Opinions from Others.
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The Editor invites correspondence on all subjects connected with the use of commercial motors. Letters shot 11 be on one siae of the paper only and typewritten by preference. The right of abbreviation is reserved, and no responsibility for views expressed is accepted.
Makes 61 Agrimotors.
The Editor, THE COM•diERcIAT. MOTOR.
[1504] Sir,—We notice in the "Answers to' Queries," on page 382 of your issue of the 28th June, that you state you believe our tractor is a _Britishassembled machine of American parts. This is not altogether the case, as the whole of it, with the exception of the engine, is manufactured at our works. We are using an American engine because it is impossible to obtain delivery of one of EngliSh make.—
Yours faithfully, W. WEEKS AND HS0N, LTD J. W. ABHDowN, Manager.
The Agrimotor Programme.
The .Eaitor, THE COMMERCIAL 11.1,41TOR., [1505]•Sir,—I trust that when the Director and Assistant-Director, of -the Food Production-Department's Machinery and Implement Section have completed their tour, they will evolve a scheme that can be worked on a more practical basis than the one which at present obtains. No organization can be a success without coordination, and you have rightly p1ead6c1 for an agricultural expert to be appointed to a responsible position on theistaff of the department without delay. Sufficient use has.not/been made of the practical advice which has been tendered by many of the County War Agricultural Committees. These committees have repeatedly applied for cultivators and other implements, as Well as for ploughs, but, as far as I am aware, no adequate step's have been taken to supply them. I know of one district which applied for three cultivators at once, but now, after a month's delay, the Food Production Department is still "considering the application." That arear, like many others no doubt, has to muddle along with borrowed horse cultivators, which are altogether too small and light for use with tractors. The consequence is that the land is not cultivated nearly so well as it might be, whilst there is, at the same time, extra consumption of fuel and lubricants and extra wear and tear on the tractors.
I fear that the suggested reorganization of the Food Production Department will not become effective so long as the personnel exhibits an entire lack of knowledge of the agricultural side of any scheme for mechanical aids. This taint of military methods should not be introduced. Co-operation between agricultural experts, working the scheme on sound, economic lines,can alone save the country from starvation. I have personally had experience, since March last, in connection with the agrimotor provamnie for increasing food production, and ray criticisms are given as the results of my experience, and in the hope that improvement may be made for the future. Why did not the Food Production Department adopt standardization at the end of 1016, and allow the benefit of such direction to be reaped at the beginning of the year by British works? Many and urgent recommendations were made-to the President of the Board of Agriculture, within my knowledge, in that sense, about the end of last year. Re was fully informed as to the manner in which such standardization would not only facilitate production in the workshop and on the land ; it was explained to him and his department that standardization meant the employment of fewer skilled mechanics on maintenance and operation. He was also urged to pay due heed to the fact that the bulk of the work required to be done was the cultivation of the land, apart from its ploughing, and
that the type of tractor to be selected should be one essentially suitable for the land only, leaving any question of road haulage for the time being out of the question. A successful farm tractor is one which will do all land jobs well rather than one which will do land and road jobs with equal indifference. Months were lost at the beginning of the present year before British manufacturers were given the opportunity to produce agrimotors for Government purposes. Why was this?. Will we ever know who was to blame'? The English farmer will not move as he should move under present conditions. He will not make a choice when there are an unlimited number of designs of tractor put before him. On the other hand, if the Government make too many promises about having' agricultural metors from America, he will wait until one or more are given to him,' and will be misled in that direction by reason of uninformed writings in the daily newspapers. This has, in fact, occurred. Many farmers, it is true, have purchased. Some of the best machines are apparently not allowed to come
'into the country.—Yours faithfully, "DISTRICT."
Weights,and Tire-widths of Agricultural Locomotives.
The Editor, THE Comm:Reim, MOTOR.
[1506] Sir,—It is interesting to note that the Local government Board have found it necessary to pass a • -8pecial order, for the period of the war. legalizing the :shape of wheel of the various -agricultural tractors that are now being imported into this country. I have always considered, from the start, that the ordinary Local Government Board regulations in reference to rdad locomotive g were regulations framed in the true interest of both the road users and the ratepayers, and therefore, whilst relaxation of these regulations at the present time, owing to the importance of getting a maximum number of tractors into use; seems necessary, it is to be hoped that after the war the old regulations will again come into force, with possibly two, alterations. • (1) That the.weight resting upon a given wheel width might quite well be reduced and made more in favour of the road authorities without in any -way being detrimental to the makers or users of agricultural tractors. (2) The minimum width of wheel allowed, I think, should he reconsidered, because the framers of the original Act had in mind engines of some 10 tons in weight. It is quite obvious that light agricultural tractors of, say, 112 to 2 tons in weight should not be compelled to uSe the same minimum Width of •wheeI as a 10 or 15-ton engine ; but in no case need this minimum width bear even half as much weight as the original Act provided. OurUnivereal tractors are shod with the regulation strakes on the rear wheel, and we have never found them mark or injure the road in any way. At the same time, they will go into the field and do every kind of,work that the farmer wants them to do in the way of ploughing, cultivating, threshing, carting and transporting the farm producetby road, gripping attachments, of cdurse, belnq provided for use in soft or wet fields. During the summer season it is seldom that we put anything whatever on the wheels of the tractor for general farm work. Since 1902 I have tried every form of grip and tread that I could conceive, and I have found nothing so good as the regulation strakes already permitted by the authorities; but I do think that the Local Govern
ment Beard might reconsider the question of the minimum width of wheel for these light machines. especially allude to the band oh the front wheel I think that if a 10 or 15-ton engine may use a band on the front wheel 5 ins, wide, an engine, say, one-sixth in weight might use a band 2 ins. wide. This band is very useful on an agricultural tractor. It never marks the road owing to the light weight upon it, and when in the field it cuts into the soil (until the broader wheel supports the remainder of the weight) and prevents side-slipping.
