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THE FARMER'S GROWING USE OF THE MOTOR.
Page 102
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The Importance of Mechanical Power on Road and Land is Being More and More Appreciated, whilst the Use of Horses is Waning.
THEcontinued steadydecline in the number of horses . used in agriculture must mean that the motor is coming more and more into use for farm transport both on the road and on :the land. There is an increaSed demand for the farm tractor. The growth is slow, however, as is shown in the following table which embraces the number, of farm tractors registered during the past four years :—
Agrimotors Year. registered. 1924 ... 16,043 1925 ... 16,1.48 1926 ... 16,304 1927 ... 16,402
Increased employment of the tractor for industrial purposes has rather overwhelmed recognition of the number bought by farmers, but the growing popularity of the appliance for ordinary road work in connection with industry is a help to the farmer, because the demand from the other source' assists to keep the makers' cost of pro
duetion within reasonable limits and to enable them to send out a cheap article. The sugar-beet industry will be found to give" increasing impetus to tractor sales. More factories are still being built and the acreage under the crop increased. As this growth proceeds, more cultivation work will be required than the horse can do and the tractor will again be brought into its own, The production of a tractor that can haul the beetroots off the land and convey the load to the railway station or the factory and at the same time turn in and prepare the land for the next crop will be most useful and will solve the problem of heavy haulage, which is one of the difficulties a farmer has to face when buying a motor. A tractor that will do this is what most big farmers require, as then they can employ a lighter fast lorry for the general everyday work.
The subject of the motor on the farm is always approached from two angles—one, the land motor or tractor, and the other the road motor. Actually, farm
D48
transport is a single problem and, instead of separating the tractor and road motor in our own minds, we should view the two together as a single solution of that problem. On many of the smaller farms the horse is the most economical unit. But, even here, a light lorry or a combined van lorry and car arrangement is found necessary for road work. Indeed, many of the smaller farms yield so much produce in variety all the year round that retailing is the only satisfactory, way to dispose of it, and for that purpose a motor is needed. On the big farms a tractor and a lorry of one to two tons capacity are essential whatever might be used in the way of private cars.
Signs are not lacking that the agricultural industry is again on the upward grade of prosperity— slowly, perhaps, but surely. During the past few years, as a result of the depression, enterprise has been involuntarily inactive, but, more recently, steps have been taken that will eventually improve the financial position of the industry, and with this will come more activity and a demand for power and machinery. The problem of agricultural depression is being well thought out. Much of the trouble is due to lack of organization in business and standardization of products, togetherwith generally bad marketing methods. Attention is now being concentrated on these points, and the Government has done valuable work in procuring and disseminating information on the subject for the purpose of enlarging the knowledge of farmers. To this end the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries is very helpful.
Any development in the way of standardization or modernizing marketing methods 'must" take transport into account. It is vital. Without it no progress can be made. No doubt the question of transport will, in the future, receive more concentrated attention from farmers' organizations. Many economies could be effected by a little co-operation that -would not only cheapen Mechanical transport on 'the farta, but Make it even more popular than it is at present.