journal of the Four Vagabond's 1918 camping trip from the Harvard library, I believe. Good reading: https://iiif.lib.harvard.edu/manifests/view/drs:46429194$14i
 
I finally looked at the one dual I have with the deep tread. It's a Firestone Champion Spade Grip, but it has the center rib like in the OP's picture, not like the ones in this ad. But I see this ad is old enough to have sizes like 12-38 and 15-34, while my dual is an 18.4x34. I would guess the tires in the OP's picture are Firestone Champion Spade Grip as well.
 

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