REFLECTIONS ON THE LINCOLN TRIALS.
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Comments on the Judges Awards and on the Excellence of• the Work of Other Competing Machines.
ONE HAS to be careful to regard the recent Lincoln Trials as a test and not as a demonstration, which is the sole reason for there not being a large number of the public present after about the first three days, but I think it was clearly proved that a demonstration will not need to last so long as did these tests, and I think the Satiety of Motor Manufacturers and Traders cannot do better in making their arrangements for next year than to have the opening day on a Tuesday, the ooncluding day on the following Saturday at the latest. That will be quite long enough to enable the farmers and other interested persons to make up their minds as to the capabilities of the machines.
The one dominant feature of the trials was the entire success of the tractors, taken on the whole, for there were only two machines that had to retire as the result of mechanical trouble. The Pick Co. ought not to have entered their new machine until they had had time to submit it to further tests. The Santler people really ought to have paid more regard to their machine, because there, are many inquiries for a really geod one-way motor plough.
Many farmers were interested in making comparisons between the work of the tractor and the work of the cable sets, and I was rather amused with some of the criticisms I heard in the course of these comparisons. For instance, the cable sets, though they plough up all the ground thoroughly and really do till the soil, do not give that nice finish to the ploughing that a good ploughman gives with horses. The farmer is quite satisfied with their work, however. He does not expect the cable sets to give good finish to work. So long as the ground is all cut and turned over, he says that is all that matters; yet when it comes to the motor tractor on direct traction, the furrows must be turned up exactly, and the finish of the work must be as good as, or better than, exhibition ploughing by horses in order to satisfy him. It is rather queer ! I do not think I need say much about the cable sets, but there are, of course, many farmers who think that direct traction is not suitable for the heaviest land in this country because the engine passing over it compresses the soil, and they look to cable seta for use under these conditions, but the steam ea.ble sets are so very expensive as to be out of the reach of the average farmer, and it remains for the makers of the internal-combustion double engine sets to prove to him and the estate owner that, in the long run, the internal-combustion engine is less expensive than steam. I can understand that where salt water abounds, or in those parts of the world where coal and water are scarce, the internalcombustion engine for cable work would be better.
As to direct steam traction, the Mann, which was the only entrant, did splendid work with a fourfurrow plough, but I should say that there is in this country much land over whieh it would not be safe to take such a heavy engine for direct traction purposes.
The two important classes in the trials were Classes 1 and 2, although Class 3 was interesting in producing the Lauson, which could pull a fourfurrow plough through heavy laud on low fuel consumption. This indicated that four furrows with low speed is more economical than high speed with fewer furrows.
I cannot imagine why the Berna was not deserving of the bronze medal, seeing that its work was not far behind that of the Lauson, except that, fortunately, it had to encounter one or two little mishaps. An additional model of the Berne, by the way, gave a convincing demonstration of the Berna rotary cultivator on a field near Scampton aerodrome on the second Wednesday of the trials.
The work of the tractors in Classes 1 and 2 was really good, both on the heavy land and on the light. Some entrants undoubtedly attempted too much. For instance, the Austin in Class 2 ought never to have been there; it was not fair to the machine to place it by the side of such huge and powerful ones as the Peterboro', the Emerson, and others:
The Austin and the Garner, -which 2,re really excellent machines and have lost no credit ,by not
winning a medal at Lincoln, ought to have been in a class for general purpose tractors, with other's. The Garner really did splendid work with its plough ing, though I understand that its fuel consumption
was higher than it ought to have been; but, on general work such as road haulage, with its patent
rubber bands, it was really first-class, while to see the little Austin struggling with a three-furrow plough on land exerting a drawbar pull of 3,300 lb. was really witnessing a fine feat, testifying to the power and the quality of this little tractor. Those who heard the Austin being compared with the Fordeon, both on the heavy land and on hillclimbing, could form their own opinion as to the fairness of the comparison. The former proved itself not to be merely a "glorified" model of the latter.
The Fordson did very well, and carried out all that any ordinary farmer really requires of it, but the Austin can do much more than the Fordson ; that was made pretty evident at the trials. On medium or light soils, however' there is in this country a great place for the Fordson.
