SCOTTISH TRACTOR TRIALS.
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Detailed Report of the Official Agrimotor Tests at Edinburgh. [By Our Special Commissioner.]
Edinburgh last week added another to its list. of historical events, the occasion being the first meeting of the 1917 tractor trials, which will undoubtedly go down to history as marking the real commencement of a new era of farming. The Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, a most ancient body, is to be complimented upon its latest effort. The present is the third demonstration of the kind which has been held under the auspices of the society. The first, held in 1904, was probably the pioneer effort, and was attended by two machines, the Ivel, known to all of our readers, and a machine named the Scott, made near Edinburgh, but now, apparently, defunct. The second' trials were held in Stirling, just two years ago ; for those seven tractors entered, of which five actually competed. The going on that occasion was very rough, and, with the exception of the little Wyles, reputations were not enhanced by the performances of the various competitors.
On this third and present occasion, the total of entries, • exclusive of four special tractor ploughs, was 38. Of this number no fewer than 30 were on the ground for the first day of the trial—a preliminary oimin of success, as all who are acquainted with present-day difficulties of transport will agree. Of the 30, only one failed to put up a respectable performance during the day. Even bearing in mind the fact that the conditions this time are less onerous than on the last occasion, the difference shown by the 'results. is truly remarkable, considering the short period between the two tests.
The actual trial grounds consisted of a number of fields forming part of the East Craigie. Home Farm, Cramond Bridge, about 5L miles from Edinburgh.
These fields were placed at the disposal of the society by the Right Hon. the Earl of Rosebery, K.G.,K.T., who is the society's president. Two, in which the bulk of the first-day's ploughing was accomplished, were of a nature to provide varied interest to the spectators and correspondingly intense care for the operators. --The cause'was a ridge which ran almost from end to end, and situated a little nearer to one side of the fields than to the other. The conesqiience was thatwhile uphill work was the portion of all the participators, there were several, whose plots were situated on the side with the narrowest stretch from ridge to hedge, who had some pieces of 1 in 8 to mount, as well as to keep their respective two, three or four furrows going. Not. one machine failed in its accomplishment of this task_ The soil was not of a kind to give trouble to even the least •efficient of machines. Easily friable, but not So much so as to.-cause trouble by the wheels of the tractors digging in, and slightly moistened by the gentle rains of the preceding two days, it was cut by the shares as cleanly and easily as butter ,by the knife. Either on stubble or lea land, trouble was conspicuous by its absence ; if one class of tractor suffered; it Was the heaviest the of wheeled machine, which here and there failed to obtain sufficient grip for propulsion. Such a one, for example, was the 25 h.p. Mogul, which, after several efforts with a fourfurrow implement, finally gave in to the inevitable, as represented by the yielding ground, and thereafter operated continutiiisly and successfully with three shares.
• The whole area Was divided into narrow rectangular plots, each of which occupied about half an acre. They were laid out, in the main fields at least, so that each plot commenced near the hedge and ran up to within a short distance of the top of the ridge. Each competitor commenced by taking a cut along the side of his plot, and, turning at the headlands, his second operation being along the inside of the opposite bouridasy of the section. Every succeeding set of furrows; it will be gathered, narrowed the space for turning at the headlands. This unusual arrangement of the lands
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is worthy of note; as it allowed the mameuvring capabilities of each machine to be carefully observed_
The actual morning of the opening day was fine, and 8.30 found many v of the entrants busily tuning up. Burford's little Cleveland, in particular, was observed to-be taking exercise up and down the field ; this machine, together with the Emerson, opened the trial, and proceeded to do well. Both of them are typical, each of its class : they have both been described in these columns quite recently, and therefore call for very little more than passing reference at least as regards details of construction. The Burford-Cleveland is of perhaps greater interest, on account of its chain tracks, as this is a type which, besides having, iu a very considerable degree, the virtue
of novelty, at any rate to the farming community, is undoubtedly. one which will form a considerableproportion of the tractors of the future, those which will dominate the market, as distinct from a few special types for which there will always be a limitql demand. . Pulling a power-lift Oliver plough, and cutting two clean furrows, 10 ins. wide by 6 ins, deep, the tractor made light of _its .allotted task. It travelled up and' down its' 8 'per-cent. grade at about three miles per hour, turning the sad over nioely and cleanly. ' At the head:ands, of ' course, it showed to particular advantage, being able, by reason'of the rapid steering effect gained by manipulating . the _chain tracks; to turn' in its own -length. It earned a just rneed of praise from all the parties concerned, and its neat appearance, small size and compactness were subjects, for favourable coin• ment.
