PROFITABLE HARVESTING DI VIANDS POWER EQUIPMENT
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Pointing to a Series of Agricultural Operations for the Successful Completing of which Mechanical Plant is Imperative
How the Use of Tractor Power Has Assisted in the Defeat of Weather and Labour-shortage Difficulties
WHILST the part played by mechanical equipment in the preparation of the land for cropping is well appreciated, it is no less true that we must look to the same source of power for successful harvesting. The abili'y of the tractor to get through a great deal of work in times of urgency has a big influence upon establishing a crop in satisfactory conditions, But if it cannot be harvested in good condition, all the preliminary advantages will be lost.
Tractor power has brought to the harvest field a variety of new power-driven appliances which help to defeat difficulties due to weather and labour shortage. In the cornfield we have progressed, in the first place, from the horse-drawn reaper to the tractor-operated power binder, This class of machine offers the advantages not only of an increased cutting width of 6-10 ft. in place of 4 ft. 6 ins. or 5 ft., but also of greater utility.
The horse-drawn or trailer binder depends for the operation of its working parts upon the adhesion of one main or bull wheel. Should the land be soft or slippery, skidding of this wheel may easily put the machine out of action, whilst a further weakness is that the working parts are in motion only when the machine is travelling forward.
gi Power Binder Unaffected by State of the Land •
The power binder, on the other hand, is actuated by the engine of the tractor, through the medium of the power take-off shaft. This means that the machine can be worked irrespective of the state of the land, or it can be kept in motion when forward travel is stopped.
This feature is of great assistance in dealing with difficult conditions. Sometimes a fault in the tying mechanism causes sheaves to be ejected untied. It is possible, with a power binder, to stop the machine, throw the loose corn back on the platform and to pass it through again after the fault has been rectified.
Again, where a crop has been laid or tangled by stormy weather, it may be impossible to progress at full speed and a trailer binder fails altogether. The power-driven type can be edged forward a yard at a time, if necessary, with the binding mechanism running at normal speed, to cope with the difficult spots.
Some doubt is expressed by farmers unaccustomed to this type of machine as to the practicability of 8-ft. or 10-ft. cut machines, suggesting that the tying mechanism will not be able to deal with all the corn coming through from a heavy crop. Whilst this may be true in certain fields, it should be remembered that, in such circumstances, one can always take a partial cut, whilst, in most average conditions, the machine will master its full task.
• Power Binder Calls for Special Knowledge • The power binder is a somewhat intricate machine and comparatively few service men really understand its working in such a way as to be able quickly to detect the cause of any particular fault. Anyone who is to have charge of these machines should, if possible, spend some time beforehand with a maker's expert, or, at any rate, with an instruction book, making a thorough study of the working parts and their functions.
Transport of these machines from farm to farm,' when necessary, is effected by the attachment of two small travelling wheels at the front and rear, when the binder is ready to be drawn along sideways. If a machine be employed on contract jobs, it pays handsomely to mount pneumatics for this work.
Indeed, there has been an increasing tendency to employ pneumatic-tyred wheels in the field as well, and undoubtedly this procedure saves a great deal of wear and tear and avoidable breakdown, which is often experienced with solid wheels on hard ground.
Successful operation depends, very largely, upon proper lubrication of the many working parts, most of which are pressure greased; upon proper general maintenance; upon the use of good-quality twine; and upon the observance of a steady rate of travel. , The contractor may make a charge per acre to include twine, or he may make his arrangements on the basis of the farmer supplying twine. The best plan, in order to ensure that good material is always available, is for the contractor to keep the twine supply in his own hands and to make the appropriate charge. • During the past three years, the combine harvester, or reaper thresher, has come very much to the fore, and in this country there is now a fair number of the largest machines used anywhere in the world, these outfits embodying a 16-ft. cutter bar. There are plenty of farms where such machines fit in well with the farming system. Below this size are others ranging, by easy steps, down to a little machine taking a cut of only 40 ins.
In all cases, the machines thresh the grain from the straw as they travel and cut it, the grain tank and the straw being usually dropped on the ground. It is of the utmost importance that grain should be thoroughly ripened before being harvested in this way, and this normally means cutting about ten days later than would be the case with a binder. This does not imply that the grain is carried home any later, for the binder-cut corn has to be cured in stooks in the field for at least as long before it is ready to stack.
• Useful Auxiliary to the Combine Harvester • In this country, the usual auxiliary to the combine harvester is a drying plant, in which the moisture content of the grain can be reduced, but it is not always necessary to employ this artificial aid. It should he regarded as an emergency stand-by and not a routine process. The two systems call for considerably different field transport, after the cutting operation. Where sheafed corn is concerned, the whole bulk of the crop has to he carried to the rick, and the harvest wagon is a traditional sight of the countryside. Some power farmers successfully replace it with tractor-drawn sledges, which offer the lowest possible loading level.
Others, who stack in the field, push the stooks to the rick on sweeps fixed to the front of cars, lorries or tractors,
whilst others haul the crop on their lorries. This lastnamed method, however, retains the need for loaders with tte necessary skill to build a load which will not go overboard in the course of transit, and for strong pitchers.
The transport of grain left by a reaper thresher is a matter which involves either the loading of sacks, calling for a couple of strong, but not necessarily skilled, men, or of conveyance in bulk, which could be done by a girl unaided. A tipping truck with good strong sides and bottom is needed. This is driven alongside the combine, under the grain tank, which, in a few minutes, discharges into the truck. The load is, subsequently, tipped into a receiving bin at the farm, and that is all there is to it. The truck must, of course, be able to make the return trip in time to empty the tank whenever it is full, or, failing this, two trucks, working in turn, are necessary.
• A System that Reduces Labour Requirements • The fact that labour requirements in getting the grain to safety, at the most critical time, are reduced to a minimum by the bulk system, is a point greatly in its favour.
After the grain has been removed, we have left behind the reaper-thresher straw, which is of value and must, be recovered. It is possible to attach a baler at the rear of the machine and thus compress the straw into convenient bales while travelling, and this is certainly an excellent plan.
When this is not done, some farmers employ a travelling pick-up baler, which is tractor operated, to run along the windrows, gathering and baling the straw in one operation. An advantage of this system is that the balers are usable, to . great advantage, in the hayfield for a similar purpose, and this extension of their range of usefulness helps to lower overhead costs.
Removal of baled straw is another job that can be effected by transport assisted by unskilled labour, thus helping to overcome an important war-time problem. If the straw bales are to be stacked in the field, the simplest and cheapest plan is to bring them together by means of a tractor-drawn sledge. If a long haul be necessary, a lorry will probably be the most effective adjunct for the task. D.N.McH.