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Plying for Hire Among the Farmers.

16th January 1923
Page 23
Page 23, 16th January 1923 — Plying for Hire Among the Farmers.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

ALTHOUGH SOME farmers are not convinced that land cultivation and ether farming operations can be :made, a paying proposition today by the use of motor-driven appliances, it is almost generally re7 cognized that provided continuous work can be found for an agricultural tractor it is a sound investment. Seasonal rushes of work, with -quiet intervals, militate against steady employment all

the year round. •

In the Yorkshire Dales the farms are almost always small, and tractors are rarely to be seen. Mr. Fred Sparrow, of West Morton, near Bingley, has, however, been sufficiently daring to organize a tractor service, and has worked out rounds for his Fordson, taking in a wide circuit with a plough in the ploughing season and with a thresher after the harvest, filling up the intervening periods

with general haulage operations. Mr. Sparrow takes in farm after farm, and he says that the farmers are appreciating his service in inereasing numbers. lie is away from home for consiarable periods, working down Airedale, into Wharfedale, and back again down Airedale to his home, in his twice-yearly round.

On road haulage work the tractor runs about nine miles to the gallon of petrol consumed,. and with this consumption a steady pace ean be maintained. For sonic time now the owner of the machine has been using rubber tyres on all wheels. Old lorry tyres in four strips, bent to the correct section, have been fitted round the rear wheels by bolting them with sunken setscrews into a. band running round the wheel, over the strakes. This band is fastened by long setscrews to the: rim of the tractor wheel.

The rubber tyres naturally provide easier riding than the ordinary tractor wheels, and by increasing the size of the wheel they enable a higher road speed to be secured.

The tractor, being a self-contained unit, shows a decided advantage over steam tackle when used with a thresher. Normally two men are engaged with a steam outfit to attend to the coal and the water alone, and in many cases both coal and -water have to be carted long distances.

On the other hand, with the tractor outfit Mr. Sparrow carries his own supply of petrol, and the machine runs without attention, enabling him to do odd jobs, while the Work is in progress, or to give a helping hand wherever assistance is needed. The tractor is much easier to manceuvre through narrow gateways and along farm roads.

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