The Emerson also, put up a fine perform anCe . The Model demonstrated was-the 30 lip. one, and it was engaged in hauling a three-furrow 12-in, bottom plough. A.striking feature of this machine, and one which might usefully in considered as to its suitability for more general adoption, is, the powerhoist attachment. .A shaft at the extreme rear of the .tractor frame serves as the fulcrum for a miniature jib crane, On the gearshaft is a' crank which is coupled to the jib of this crane, and the crank is clutched to the gearbox by means of .a pedal, so that.pressure on the pedal causes the crank to be revolved through half a revolution. This movement suffices to liftthe plough, quickly and evenly clear of the ground. Release of the pedal enables the implement to be returned, when it enters • the soil and commences to cut at once. , The passible objection that, with, as in this case, a three-furrow, plough, a serrated e'dge • would be given to the' ploughing at the headlands' is met by placing the ploughs very close behind one another, so that the distance from the -toe of the foremost to the toe of the rearmost is comparatively small. The operation of this device needs to be seen before its value can be truly appreciated. It was very apparent during this demonstration, owing to the special arrangement of the land, as described above, as when the turn at the head became short, all but the chain track ma
chines had to reverse or shunt in order to get in line with the next furrow. With the plough lifted bodily from the ground, • i as n this case, such procedure became comparatively simple. The third machine to take the field before the action became general was the .
Wallis Cub Junior.This is ,undoubtedly, from an engineer's point of view, the best example of tractor construction present, if we except perhaps the Allda,ys Universal tractor. Its totally-enclosed transmission sets an example to be followed. The outstanding feature is perhaps the design of its double-reductiongear rear axle. Its weight is low—only 3000 lb., and it is powerfully engined. We are credibly informed that it can in ease of need succeed in exerting a drawbar pull in excess of its . weight, an achievement seemingly but not actually impossible. Its performance was on a par with its general excellence of design. It was hitched to a three-share self-lift Case plough, and turned consistently well-cut furrows 8 ins. deep by 14 ins: wide. It was exceptionally speedy, and completed its allotted half-acre well in advance of all its competitors; not failing. to make a good finish to the final and central furrow.
By the time the Wallis had got into its stride the majority' of the tractors had made a start. Early interest was evinced in a novel attachment for a Ford car
which was, being demonstrated by a Mr. liodg.son, of Carlisle. In this machine a couple of 'perch bars, meeting at the front on the front axle' of the car chassis, to which axle they are pivoted, diverge to the rear and form the frame of the tractor. Bearings on this frame carry the hind axle of the ear. a countershaft, and the rear axle of the tractor. The road wheels of the car are all removed. The front ones are replaced by plain, steel-tyred and steel-spoked wheels, of the usual construction. The rear ones a-Fe replaced by sprocket pinions from which a double-reduction drive by chains conveys the power to the driving axle of
the tractor. The driving wheels are three in number, the central one being skeleton and consisting of a framework on which • are mowited angle-steel strakes; this wheel is as wide as it can be made, in regard to its position between the frame members. The two Outer wheels are also fitted with strakes.
Driven by a boy of 15 years of age, and cutting three good furrows, it was certainly the sort of proposition to attract attention. .b'armer after farmer was heard to exclaim that it was the sort of manceuvre, and in our opinion this fact • -will mitigate against its ever achieving any permanent success. On the next allotment the largest of the International Harvester Co.'s, family, the 25 h.p. Mogul, was indifferently operating a four-furrow plough. It appeared that the soil was too soft, for it to grip well enough to exert its full capacity, and, as stated above, a change was shortly made to a three-furrow implement, with which much better 'success was obtained. In sharp contrast was the performance of the small brother of thp same tribe, the 16 h.p. single-ey finder Mogul, which patiently and methodically chug-ch.ugging away in the next halfacre, and also pulling a three-furrow im. plement, Was turning some of the best furrows of the day; its proficiency in this respect being due, in no small measure, to the comparative slowness of its travel, Such is our opinion.
• Near by was to be seen the Titan., f' which. the Food Production Department is buying largely. It also was performing well with three farrows.
The G.W.W. and its stable companion the Kingsway were' set to work iii ad. ja,cent allotments. Both were described in these columns quite recently. The former, the larger machine of the two, a four-wheeled, four-cylindered-engine tractor, was coupledto a three-furrow plough, with which it was cutting some deep furrows and at a good speed. It finished it* plot in a comparatively short time, afterwards proceeding some distance along the field and doing a second one on similar stubble land. The Kingsway, a three-wheeled machine of considerable interest, early , met with die aster, as the ploughs struck a boulder, and the effect of the impact was to bend the frame. A spare section was fitted, and work started again, only to meet wito second mishap of the same 'nature a little farther down the field. Magneto trouble also was experienced, and the result was that this machine had to fall out, at least so far as the •Edinburgh trial was concerned.
