THE AGRIMOTOR ON THE FARM.
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The Attitude of Farmer and Dealer in Worcestershire. The Importance of a Maintenance System.
ICALLED the other deg on Geo. Heath, Ltd., Birmingham and Worcester, at their Worcester depot. This concern has done, and is doing, a very big trade in motor tractors from the Worcester depot, having sold a considerable number of Fordsons in the district.
When I arrived (it happened to be on a Tuesday morning) the manager, Mr. G. B. G. Hill, was reading The Commercial Motor, and pointed to the review of the agrimotor position in Worcestershire which appeared in the issue of January 13th. ite drew my attention to the statement made by the farmer at Welland, near Malvern, which read as follows :—
" There are a lot of tractors about here, but they do not do their work very well, and never will until they use a good plough instead of .a digger. . . ."
The manager pointed out that this farmer evidently based his remarks on experience of the early days, and had not yet seen the new type " Oliver '' plough, which is an implement that is able to avoid the troubles indicated.
Passing on to the matter of sales and the satisfaction, or otherwise, expressed by farmers Concerning the use of the agrimotor, I was informed that the sales had been very satisfactory, and that. inquiries had been so numerous as to indicate good trade during the coming spring. The serious outbreak of .. foot-and-mouth disease had interfered to some extent, because farmers were unable to realiee their cash as usual by the sale of livestock, resulting in a general reluctance to place orders consequent upon the uncertainty of the position brought about by the restrictions on the sale of stock under the Foot and Mouth Disease Orders. Apart from this, there was every reason to believe that a steady demand for agrienotors and equipment would prevail. Users in the district speak very highly of the agrimotor: On one farm near Worcester a " Fordson " performs very nearly every operation. On a. hop and and fruit farm it passes easily between the trees and the rows of hops, ploughing a.t the rate of 'five acres per day. This particular farmer employs two Fordeons, which are continually at work, and periodically, one at a time, he has them examined and tuned up.
In another case, it was reported that an agrimotor had been running 18 months without having the engine taken out, and I was shown many actual reports from farmers which, in the majority -of cases, expressed entire satisfaction with the appliance.
Small and powerful lightweight machines appear appear to be most in demand in
this locality. .
George Heath, Ltd., have, at Worcester, a well-equipped depot for dealing with spares; they maintain a Ford-son service, and for this purpose use a Ford van to travel out to farms and effect repairs on. the spot, the mechanics taking with them any, .tools and spares that might h-e ' required. .
The shop itself is thoroughly. well equipped, and the stores well supplied with spares. I was shown at this depot the tool store, where a teal is kept for every part of the tractor, so that by having everything arranged in order, repairs that have to be brought into the ce6 workshop can be carried out with the utmost facility and dispatch.
Special machinery is employed for the purpose of ronctalling the engine b.earings. By this method bearings are burnt in instead ot being scraped, which not only saves money, but is altogether a more satisfactory process. They have also special jigs for grinding crankshafts, which very often save the expense of a, new shaft.
The whole of the repair shop is equipped in such a, way as to make it possible to turn out repairs very quickly indeed by the Fordson service.
Altogether, one might say that in this ease a real attempt is being made to satisfy the farmer in every way. He is attended to in the matter of minor break downs by the travelling Ford service. A purchaser of an agrimotor is not left to his own devices when
once the machine has been sold to him. Then, when it is necessary to have a machine brought into the workshop, as we have indicated above, every facility is provided for .getting it out again in the shortest 'possible time.
A visit to Prunells, Ltd., of Kidderminster, elicited some interesting experiences. The tractor trade during the past year has been only fair ; the demand was good early on in the year, but then few deliveries of either American or British tractors could be obtained.
The prospects for this year are, so far, not very promising, owing to the general shortage of money, falling prices, and the mild weather experienced so far. The second reason prevents definite orders
being placed, and the latter reason has allowed work to be done on the land at leisure, whilst a severe winter means that work must he done early in the spring, and the farmers naturally turn to a tractor to help them out.
Tractors are fairly numerous in this district. The immediate neighbourhood favours a light tractor, such as Austin, Fordson, and Cletrac, but Overtimes, Moguls, and Titans are also in evidence.
It is generally found that, where a farmer has a son who takes an interest in the tractor, the machines are well looked after, but Prunells' experience of paid drivers, who have to do other work on the farm, is that they are not sufficiently trained, to get the best out of the machine.
Farmers, on the whole, do not realize the necessity of using good quality lubricating oil, and oils at low prices have a good sale on that account. The average untrained driver does not, as a rule, report any faulty running until the tractor has stopped, or some damage has been done. The majority of owner-drivers attend to their own machines regularly and get excellent results from them. Twice a year the tractor should he gone over by an expert and wornparts renewed where advised. It does not necessarily mean a thorough overhaul, i.e., stripping down all parts, but just a good look round by a mechanic who knows his job. This would save the owner many annoying breakages later on. The majority of farmers are inclined to work the tractor without overhauling as long as it will work, even if it is not being worked to its full power. It pays a buyer of a tractor to pay for It mechanic's services of at least seven to fourteen days, in order thoroughly to instruct the driver, even if the driver is more or less experienced. Messrs. Primells supply the services of a mechanic with a new tractor for three days, free of charge. AGRIMOT.