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THE AGRIMOTOR IN THE HAY FIELD.

19th July 1921, Page 28
19th July 1921
Page 28
Page 29
Page 28, 19th July 1921 — THE AGRIMOTOR IN THE HAY FIELD.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

The Use of the Agrimotor for Mowing the Hay, Loading it into Wagons and Hauling to the Rickyard. The Narrow and the Wide Cut.

THE MORE the agrimotor can be used for seasonal and general operations on the farm, the more popular it will become among ag-rik

eulturists. It is somewhat surprising that, on many I farms, the agrimotor is not used to anything like the extent that it. ought to be for any other than the : orthodox operations of ploughing and cultivating. I With the coming of the hay-making mason the opportunity is presented for a discussion of the merits and capabilities of the agrimotor in the hay field. Last year, more of these machines than ever were used in various capacities for this important operation, so that farmers have more experience to go upon than they had before ; that is, of course, assuming that one farmer takes note of what is done by his neighbour. At the outset, it can safely be asserted that the tractor or agrimotor is quite as serviceable and as adaptable in the hay field, for almost any operation, as when engaged on such operations as ploughing and cultivating.

Last season was cut up by the unsettled state of the weather, with the result that hay-making became a long drawn-out job, spreading over a period of three months throughout the country. A good quantity of hay was actually spoilt, but the effects of the wet weather would have been much more severely felt, as there would have been. considerably more spoilt hay in the country, had it not been for the fact that the agrimotor was used on many farms, thus enabling the occupiers to get in their hay just when it. was ready at short notice.

Much loss has been incurred in the past under the old horse and hand methods that need not occur in the future if the agrimotor is used. With this appliance; a week or fortnight of fine weather in the hay field goes a long way to securing the crop. Whereas, formerly, the breaking up of fine weather at the end of nine or fourteen days would just eatch the bulk of the crop ready for hauling. It is not only the better saving of the crop that can be effected in a had season when theagrimotor is fully employed. Even in the best of seasons, occasional rain occurs and, with the whole field of hay ready for the wagons just at the time, means that the whole of the hay has to be gone over again and shaken out for drying, involving, in these days of high wages, considerable expense and loss of time. . Of course, the farmer who does not own a tractor and does not use one for Cultivating purposes, can to some extent be excused for not employing one in the hay field, although, in the writer's opinion, no farmer with anything but the heaviest soil should be without his agrimotor. There is no excuse for the man who has an agrimotor -not using it in the hay field. It can be used for mowing the grass; if needed, the agrimotor will turn the hay, get it together, will load it on the wagons and haul it to the rick.

There is one matter that might be pointed out in connection with mowing bytractor. One mowing, machine .behind the power of an agrimotor is waste. Two machines at least should be employed at a time, and the cut (af these machines should be fairly wide. There are machines on the market designed for agrimotors' use that give a 7 ft. or 8 ft. cut. This type of 'machine is very useful and economical on level land, but where conditions of land levelness do not -exist, the better plaa is to employ a machine with a shorter cut, in which ease 51 ft. or 6 ft. would be wide enough.

Many farmers dislike the ma-Chine that has a very wide cut, and the reason for it, if sought for, would generally be found to be that the land on the particular farm was not level. And there is another point. The very wide mowers that I have seen up to the presenthave, in the majority of cases, been too weak. The cut is lengthened and the machine made generally larger, but sufficient additional strength -to enable it to withstand the constant poll of the agrimotor is not provided. The pull of a motor is always much more rigid than that of the horse. For instance, when a mower drawn by horses encounters an obstacle, the horses will often stop or diminish their pull, but when a machine drawn by an agrimotor meets an obstacle there is less inclination an the part of the tractor to give in any way. What frequently happens then is serious damage to-the machine. With the advance of power farming, it will be more and more necessary for farmers to. do what they can to keep their fields level and free from obstacles likely to damage the mowing machine. Special release drawbar hitches are a great help, but they must not be regarded as a substitute for weakness in the machine.

Theother important. operation which can be per-formed by the agrimotor in the hay field is the loading up of the hay and the carting of it to the rick. This is, under the old methods, the heaviest operation in the hay field and one for which-the agrimotor has been very little used., I do not know why it should not have been employed more for loading up the hay, but should imagine, judging by my own experience, that, in most cases, it has not been thought possible to do such work by agrimotor.

I was on' a large farm last year during the hay making, and found there two gangs of men each with _ a wagon loading up hay. One wagon was being drawn by an agrimotor and the other by a team of horses. Two points stood out in great prominence in connection with this operation. Let me say, before proceeding further, that the hay was being loaded by a patent loader attached to the rear of the wagon in both cases. It was not being loaded by the very old and out-of-date method of men with pitchforks. The hay had already been drawn into windrows and the wagons were being hauled over the windrows With the loaders at the rear picking up the rows of hay and winding it on to the wagons. The point that stood out with exceptional interest in. regard to the wagon hauled by the tractor over the one hauled by the team of horses was that, in the former case, a row of hay was cleared in just half the time required by the horses. The second point was that a heavier load was carried to the rick, and a third, but very important point, was that the men declared that it was very much easier indeed to load hay behind an agrimotor than behind the horses.

Generally, two men are required on the load to receive the hay that is carried up by the loader.' These men have to work on top of the load while the wagon is being moved along the field. The steadier the movement of the wagon the better it is for the loaders, being easier and less dangerous, whilst the work is better done. The men declared that They would far rather load behind an agrimotor than behind a team of horses for the reasons given above, and also because they know that when they. shouted " Stop! " the agrimotor would stop, .and when they shouted" Right away ! "it would start. . With horses, they never knew whether the animals would. stop or not when asked, or when or whether they would start again without being asked and while the men were not prepared. Even at the best of times there was

a good 'deal lof jerking and shuffling that involved a certain amount of risk.

But the agrimotor can be used for all operations needing power in the hay field. It can be used for turning the hay with swath turners, and for bringing it into windrows ready for loading up, thus obviating the need for the hard manual labour that used to accompany hay making. There is very little need for the use of extra horselabour.

The grass can be mown lay agrimotor, it can be turned for making, and drawn into windrows for loading up, also it can be draaivn to the rick. At the rick, power, again, can be used for hauling it from the wagons on to the stack. It will be found under these methods that the operation works out to be much less expensive than where horses are employed. The actual cost of labour and of power works out cheaper, and there is also a considerable saving in the hay field in the matter of annual loss.

I ought to have mentioned, when discussing the question of employing more than one mowing machine, that, in all eases properly adjusted hitch attachments should be employed. There is no need for a lengthy description of these hitches • they can be made at home if there is anyone capable of doing the work, but the best and most efficient are those supplied by the various agrimotor manufacturers. I notice that Saundersons, of Bedford, hate a very good hitch attachment for binders and mowers. It will be found that a suitable one can be secured for every make of agrimotor. Usually, the manufacturers and their agents are able to give particulars of these, and the cost, considering the importance of the device, is small. Another matter that might be dealt with here is that relating to the farm inotorlorry. On many farms throughout the country, motor lorries are employed for various purposes, and there is no reason why these too should not be employed for the loading up and hauling of hay from the hay field when required. I have seen them being used with very good results, and, of course, their speed favours them, especially in a " catchy" season. There is a larger area under hay this year, and the great fall in its value—which is not likely to revive to any great degree—points to the need for cheap and economical methods of making and gathering. AGRIMOT.

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