THE INTERNA OF AGE TONAL TRIAL VIOTORS
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A Comprehensive Report of the Performances in Public of the Machines Competing in the World Tractor Trials, that Were Given Last Week near Wantage Britain, America, Canada, France, Germany, Sweden, Ireland, Hungary and Switzerland Represented in the Important Demonstration of Many Types of Agrimotor By Our Agricu Correspondent
HE weather on the opening day of the inter national trials of agrimotors, held at Ardington, near Wantage, Berkshire, last Tuesday, was not ideal. Rain was not sufficient to hinder the work, but the drizzle which lasted throughout the day made things unpleasant for visitors and doubtless kept away many people. How many farmers and others directly interested attended on the first day it would be impossible to say, as the site was so widespread and the machines scattered so far apart that no estimate could be given of the numbers forming the different groups. All seemed seriously interested.
The site was somewhat difficult to reach, as train and road services in the district are not particularly satisfactory, but apart from this and the fact that the spectators were widely scattered, it was quite suitable for the purpose. There were large fields for the tractors to work in, providing full scope for the great agricultural powers of these machines. Most , of the sections could be approached by the downland roads intersecting them, without hedges or fences to interrupt the progress of the visitor in his wanderings from one point of interest to another.
Some of the soil could not be ploughed deeply, however, owing to technical difficulties encountered in its chemical composition, which made it unadvisable to bring any of the subsoil to the surface. This somewhat limited the machines in displaying full power in hauling the implements with which they were equipped.
The work on the first day consisted of ploughing, and the name of Ransomes, Sims and Jefferies, Ltd., was prominent on ploughs used with various agrimotors, followed by Howards, of Bedford, and the International Harvester Co., of Great Britain, Ltd. Ploughs
varied in size and capacity from the single-furrow type for market-garden Work to the 20-furrow pattern used in connection with the Caterpillar 60.
We have already reported that during the summer all the machines taking part in the demonstrations were submitted to official tests by the Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Oxford University, in conjunction with the Royal Agricultural Society of England; the results of these tests were ably set out in an excellent report, issued under the auspices of the R.A.S.E., in conjunction with the Institute, in time to be available before the opening of the demonstrations. The report also served the purpose of a catalogue and guide to visitors.. The authors truly deserve our congratulations upon this product.
In describing the work. done by the machines I cannot do better than follow the example set forth in the brief introductory note to the official report. In the demonstrations all the machines performed well, any difference being a matter of detail, of which the individual farmer would approve or disapprove according to his awn particular needs. A similar state of affairs Obtained in the tests, in both cases the object being not necessarily to determine which tractor is the best its class, but to show exactly what each machine is capable of doing under normal conditions.
There is no expression of opinion in the report, which is confined simply to the actual results of the tests, together with notes on points directly connected with :them. Each farmer, having regard to the work which he will require his tractor to do and to the conditions under which he will require it to work, Must decide for himself which machine will best suit his purposes.
The report gives fully the results of belt, drawbar field (ploughing and cultivating) and hard-road tests, summarized results and notes on costs, besides an account of the trials of market-garden cultivators. No summary could do justice to this report; those who are interested should purchase a copy.. It costs only Is.
Farmers are naturally more interested in the economic side of machinery than in the mechanical aspect, and they will appreciate the attempt made to give them an idea of the cash value of the tractors that they buy in terms of work potentiality. The tractors for purposes of the tests were divided into three groups, namely, paraffin machines, petrol tractors and fuel-oil appliances.
Comparing the three types it is easy to see that e34 for advantages in one direction sacrifices are often necessary in another. For instance, in some respects the Diesel and semi-Diesel types offer advantages over the paraffin tractor, but the last-named does not require the same capital outlay, and so on the economic side things are balanced up considerably and the paraffin machine still holds its same important place, although in some quarters much is expected in future from the crude-oil tractor.
There were originally 33 entries, and 30 took part in the demonstration, 10 emanating from the U.S.A., eight home manufactured, five from France, four from Germany, two each from Canada and Sweden, and one each from Ireland and Hungary, with two British and one Swiss garden cultivators. Divided into three groups, according to the type of fuel used, the different makes are :— PARAFFIN.—Austin 22 h.p. (France) ; Rushton wheeled ''''model (Britain) ; Farman (International), Intvnational 10-20 h.p. and 15-30 h.p. (all U.S.A.); Massey-Harris 12-20 h.p. and 12-30 h.p. (constructed in America by the Massey Harris Co., of Toronto); Case, models C and L (U.S.A.).
PETROL.—Citroen-Kegresse, Austin 20 h.p. (both France) ; Caterpillar, models, 10, 15, 20, 30 and 60 (U.S.A.) ; Latil (France) ; Rushton Roadless (Great Britain) ; Linke (Germany).
