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ACRIlvIOTOR NOTES.

10th August 1920, Page 27
10th August 1920
Page 27
Page 28
Page 27, 10th August 1920 — ACRIlvIOTOR NOTES.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Tractor Openings in the Far East.

THE SUCCESS of the Austin tractor in the Indian trials held at Nagpur last February (of which some particulars have already been given in these notes) would indicate that the makers of that machine can obtain a splendid opening for tractors in India. It is to be hoped that the company will be able to meet the demand for supplies of tractors, which* are bound to come from that country, but there , appear to be demands for tractors from all parts of the world, and the latest opportunity comes from the rubber and cocoanut growing districts of the Far East.

It is understood that a wide field is here offered to the tractor in connection with the development of the rubber-growing industry. A communication sent by a rubber planter of the Federated Malay States on the subject of motor tractors for use in agricultural work in the Far East has been received by H.M. Embassy at Tokyo (Mr. Hugh Horne) from the Commercial Attache in the Federated. Malay States, and the British Department of Overseas 'Trade suggest that, in view of the market which is therein indicated, the United Kingdom firms interested should forward copies of their catalogues, current price lists, and any other literature which they may have published on their products, direct to the planter referred to, whose name and address may be obtained on application.

The planter in question states that it would be most desirable that any firm taking up the business shonle supply and quote a price for the whole outfit complete not for the tractor alone. If the tractor were sent. out alone, it would cause delay in getting implements and, again, those obtained might quite likely be un suitable. Where the office and the plantation are so far apart, as is the case with rubber plantations, it is far easier to get the lump sum sanctioned. The implements are few and eunple, consisting of three ploughs with rotary coulters, and one set of disc barrows.

Haying stated the position with regard to the de-. mend, a few notes on land work in the Eastern rubber plantations may not be out of place. There are now over 200 million pounds sterling in vested in growing rubber in the East, and there are over two million acres under this cultivation. At present the land is all worked by hand labour. The system is to go over every acre once a month and cut out the weeds by scraping the surface with a, heavy hoe, but this primitive kind of cultivation does not improve the soil in the manner that one expects to

get it improved from proper cultivation by the use of efficient .agricultural implements. By the method of hand labour adopted the surfa,ce of the soil is left hard and bare, and what little surface soil has been, procured by means of the hand hoe is rapidly washed away. by the heavy tropical rains, falling often over 1 in. in an hour.

It is pointed out by the Malay grower that rubber, consisting as it practically does of reafforesting,

should be one of the least exhausting crops', but under present conditions, it would be almost imi possible to devise a system of deteriorating thelland more quickly. It is highly necessary, from every. point of view, . that the present system should be . superseded by improved method. Apart from this, the labour question itself will force the issue with planters, and they will be bound to adopt new and -better methods of mechanical cultivation.

A good system of cultivating for rubber plantations _would bet to grow some dwarf self-seeding/ leguminous crop. The disc harrows could be run, over this as needed to cheek it and keep it down; and it could be ploughed under about every four months. This would be .good cultivation and would fully maintain thellertility of the soil.

Generally speaking, the soils in the East are not of a very heavynature, and the ploaghing would

only need to be deep enough to-turn the cover crop well under, that is, about 6 ins, deep, so that a fairly' light, medium-power tractor, able to draw a, threefurrow plough at this depth and 7 ins. or 8 ins, wide, would be about the most suitable type of machine. In order to facilitate the turning under of the covering crop, good rotary discs should be fitted to

the plough, well down on to the ground, so that clean work may be done ; then, in addition to the plough, it would be necessary to use a disc harrow with the tractor, and a tractor with sufficient power to draw a three-furrow plough to the depth and width indicated should also be able to draw a 12 ft. wide disc harrow.

The rubber planter writes as follows:— " It seems to me that one firm should take up this field and specialize on it, as no doubt the conditions are out of the usual, and it is large enough, as the Eastern rubber-growing business can, from many points of view, be looked upon as a whole."

It is stated that 80 per cent. of the industry is in British hands. The countries included are India, ' Burniah, Ceylon, Siam, Malay Peninsula, Dutch East Indies, Indo-China, and Borneo. It is, however, doubtful whether the whole rubbergrowing field is open to the use of tractors Or agricultural implements, as some of it consists of steep hillsides, while another part consists of very lowlying land, which has been planted and so heavily trenched as to be, also, unsuita,ble for tractors. The estates are -owned almost entirely by large companies that, financially, are well able to buy anything that will help their business. Again quoting from the letter :—" All the rubber i machinery used n the factories is English, and there is no doubt that an English firm supplying a good tractor would be given the preference."

Simplicity and Cost.

As the tractor would have to be run by the natives, it would need to be as simple as possible, but there should. be no. difficulty about this, because most tractors are fairly simple and, in our own country, have.to. be worked by men who possess little or no mechanical knowledge or experience.

Another important point to be borne in mind is that of cost. The initial cost would not be all-important, but running expenses should be reduced to the lowest possible point. The present system of weeding is often done at from 30 to 40 cents per acre per month (dollars 2s. 4d.). The point is that, up to the present, labour has been cheap and plentiful, and the apparently. increased cost of tractor-work may give growers the impression that, Le. the running costs were too high, they would not make the proposition a paying concern. In reality, however, there can be no comparison .between thorough cultivation and surface scraping.

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Still, it is a factor to be borne in mind, and those firms who may take up the proposition will do well to impress their prospective customers with the value of the increased cultivation compared with the cheap and inefficient work done by hand labour. Another matter of great importance is that the machines must be so standardized that any part can be' renewed without delay. Any concerns undertaking this business would need to go-into it in thorough earnest, and in a big way. They must, first of all, thoroughly train a. number of selected young men in all the details of the tractor, with a view to their being sent East to keep the tractors in thorough good working order. A group of the smaller. estates could arrange to have one of these young men to look after their machines. The young men would be in the employ of the estates, but they should be encouraged to keep in touch with the manufacturing firm at home, and especially to report on all the difficulties they meet with.

Type of Machine.

The work is very similar on all the estates and there would appear to be little advantage in making different sizes of machines, as large areas would be better worked by more machines rather than by heavier and more powerful ones, and, by concentrating on both size and type, both would be reduced.

The climatic conditions generally, where the machines would be working, are not unsuitable; the temperature would be nearer 90 deg. than 80 deg. in the shade, the rainfall being 100 me, per annum or more, -well distributed.

It must be admitted, however, that the above are merely general Statements, _the rubber-growing area being so very large. These notes have been confined to rubber growing, but there are large areas, in the same countries, of cocoanuts., which could be worked by tractors on identically the same lines as those suggested for the rubber, to the greatest advantage. It is far more likely that over 100,000 acres will he added annually than that the increase should be 'less, and it is equally certain that tractors will -be used in the near future.

At present, the United States of America is taking 220,000 tons of rubber against the United Kingdom's 40,000 tons, and it is America that is supplying the British markets with rubber goods. Unless some British concern takes up this matter in a wholehearted way, we may see American machinery at work in these British plantations.

AGRIMOT.


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