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PROBLEMS OF THE HAULIER AND CARRIER.

10th August 1926, Page 19
10th August 1926
Page 19
Page 20
Page 19, 10th August 1926 — PROBLEMS OF THE HAULIER AND CARRIER.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

The Class of Work which Can be Undertaken in Agricultural Districts. Uses for Lorries and Tractors.

NOVICES starting in business in rural areas generally find that the passenger-carrying possibilities are more promising at first sight than are the possibilities for the transport of goods, and they, there.fore, set up as local carriers serving market towns and linking up the intermediate villages.

In many districts, however, there is ample scope for something more original and, therefore, less competitive. Most agricultural experts affirm that the average farmer has too little capital per acre of land and, in consequence, is not in a position to own and use as much labour-saving machinery as he should. Under the heading of labour-saving machinery comes lorries, tractors and trailers. Here, then, is an opportunity for the haulier to help the farmer and to secure financial gain for himself. This particular branch of work is by no means overcrowded and, in consequence, a fairly wide choice of districts is available. Areas in which there are principally large farms will, naturally enough; not offer very much chance of work of this kind, as the size of such farms justifies the purchase and use of mechanical • appliances by the farmers themselves.

In areas where there are several farmers who cannot afford, their own transport and who will utilize the .haulier's services, jobs for lorries are obviously to be had, Such work as transporting manure from the stockyard to the fields or station or, in the case of artificial -fertilizers, from the station or works to the farm . being available.

When transport of this nature is undertaken, it must be remembered that the vehicle will have to be kept for such work, or it must be• thoroughly cleaned • internally before being used for dealing with other • customers' loads. In either case allowance must be made for the increased expenditure when calculating charges to customers. • Not only must the actual labour be taken into account, but the time off the road should be remembered.

On account of the greater handiness of the lighter types of vehicle in such places as stockyards and wet fields, a 1-tonner Will probably fill the bill to the best advantage. ' Another point which should not be overlooked is that the .work of farmers is very dependent on the weather, and in fine spells there may be several simultaneous calls for the vehicles. Two 1-tonners will, therefore, be better able to cope with such cases than one 2-tonner.

The same vehicles can, if they have been cleaned out, be used for carrying cattle cake, likewise cabbages, brewers' grains and other feeding stuffs, and it should not be forgotten that more of this work will, generally, be available in the winter when animals cannot get much natural nourishment in the pastures.

In summer a tank may be slipped into a lorry body and used for supplying animals with water when they are turned out to graze a long way from convenient drinking points. This is particularly applicable during periods of drought, but, in many cases, where water mains are absent and dew ponds cannot be used; the farmer is faced in this connection with a serious difficulty. He has often to drive cattle or sheep to water, which is a tedious job, in addition to which he, or one of his labourers, must get to and from the pasture sometimes two and three times a day. This, of course, causes a great deal of indirect expense and loss of time.

One lorry carrying water may save the need for moving beasts backwards and forwards. When considering the amount of water which can be carried, find the weight of the tank and then make a calculation, taking one gallon of water as weighing 10 lb., or reckoning 224 gallons per ton. When estimating for the work of supplying water to cattle in outlying fields the following figures may be useful. A horse at pasture needs 6 gallons of water daily in the summer, a working horse 10 gallons, a, bullock at pasture 6 gallons, a milk cow 10. gallons, a sheep

gallon and a pig 11 gallons.

. At harvest time the bulky nature of the loads to be dealt with can .best be met by fitting stakes to the lorry sides and tailboard, thus enabling the vehicle to do the work of several hay-carts. Moreover, its high speed Will mean that hay or corn can be garnered safely during fine weather, whereas slower methods of transport would only enable a fraction of the total to be dealt with in a day,: thus increasing the chance of damage to the remainder' by bad weather. This argument should be used to iinpressUn customers the value

of the haulier's' services. .

By the use of further temporary fittings, such as divisions in the body, stanchions and netting and an interchangeable tailboard of greater length than the standard article—Lthus forming a ramp—cattle, pigs, sheep and goats can be carried to market. The majority of these -fittings can be made by the village carpenter, or even by the haulier himself if he be handy

with tools. In this way there need be no extensive capital outlay to deal with the extra work.

The foregoing indicates but a few of the jobs which can be done by a lorry in connection with agricultural work. A resourceful man will soon discover other tasks for the same vehicle, but they are dependent on local agricultural conditions and customs.

In addition to ordinary road vehicles, the tractor demands careful consideration. This should preferably be available for road service as well as field work, for the actual time spent on the land will be relatively small and, therefore, the operating costs per acre will be high and charges will follow suit. For this reason the utmost use must be made of the tractor. Ploughing, cultivating, drilling, harrowing, rolling, ridging for fallow crops and reaping are all tasks which the tractor can do, and when the machine has a pulley for power work, thrashing, cake breaking, root pulping and water pumping can be undertaken where the farmer Las suitable machinery.

This condition opens up a new avenue for exploitation, namely, the hiring-out of farm machinery, together with suitable apparatus for driving it. Good business can be done in this direction provided sufficient customers can be found to make matters economically possible, but it must be certain that sufficient work will be forthcoming before laying out capital in buying machines which will have, in most cases, only a seasonal use, An important point when purchasing machines driven by belt from the tractor is to see that they are suitable for the pulley speed of the tractor.

Road work is generally fairly plentiful, particularly if the principle of working two trailers per tractor is followed, so that one can be loaded while the other is on the road. In this way heavy loads can be handled quickly without the need for a large number of labourers or keeping the men idle, Terminal delays mean slow work, and lobs of speed means the risk of deterioration while getting risky crops to market.

For those with some agricultural knowledge the prospect of starting a haulage business specializing in work for farmers has much to commend it, and once the confidence of customers has been gained—most probably by lorry work—there is vast scope for extension in a field which is far from fully developed. Some opposition is certain to arise, as there is still a certain amount of conservatism with regard to mechanical appliances in the farming industry, hut once it has been proved that the job can be done efficiently and at the right price the work is there. S.T.R.

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