DinsEL.—Mercedes-Benz (Germany) ; McLaren, Marshall, Blackstone, Aveling and Porter (all Great Britain).
SEMI-DIESEL.—Munktells 15-22 h.p. and 20-30 h.p. (Sweden) ; Hofherr-Schrantz (Hungary) ; Lanz (Germany).
• The Austin (taking the paratin tractors first) did genii work with a digger plough; and many people were glad to see this well-known nriake again on British fields, although it is now manufactured abroad. It is a handy little tractor highly suited to work in market gardening, fruit-growing and hop-growing districts; The Rushton-wheeled model did highly satisfactory work, and in appearance is a promising British product. Through some mistake having nothing to do with the merits of the tractor as such, the Rushton does not seem to have done so well in the tests as it could have done. This is rather disappointing, because we all know what a successful machine it is, and it certainly made up on the field for this lapse.
All the American paraffin machines did well, the manufacturers in that country having apparently mastered the requirements expected in the generalpurpose machine. The Farman is rather curious of appearance on account of the two front wheels being Close. .together—an arrangement which enables it to work between the rows of crops. It 18, hoWever, an excellent machine and performed creditably in the tests, besides doing firstclass work on the field, as did the other International machines.
The . neat Massey-Harris tractor proved highly satisfactory,whilst the sturdy Case maintained its old reputation for hard work and reliability. If an opinion may be expressed this machine was amongst the best in the tests.
Quite a variety of machines were utilizing petrol, as the above list shows. There were the other Austin, all the Caterpillar models, the Rushton Roadless, Latil, and the Linke. All were performing well. The Rushton is a useful .machine, whilst the Lath l has a peculiarly strong point in the fact that it can operate on the land by means of adjustable strakes over pneumatic tyres; when the strakes, are remover], the machine is able to haul: heavy loads alongrthe road. It is a good machine for sugar-beet growers; in winter and spring it will cultivate the' land, and in autumn it will haul the, crop to the factory.
The German Linke was Rlo a good machine, but, without further examination, I do not see that it is greatly different from the other .petrol-driven tracklaying machines.
Quite a different appliance is the Citron-Segresse. This is more in the nature of a car, lorry and tractor combined. It will plough, as it -was doing at Ardington, with a deep-digger and do the work quite as well as will a tract& proper ; it will haul a load and tragel along the road at ordinary motorcar speed, anti, by means of its rear track, is able to travei over fields .pleughed or otherwise.
The Caterpillar tractors in this 'class attracted considerable attention. The 10, 15 and 20 models were
ploughing in green mustard that was growing 1 fl 6 ins, high, and a fine job they were making of it These are capital machines for ordinary farming put poses. They were hauling three, four and five-furrov ploughs respectively. The two big machines mad' short work of their ploughing in a large field whicl they had to themselves, the 30 model hauling sever furrows and the 60 twenty furrows. These arehighl; suitable tractors for the 20,000-acre farm.
On the first day I was not able to examine closel; the work of all the tractors, but they. eventually calm in for 'inspection. Towards ,evening the continue( drizzle made the work more difficult.
On Wednesday, the second day of the demonstration I examined more particularly the work of the fuel-el agrimotor, the first being the new machine built 1-K1 Marshall, Sons and Co:, Ltd., of Gainsborough, the sib of which was conveniently situated near the roadside This is a wheeled-type machine with a single-cylinderet Diesel,' engine, . notnipal 'rating 16-24. starting by
torch and running on Diesel 'oil. It pulled a Ransomes four-furrow plough, doing itswork thoroughly.
Two other, British Diesel machines, the Blackstone and the Aveling and Porter, were working together in another field. Both are A.G.E. products of the Wheeled type, with four-cylindered engines, the Aveling and Porter 'tractor being rated at 22,38 h.p: It is started by a 6 h.p. electric motor, and the Blackstone, the nominal rating of which is 20-28 h.p., starts with am. auxiliary petrol engine, both running on Diesel oil and doing satisfactory work, each with a four-furrow plough.
The Merekles-Benz and the 3.1cLaren-BenZ were working in a field some distance away from the others. The former agrimotor was entered by J. and H. :McLaren, Ltd., of Leeds, the country of origin as given in the catalogue being Germany. The same company manufactures the McLaren-Benz, the four-wheeled tractor with a two-cylindered engine (Diesel) of 16-27.5 -h.p. nominal rating. • The Merc6ds-Benz, also on four wheels, has a single-cylindered engine of 1420 h.p. nominal rating; both start by torch and run on Diesel oil; the former machine was operating a Hornsby four-furrow plough and the latter a Ransornes plough of three furrows.
All the work witnessed on the days mentioned was well done and gave one an optimistic feeling as to the tractor's future.
(To be concluded.) c35