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A POWER SERVICE that REM
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OVES FARMERS' WORRIES
British Estate Services, Ltd., Employing Tractors and Other Mechanical Appliances of the Latest Type, Provides Facilities for Practically Every Branch of Agriculture. A Service that Gives Invaluable Assistance to the Farmer
A• NEW development in the application of power to British fanning methods is being watched with interest by many farmers throughout the Midlands and in certain other parts of the country. This is the provision of facilities-for the uSe, on a contract basis, of a comprehensive range of power-farming equipment by British Estate Services, Ltd., Tilton
• Road, Birmingham, 9.
• Operations were commenced in Shropshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire about a year ago, and since that date expansion has taken place into Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, -Berkshire,Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Leitestershire, Nottinghamshire and Staffordshire. Special contracts have also been .undertaken in South Wales, Lancashire, Lincoln
ehire and Scotland. .
Underlying the aim, which is to establish a national service of powerfarming machinery, is the basic principle that -for many British farmers the ownership of a tractor is not an economic proposition, and that many more, who possess a light tractor with corresponding equipment, have occasional need for a powerful machine with special tackle, the purchase of which could never be justified.
The demand experienced for the company's equipment has demonstrated that the viewpoints outlined are shared by many farmers and landowners.
The chief functions of the B.E.S.'s agricultural section, it is considered, lie in carrying out all the heavier cultivations and such operations as occur at rush periods, including hay mowing and corn cutting. .
Ploughing is, of course, the major arable operation in demand, and, even at this stage of development, the range of conditions. of soil encountered is nearly as wide as can be found any
where in the world. Vale of Evesham clay, for instance, when baked really hard, will give a draught of 2,000 lb. or more per furrow, and, when wet, clings like American "gumbo."
• In Shropshire, the oufits encounter sandy country where the resistance is extremelf, low, but the footing so bad that few wheeled tractors can exert more than half their normal drawbar pull. In the Welsh border country, on the hills, there is rocky ground to be encountered, while on the Cotswolds and much of the down country farther south, ploughing, although restricted to about 4, in... depth, is productive of rapid share wear.
Tractors for Abnormal Service.
Over and above these variations of soil types, the B.E.S. tractors are frequently called upon to face abnormal conditions when breaking up derelict ground, not the least arduous being the presence of hidden tree stumps and roots.
As might be expected from the fore
going, the equipment provided has to be of varied character, although as many tractors as possible are of a general-purpose type. Most of the tractors of this class which are employed are Allis-Chalmers model U outfits, which give 26 drawbar h.p and are under 2 tons. For most areas, the machines are supplied with three-fourfurrow ploughs, usually Ransomes make.
Whilst having ample power for this class of work, they are sufficiently handy and economical to be employed on the lighter work of mowing and harvesting in season, for which purpose power-take-off shafts are always fitted. Every machine has dual wheel equipment and the change over from steel to Dunlop wheels is fairly easy. Wherever possible, pneumatic tyres are used in preference to steel wheels, the operations including mowing, binding, discing, cultivating and dry-weather ploughing.
• Other wheeled tractors in the fleet include representatives of the Fordson, International, and Massey-Harris makes, all having some special feature rendering them particularly applicable to certain purposes.
Whilst preference is given to wheeled tractors, as being, in the company's opinion, the most generally suitable for all-round purposes, there are functions that call for the track-laying type. These include work on some of the heavier clays, the jobs calling for drawbar h.p. much in excess of that offered by the Allis-Chalmers U model, and fruit work involving special build and short turning. It is always the practice to restrict the use of track-layers, as favas possible, to the clay-soil areas, where the tracks are not subject to unfair wear, but there are occasions when these machines must be employed irreLpective of soil type.
Among the track-laying machines,one of the most interesting types is an Allis-Chalmers model K used mainly for subsoiling and deep grubbing. Such equipment is capable of hauling with ease, in most soils, a Ransomes unotrac three-furrow plough, fitted with three subsoiling tines to a depth of 16-18 inches, and B.E.S. recommends this operation as being generally superior to any other method of breaking pans and deepening the soil for the cultivation of beet and other crops. The important feature is that the surface is ploughed in the normal manner, to a depth of 6-8 ins., and is thus left in a condition suitable for working with ordinary tackle. At the same time, the subsoil is thoroughly stirred to double this depth and any pan is completely broken, without subsoil being brought to the top. It is this division of the work into upper and lower sections which, it is stated, offers such advantages over methods involving a churning up of the whole depth, resulting in mixing fertile top soil and poisonous subsoil.
Where heavy land. is to be broken up for a summer fallow, the same type
of tractor is generally employed to Mill a Ransomes C 17 cultivator or deep grubber-.-'a tool of strength commensurate with that of steam tackle: B.E.S. representatives were frequently told last year that this job could not, be done by any tractor—and it is quite true that no tractor equipment of less power than is offered by this outfit would tackle the work.
Some idea of what is involved may be gleaned from the fact that on the first time through, with three tines on the cultivator, the tractor may have a full load in bottom gear, giving a drawbar pull of nearly 9,000 lb. In such going the ground can be felt heaving at least 6 ft. away from the outside tines of the cultivator.
This tackle, it may be mentioned, is specially suited to the work of clearing derelict land, for which it is in regular demand, pulling trees and grubbing roots.
Some of the Tasks Tackled.
The less striking jobs undertaken must be mentioned more briefly, and include, normal cultivating, cliscing, rolling, harrowing, mowing, binding and stubble cleaning. In the winter months a good deal of grassland improvement, with pitch-pole harrows and other implements, is carried out, whilst several mole-draining appliances are in use. These are also emPlnyed for laying water, pipes, the pipe being drawn into the ground behind the mole plough, .
A separate section., of. the servile .undertakes the spraying of crops with sulphuric acid for the eradication of weeds, and of potatoes against disease, whilst yet anothet service deals with the' removalof trees, etc., by blasting.
' There is a sports-grOund constructional department which Utilizes'. the services of the agricultural equipment to good purpose in levelling and preparing sites for sports clubs and recreation grounds, as well as 'private gardens, for which work the tractors may be hitched to graders and other earth-shifting equipment: The construction and maintenance of aerodromes, especially 'for the private owner, are other tasks in which the constructional and agricultural departments join. forces.
The bquipment employed for mowing large areas of grass varies accord, ing to the nature of the job, and includes tractors with reaper-type mowers ; Bedford lorries with gang rotary mowers, used on golf-course and other contracts; and motor mowers of the Atco type for the better-conditioned and smaller grounds. Here we meet a third section of the B.E.S. organization, known as the lawn-valet ing service, which provides a fleet of Atco motor mowers, sent out with 'operators on sidecar outfits, to mow private and other lawns as often as the customer requires.
These machines operate from a number of depots throughout the country, and the aim, again, is ultimately to give a national service.
In all sections of the work the customer knows at the outset just what any particular job will cost. He is able to secure the regular services of the latest types of machine without the responsibility of investing capital in their purchase, securing skilled labour, maintaining the, equipment, incurring depreciation and standing charges when it is idle, or being involved in heavy repair charges should it break down.