I should have liked the Chase to have been given a better chance of demonstrating its capabilities. This, the Garner and one or two others were given very little opportunity of demonstrating what they could do. The ' fact that the Chase is a threewheeler, a single wheel being in front, seemed to • prejudice it at once in the minds of most people, yet
• the Chase, as a three-wheeler, is designed in such a way as to make three wheels more economical and more suitable and easy to manage than four. There are tractors on three wheels that ought to be on four, but this is not the case in regard to the Chase. I wish the Titan had been there, because this machine has the credit for being one of the best in the country on heavy land' it was pretty busy, together with the International Junior, in fields
• between the scene of the trials and the City of Lincoln, where the tractors did a considerable amount of work.
The Samson was a very quiet, persistent machine, which I liked, and the Saunderson and Glasgow were yery much the same as last year, the Glasgow being the best for hill-climbing It was characteristic of the American machines that they were all of a goad reliable standard. The Parrett machine is used a good deal for contract work in this country, and it would be rather interesting to get at some of the figures of. costs if this. were possible. In the class for motor ploughs, the Crawley is also in good demand for contract 'ploughing.
We might now have a word or two on the machines in Classes 1, 2, and 7. I was not surprised to find that the Case had won the gold medal in Class 1, but I had expected even more that the Case would have won in Class 2. However, it did not. In my own opinion, the Case deserved all the honours which it has obtained, and the Cletrac too.
I have, in my reports, testified to the excellent work done by the Cletrac, so that it was not so surprising to find it well up to the front. There is a suggestion that chain track machines should be placed in a. class`by themselves, but I doubt whether there is a sufficient number of them in this country for that purpose.
In regard to the Wallis, everybody expected that that would get a prize, and the Peterboro' ought to have beaten it for the gold medal. It is a very big machine, with a Ricardo engine, and it was thought in some quarters that this machine should have been entered in the class for a four-furrow plough.
The arrangement of the classes was really not very good, because there was such a disparity between the power and size and general make-up .of the various tractors..
It is not claimed that the Case is a general purpose machine' only a land worker. On the other hand, Wallis, Cletrac, and Peterboro' are claimed to do general work.
In regard to the class for motor ploughs, there is no doubt that the awards in this class are right. The Moline and the Crawley must have been funning each other very close all the way through for the
first place. The other machines could hardly be compared with-them because they were so different. The Boon, perhaps, might have been,, although it was a much smaller machine, but certainly there was no resemblance between the Martin chain track, the Fowler and the other three machines mentioned. There was, however, much more satisfaction expressed by those outsiders who had made a close study of the trials, in regard to the awards in Class 7 than in Classes 1 and 2, but I do not propose to say anything on that subject at this stage. One thing I-do hope, and that is that the award of medals to certain machines will not result in any stigma being placed upon the non-winners, because these machines accomplished all that has ever been expected of them.Besides, these gold medals, in the case of motor tractors, cannot give value for very long, because either the makers must constantly be making improvementS, or a better tractor will be introduced. As Mr. Edge says, " the best has not yet come out of the box."
There is no doubt about it that some of the smaller machines, especially those at a reasonable price, fully justify their existence by the tests which they passed at the trials. The suggestion has been made that the R.A.S.E. should hold periodical trials in which tractors should be submitted to certain tests, and that all tractors passing a certain test should be given a certificate to the effect that they had satisfied the judges. This, it is felt, would be altogether to the advantage of the manufacturers and .a greater guide to the farmers than the award of medals to two machines in each of various clasaes.
Should the Society, however, decide to arrange other trials in a few years' time, it is thought that, unless there be a great settling down in the standard of tractor construction in the meantime, there should be more classes,, and particularly a class for general purpose tractors as distinct from mere land machines. in this respect., it would be better if the machines could be arranged actually to cut standing eorn in the course of the binder test, than to be required to go through the raanceuvres as at Scampton, which, to say the least of them, were of very little value. • Also, some method should be devised of ascertaining the amount of lubricating oil required by each tractor. This is an impprtant item in costs at the present day. I do not say that the points should be very strict ; certain latitude should be allowed, but a good general knowledge of the lubricating oil required by each tractor should be forthcoming. I understand the judges' report will he issued very shortly, and it will prove very interesting reading indeed to see how they arrived at their awards.
As to next year's trials, I understand that the
Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders already have the matter in hand, and it is not expected that any awards will be _made, but that the function will take upon it the form of a demonstration as in 1919.