The Future of the Agrimotor
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FARAIERS are showing considerable interest in the international tractor trials which begin to-day at Ardington, near Wantage, and, given reasonable weather, a good attendance may be ex pected each day. Whatever the numbers present the interest will be genuine, for the majority of farmers knows that mechanical power must replacdanimal power-on the land, and that it is their business to find the best machine for the purpose:It this respect the trials 'differ from those that were held on a largescale between 1917 and 1923:the fate of the horse not -then having been decided, whilst the first trials, held 20 years ago, were quite in the nature of a novelty. That phase has passed, and the agrimotor has settled down to its normal place in British agricultural equip ment. .
Tractor history is much more recent in Great Britain than in the United. States, where huge fields and large-scale methods of production admitted the economy of the big power -unit at an early date. Some of the first machines tried in this country were of the heavy type, unsuitable for our .small fields and varying typesof farming. The agrimotor only began to become' popular when the right type to suit our purpose had been evolved, -viz., the light handy all-rounduseful machine. Even with the production of this tYi3e of appliance, however, It is difficult to say what would have happened to it had not the motor become paramount upon the roads at a time of great depression in agriculture, such as we have witnessed during the past seven or eight years.
In spite of many indications that may be taken to point in a contrary direction, that depression is Passing; a revival of activity may be expected any time, and interest in the present trials may be taken as the heginning of this renewal of activity. Another point worthy of note is that agricultural development is proceeding in the direction of large-Scale farming and the growing of crops on mass production line s. However much one may regret the disappearance of the smallholder, there is very little doubt that his future existence depends only upon peculiar circumstances.
Big production in which machinery can be. fully employed is the order of the day, and it is because smallholdings do not admit of the economical use of machinery that they do not pay. Some phases of market gardening, will remain' In small hands, and for these suitable motor gardening implements, of which a few will be at the trials, are available: On the other hand, the tendency to massproduction in farming emphasizes the demand for power machines.
The agrimotor . has not, however, yet stormed the fort, and it has large fields to conquer before the citadel, still held by the horse, can be approached. When this stage is reached a marked increase in the demand for the agrimotor will be felt, especially if it coincides with agricultural prosperity.
At the moment. it remains to emphasize two points—one, the need to develop the employment of the agrimotor to cover more fully all work on the farm, and the other to train men to handle it better, to which subject reference was made in The Commercial Motor. for last week. To get the best out of it, the .agrimotor needs no less care than used to be bestowed upon the teams, and the men need to be equally as well trained to their job.
Visitors to the trial will have every opportunity to study likely means for .fulfilling their requirements. Most farmers will be quite familiar with one or other of the standard makes that will be represented there, but there will also be many new machines to attract attention. They will have, this time, the added advantage of the report on the tests of the machines conducted during the summer, which should help those who want to select a machine and interest those who attend for educational purposes.
A Warning to Operators of Local Bus Services.
A GOOD many municipalities in different parts of the country have recently taken steps to put into operation motorbus services of their own, or to extend their existing bus systems along routes upon which they will compete with established privately owned services. In some cases tramway companies have been acquired with a view to the replacing of trams by trolley-buses or petrol-driven vehicles. • It seems that where the municipality finds itself untroubled by the privately operated bus services in its area, and where the services are conducted in a satisfactory manner, the natural tendency to leave well alone is followed. On the other hand, In cases where the local authorities have experienced difficulty in the supervision of privately owned services, where timetables are not followed and conductors permit overloading, where agreements with regard -to fares are not strictly adhered to, where vehicles are not kept in a satisfactory condition, and where breaches of the licensing conditions take place, it is but natural that they will find it better in the long run to face the initial difficulties of setting up on their own account and actually starting municipal bus services in competition with the existing proprietors.
Speaking generally, there is no doubt that a satisfactory degree of friendly co-operation exists between licensing authorities and busservice operators, but where troubles still persist the possibility of local councils deciding to operate their own vehicles may well be borne in mind by those at present engaged in running local bus services.
The Increasing Number of Uses for the Commercial-vehicle Chassis.
• THE uses of the commercial motor are -I-infinite in their variety. It is doubtful if any of those who first envisaged the application of the motorcar to serve the ends of trade a:nd industry ever in his most optimistic moments conceived one-tenth of the number of the ways in which it is now employed. It is certain that none of us to-day can foresee the limit of its utility.
That a motor vehicle should be used to carry materials for the making or remaking of a road is easy to understand ; that it should be utilized to make those materials en route or actually to dig up the surface of the old road as a preliminary to its repair is quite another story. Yet the one purpose is as much a commonplace as the other—to-day. To what new use the commercial motor will be put to-morrow none of us can with certainty forecast. We can be sure, however, that there will be surprises In store.
One thing at least : the tradesman or manufacturer who has in view some novel use tp which he thinks he might put the commercial vehicle need have no qualms about putting the proposition before any of our makers of such vehicles. It is very likely that he will find them quite able to meet his requirements, no matter how unusual these may be.