There is no suction froth these straked metal wheels as is the case with rubber-tired road terries, and en roads where they are continually used I have always found thenkimprove the road. instead of injuring it. Their broad wheels and their light weight are insufficient to crush the metal, and they have the effect of rolling it in.
I do not believe that there is another tractor constructed at present to undertake all-round farm work as well as road haulage as the British-made Saunderson tractor will As a most-recent example of its capabilities I would mention that last week we got an urgent call from the Board of Agriculture to send one of our tractor-ploughs, together with a tractor-plough manufactured by a neighbouring firm, to a test arranged by the Board near Chelmsford, some 70 miles from here. • •
As the railway facilities did not allow of these ploughs reaching Chelmsford in time for the test, -we loaded both ploughs on a trailing wagon and sent them down by tractor, which journeyed by road under its own power and then went through its test with the
plough. ,
As.soon as the test was over and the plough loaded up again, it returned to Bedford, doing the double journey of some 140 miles and its field trials comfortably and easily at the rate of 4 to 5 miles per hour, with its travelling. -wheels straked in accordance with the pre-war Local Government Board regulations.—
. Yours faithfully, H. P. SAIINDERSON, THE SAUNDERSON TRACTOR AND Bedford. IMPLEMENT CO., LTD.
Length of Foden's Run on One Water Filling.
[1507] Sir,—I have read with interest the letter from your correspondent, who signs himself Yorkshire,' on the above matter, and I should like to be allowed to pass my opinion on what he calls a common occurrence to-cover 36 Miles, and even more, on one filling of water. I have had teens of years' experience, running on the road with wagons of different makes, but have not yet come across one of any make which would Cover the distance which your correspondent.:claims -without taking in water. The highest mileage I have accomplished on one filling has been 23 miles, _ and this with my present wagon which is a 576-ton Yorkshire steamer shod with rubber tires, and fitted with a water tank having a capacity of 200 gallons. Even this mileage has caused some doubtful comments from other drivers I know. I should like to know what the water-carrying capacity of your correspondent's steam wagon is (it can hardly be of ordinary size), and' also. what his coal or coke consumption was for the mileage he claims to have covered. I am acquainted with most steam wagons running in this district, and so far I have not come across a wagon which is able to do such a wonderful mileage as 41 on one filling of water. —Yours faith
fully, G. W. BELLAMY.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1508] Sir,—As I notice from your issue of the 21st June that you are asking for the opinions of other steam-wagon drivers on the question of long runs on one water filling, perhaps my experience, extending over a period of 17 years, will be of interest. I notice that "Yorkshire,') as your correspondent
signs himself, states that it is a common thing for
• him to cover as many as 36 miles on one filling, whilst on one occasion he'clid-as many as 41 miles. I have never heard of as many miles being obtained on any wagon before, and it seems ,rather a curious fact that one driver should be able to obtain such a big mileage on a standard type of stearn-wagon. I have been employed by two well-known steam-wagon manufacturers, testing new machines on varying classes of roads, on journeys up to' 300 miles in length, but I can state with absolute accuracy that I have never been able to run as many as 41 miles on a tank of water—for that matter, I have not yet come across a driver who has been able to accomplish anything like this figure. I would like to ask your correspondent if he thinks it would be possible to run, say; from Leeds to Manchester, or` fromiLeeds to Sheffield without' taking any water on 'the journey ; the distance from Leeds to either of these places comes well under 40 miles. I have been on both of these roads a considerable number of times, and not an any one occasion have I been able to make a straight-through journey without stopping to take in water. His feat, to say the least of it, is extraordinary, and I should be glad to know on what class of' road these journeys were, made.— Yours faithfully,
G. W. SHEARMAN. Leeds.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1506] Sir,—Having read " Yorkshire's " remarks in your issue of the 21st June, re the length of mileage obtained on one tank of water with a, Foden wagon, I, with other wagon drivers would be interested to.know if _this machine is shod with steel or rubber tires, and what.load. if. any, was carried on the 41-mire trip he mentions. He states that 36 ,miles is a common run on all sorts of roads and .under varying conditions, without replenishing the supply of water. I should like to know whether this applies to the winter months. He also says that the wagon has not been out of his hands for repairs or renewals of any kind over a period of three years. Does this Mean that theotiresdiesie not been renewed or the tubes drawn during this time, ? I am at present driving a 3-ton Garrett superheated rubber-tired wagon, which is six months old, but runninW with a 8-ton load aboard, on give-andtake Essex roads, I do not expect to do more than 26 miles without taking in a fresh supply of wafer. I think this is a fair run on one filling for a wagon, and I believe Garrett steam wagons compare favourably with Ftsden machines for economy in fuel and water. Perhaps "Yorkshire " will tell us how much coal this super-Foden burns on the aforesaid number of miles? Certainly not More than cwt. I quite agree with him that there are exceptions in drivers.—
Tours faithfully, W.E. C.