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An Opening for The Market-garden Tractor

7th July 1931, Page 92
7th July 1931
Page 92
Page 92, 7th July 1931 — An Opening for The Market-garden Tractor
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A Suggestion, Put Forward by an Expert, which Deserves Close Consideration by the Tractor Manufacturers

By Our Agricultural Correspondent

HERE is undoubtedly an open ing in this countrY for a small tractor for use in nurseries and market gardens. The ordinary agricultural tractor has established itself and is now in general use on the larger lands. By means of modification and adaptation this type of machine has been brought within the required dimensions as regards height and width to enable it to pass among the larger fruit trees and to plough and cultivate for vegetable crops.

A Tractor Needed for the Small Grower.

In short, it suits the main purposes of the larger grower. But the large-scale producer does not comprise the majority of fruit and vegetable growers, and there would be little difficulty in establishing a market for a type of tractor that would be really helpful to the small grower. The intensive producer also finds the garden tractor useful for work among small fruit trees and bushes, and for hoeing and cultivating among growing crops, taking one row at a time. A machine thus employed does the work much more cheaply than it can be done by hand.

In saying that there is an opening for a tractor of the type mentioned, I am not ignoring the several good machines already on the market. Some of the early models of small tractor were intended to do the work D38 of the four-wheeled agrimotor, winch made them too big for nursery duty. Others were smaller, but, in some cases, so small as to be limited to certain jobs.

Ploughing, Cultivating and Intercrop Tillage.

• The machine should be able to do the ploughing, cultivating and intercrop tillage on a small plantation, and for this it requires an engine of about 5 h.p. Rotary tillers are not counted here, because they belong to a class of their own. Recent developments seem to favour a type of machine with one driving wheel that is guided and balanced much in the same way as a plough is handled.

A bulletin which has just been published by the Ministry of Agriculture, giving a report of the official

mission of inquiry made last year into the use ofagricultural machinery in Canada and U.S.A., says on this point that "we are impressed by the work of only one, a machine built to do one row at a time. This machine has a single driving wheel and its hoes are fixed in front, which is the best place for them when close work is required." The other appliances, it is said, were really too big to be handy garden tractors and consequently did not find favour with the, Ministry officials.

Two-wheeled Outfits the Most Popular.

An American tractor of this description with a 2? h.p. engine (probably the same outfit) is being marketed in this country, and there is a 5 h.p. German machine of similar design. At the same time, two-wheeled tractors seem to find most favour among English growers. Yet, again, I know of one district where the single-wheeled machine is particularly popular.

Whatever the means for propulsion, whether the outfit has one wheel or two, the suceessful tractor of this type must be easy to start and simple enough to be understood by the average labourer. Additionally, it must be easy to handle and give a good wheel clearance, whilst the tool set up must not be complicated.

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Organisations: Ministry of Agriculture

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