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AGRIMOTOR NOTES.

25th July 1918, Page 16
25th July 1918
Page 16
Page 17
Page 16, 25th July 1918 — AGRIMOTOR NOTES.
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Motor Tractor Work in Notts. Spud Devices.

Work in connection with motor tractors for agricultural purposes is proceeding upon eminently practical lines in Nottinghamshire, several important developments • having • recently been decided upon by the county authorities, 'encouraged by substantial results already achieved: . There has.been, in the East Midlands, as elsewhere, considerable discussion of late as -to the advantages likely to accrue from the further imniediate conversion of grassland. into arable. There. is no doubt among practical menas-to the general value of such work, if the necessary labour for increasing the production of foodstuffs can be 'secured. But the military demands have become so insistent that, although a respite was granted last week by, the Governnient authorities in regard to the enforcement of further calling-up notices,' the supply of farm hands to meet -neceSSities in the large tracts of territory cop tiguous to the Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, Leicester-: shire and Yorkshire borders has already become so .attenuated as to render it incumbent that none other :',an absolutely indispensable and thoroughlydependable work shall be entered upon at the -present juncture. In this category; however; there remains much to be done which is calculated to be of sound value to agriculturists, who are finding, much to. their gratification, that their necessities in .relation to motor traction are being adequately safeguarded by a county committee which has the advantage of possessing in Mr. J. D. Ball an executive officer admirably versed in technical requirements as well as. being conversant with the special needs of the extensive area coming within the scope of their operations. • Following the indication which has been given in a previous article in this journal as to the results attending the introduction into Nottinghamshire of the Mogul, the Titan, and Overtime tractors and the Ford-Oliver No. 7 combination, it may be mentioned that, additional to ploughing, there has: been latterly an amplification of the subsidiary uses to which most of these appliances have been put,'they haying, among other purposes, fulfilled excellent work in dealing with certain erstwhile derelict land' in which tree stumps and other obstructions to free cultivation abounded. In the mowing of grassland, with mowing appliances provided from farmers' own resources, the county tractors have also accomplished some very valuable results. Eighty-two new binders are also to be brought into use in the county, with the aid of the

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motive power now utilizable; and under the general scheme of the Board of Agricultare six threshing machines are to be introduced, some of Which will be .'worked by,the tractors. Ten new caterpillar tractors

have also been secured from the well-known Lincoln firm Clayton arid ShuttIeworth, these ingenious contrivances being* designed to be, of special Utility' upon land presenting more than normal difficulties. Altogether, Nottinghamshire agriculturists have excellent reason to be satisfied -with. the 'work Of the committee, which has to' be carried-out upon liberal lines. , . I see . by the patent publica,ti'oris that Sir Herbert 'Austin has recently patented an anti-slip tracteir wheel, the feature of which. is the use of a. series of movable lugs like Spoke heads operating through slat

holes in the rim_ Except as regards details, perhaps, this idea is by no means new, as the subject is one to which considerable attention has been given in America, and in the latest copies of the farming papers to reach this country 11 note two American patent appli.cationsfor automatic anti-skid wheels, working on Much the same principle. Au earlier. U.S. device, I remember, used a series of sliding spokes working through the •rims and mounted eccentrically on a ring surrounding the hub. The ettleet of this was"that, as the wheel revolved,' the spokes were successively projected through the rim and withdrawn again, the Maximum of projection being at the lowest point of the wheel. This would, of course, tend to keep the rin slots constantly cleared, but at the same time I fancy the wear would be considerable. ,

I also remember hearing some little time ago of a somewhat similar device, the especial feature of which was that the amount of eccentricity could be varied at will from zero to maximum, so that when running 'light and on the road thC projecting grips would be withdrawn altogether and put out of action, whilst when required for work on the land eccentricity Could be put On and just as much of the grips projected as would be needful on the land in question, the action then being, as I understand it, very similar to that of the Austin device.

A reform of a very useful and much-needed character is being projected in America.. The War Board . of the U.S. Government is tackling ninny engineering industries, and after investigation making fewer models of various mechanical constructions compulsory, : with a view to the economy of labour, and it now being sought by some of the implement' dealers over there to induce the Government to select and compel the employment'of a standard belt-speed on tra-ctors. As it. is, each tractor maker is a law unto himself in regard to the size of the belt pulley fitted to his machine, Which results in the tractor, when purchased, often being found unsuitabl,e for working the fixed machinery on the farm without alteration Of the pulley on either the tractor or the implement, and so it is now suggested that the War Industries Board should compel all manufacturers of tractors to fit pulleys which would give a belt speed of 2000 ft. per minute—which it is expected would give 1600 ft. true belt speed, owing to slippage— regardless of size of engine, so that all the

manufacturers of belt-driven machines could then fit their machines with pulleys which, with the belt speed, would drive them at the required rate of speed to get the best working results out of them without alteration. Such a change would undoubtedly be a desirable one, as it would avoid the necessity of keeping a large stock of pulleys.

Anything like a general use of tractors in this country has only taken place in the last year or so, and consequently much uncertainty exists as tu the prebable life of a tractor. Statements have been made that the life of a tractorin America is but three years. For actuarial purposes, it may be sound policy for the • cost of a tractor to be spread over that period in the farm accounts. Cheap tractors, badly used and poorly cared for, may not last more than this time, or even so long ; on the other hand, an official report which has just been issued by the American Department of Agriculture is to the effect that investigation shows the average life of a tractor there to be from. 7-it to 8 years. This report was based on an inquiry conducted during the past winter by the Department amongst the fanners of the State of Illinois, the records of over 600 experienced tractor owners in the State being examined and the above average ascertained. It is also interesting to record that this same inquiry disclosed the following facts : (1) That the tractors are used on an average 45 days in the year. (2) That the average days of nse of a horse on the farm is 100. (3) That a large proportion of the farmers enlarged their farms after buying tractors. (4) That 71 per cent, of the tractors were three-plough outfits, i.e., three ploughs of 14 in. cut, which is equivalent to four ploughs of in. cut, or a 50 per cent, wider cut than an English three-furrow 9 in. plough. (5) That only 11 per cent, found their machines too large and recommended smaller, as against 13 per cent. who

said if they bought again, it would be a four-plough outfit. (6) That the average depth of ploughing done with the tractors was 7 ins., as against 5i ins, with horses, and,that (7) the only two points of disadvantage urged against their use were the packing of the soil, when damp, by the wheeled tractors, and the need for a greater amount of intelligence in handling and caring for them than they often got.

It is stated that the General Motors Corporation, which is the largest motor concern in America and which owns about a dozen well-known car and truck businesses, is noW going heavily into tractors and has purchased the business of the Samson Slieve-Grip Tractors, for the production of which a large new factory is being organized at Janesville, and it is also stated that the White Co., the makers of the Cleveland tractor, which is now so well known here as the Burford-Cleveland and who claim to he the largest producers of chain-tread machines in the world, although they only started last year, are now turning out close on 1000 a, month and increasing production capacity as fast as it is possible to do.

The Power Farm Supply Co., of Coventry, tell me they have just received word of the loss by enemy action of a considerable consignment of Monarch Neverslip and Lightfoot chain-tread tractors, butthat Government permit to replace the consignment has been received and that they hope to be delivering again in September. They also tell me that Mr. Girling, of Malden, their agent there, will be. arranging a demonstration this week of the Tracford Ford tractor conversion, and anyone desirous of witnessing it and seeing what a Ford car can do when camouflaged as a tractor is asked to communicate with him. AGRDIOT.


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