The little two-cylindered 12 Fowler was to be seen in an adjacent plot, cutting slowly but surely its two 8 in. by 10-in. furrows. This maChinea
gives one the rather peculiar impression that it is walking along, an effect which is no doubt caused by the comparatively small diameter of the driving wheels, together with the .rather sparingly used cleats. This self-contained machine was
much admired, although it was easy to see that the .unusually heavy vibration
of the controlling handles, caused by an engine 'Which was alittle out of bal'ance, and not a normal feature of this machine, created rather • a' bad impres
sion. The driver, too, appears to have rather a lot to do each time the end of
the furrow is reached. ACttially, lie has no mere to do than has the driver of any other machine which is coupled to an automatic-lift plough, but because he
(lees it all with his'hands, and cannot perform with his feet, it looks more than
with the ordinary typ'e of tractor. The Wyles and Martin also have the swim characteristic; it has been avoided on the Moline, which is also a self-contained motor plough, by giving the •driver better placed saddle, and arranging for foot control of some of the operations. Mr. F. S. Bennett was busy with two tractors, each of which has some special feature worthy of note. Both are threewheelers, but are quite different in de
sign. One, the Samson, also called the Sieve-grip, on account of the construction of its wheels, is a squat, powerful machine; the first impression given one is that it is an all power unit. A substantial engine and gearbox, mounted on a minimum of frame, and carried by three wide, small wheels of unusual construction, sum up its principal characteristics, The other tractor, known as the Allis.Chalinees, is of mareinortual design. It has two large arivm4 wheels at the rear, and a third one carried in a bicycle fork bracket, disposed so as to run in the furrow and act as a guide. Each of them had three-furrow ploughs attached, and both performed well., Appearing to be of the siac most suited to ,the needs ofi the British farmer, the Case 18 h.!). tractor, a four-cylinder-engined machine, fitted with bonnet and radiator, iuid baying a. two-speed and reverse gearbox and find drive by chain, did quite well on the stubble land, pull ing a two-furrow plough. The fourwheeled tractor was the first on the ground; the three-wheeled one, embodying a similar power unit, arrived later. To state the performance of each' rna,chine would take too long, awl would only entail needless repetition. The truth of the matter is that the going was too easy to cause difficulty to any ma. chine. Occasional encounters with large stones and adjustments to ploughs were the only causes of stoppages. In the' former category we have already made reference to the misfortunes of the Kingsway. Another unfortunate was the Mann, the only steamer present, which completely buckled a plough in the first. half hour of its working, the obstruction being a boulder measuring about 20 ins. each way.
The Clydesdale, a useful machine, to which we made reference in a recent issue, and which is notable for its ease of running, the use of a good old-fashioned and efficient Pickering governor on its engine, and an abnormally good steering lock, was delayed .somewhat -in the earlier stages by adjustment to the plough. It afterwards performed excellently, a notable feature being the even work and the care taken that the ploughing should be good, rather than that an exhitition of speedy work should be made.
The Saunderson was delayed owing to the non-arrival of its plough, and at one . time it looked as though it was going to be necessary to postpone its demonstration till the second trial of the series. licrwever, the missing implement turned up eVenttially, and the tractor got to work towards the close of the first day. It soon made up all arrears, cutting deep and well with the new Saunderson threefurrow tractor plough.
The Martin and WyIes,, bath self-contained motor .ploughs of British make, too well knoWn to need any description, both accomplished their allotted tasks with ease, ag also did the• Moline, an American of similar type.
Another Ford attachment was present in the Eros Mak-a Tractor. This was attached to a Morris-Russell two.furrow automatic liftplough of novel and simple design, for which we should expect to see a big demand. . (In the conclusion of the first day's ploughing, an exhibition of the detachment of the tractor parts was given, and the machine was reconverted to a touring car and driven away inside 10 minutes.
Neither the Boon nor the Caledon {Waller) put in an appearance. The Chase, a new machine, is unusual in design in that all the machinery is "sii§pended from the frame instead of being carried an it. It fell iota line with the rest, and "carried oh" successfully.. We had almost Closed without refer! ence to the Whiting Bull. This machine had a stiff pribleni to tackle on the lea land, being allotted one of the stiffest hits, up which we observed it pulling a two-furrow plough, and cutting 7/ ins.
deep by 14 ins wide. .
The proceedings were closed by an address .by the Lord Provost, and the tractors were then all loaded on rail for de.spatch to Glasgow.