AGRIMOTOR DESIGN MAKES A DEFINITE ADVANCE IN FRANCE.
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Some Interesting Haulage and Ploughing Appliances at the Paris Salon de la Machine Agricole.
TFIE motor section of the seventh annual plough and tractor show in Paris, which opened last week, was rather more important and interesting than was the case last year. From the amount of business being done in the show it would appear that motor agriculture, which has been languishing for some time, in spite of much official encouragement, has taken on a new lease of life.
Gas-driven tractors and tractors designed for heavyoil fuels were much in evidence. Amongst the latter was a particularly interesting newcomer from Holland, the Helios. This tractor is the first which we have yet seen employing a true Diesel engine with solid injection. It is a machine of simple design and very substantial construction, intended for farm work of all kinds rather than road haulage.
Employing the Diesel Engine.
The engine is a four-stroke single-cylinder horizontal Diesel with a bore of 145 mm. and a stroke of 240 mm.
. The normal engine speed is 800 r.p.m., at which over 22 h.p. is said to be developed. Lubrication is entirely automatic, a reciprocating oil pump being driven by an eccentric from the camshaft. No radiator is fitted, its place being taken by a very capacious east-iron water tank immediately above the cylinder.
This machine has a very clean external appearance, which is a matter for consideration in the ease of an %appliance that has to work in a dusty atmosphere.
Gas-driven tractors included two examples on the Renault stand, one being the largest type of Renault chain-track machine and the other a small generalpurpose tractor.
The gas-purifying arrangements in the Renault producer have been greatly simplified and the actual cleaning processes have been reduced to two instead of five. A full range of other Renault tractors was shown.
Messrs. Filter, of Paris, showed one of the largest American Case tractors fitted with the Malhay supercharging gas installation. The producer on the Case and on the Renault is mounted in front, that on the Case being just in front of the radiator and that on the Renault at the side of the radiator. Taking the weight forward is a very good feature, Another gasdriven tractor is the new big model Ara, made by Lorraine-Dietrich. Ara tractors are chaintrack machines in which an extra measure of flexibility is given to the tracks by means of oscillating jockey sprockets, mounted in pairs.
The new big model B1-type Ara is said to be capable of pulling loads up to 38 tons on first speed. As exhibited, it was fitted with a new type of charcoal-gas appliance, known as the C.G.B. generator.
The Dubois Polyculteur machine was again exhibited. This is a tractor with a two-stroke, hot-bulb semi-Diesel engine. It is capable of doing a great variety of work. When engaged in ploughing or other farm labour it acts as a sort of motor horse, being coupled direct to the implement in use. For road haulage, however, a front axle, complete with wheels, can be slipped on in a few minutes, turning the machine into an ordinary fourwheeler.
The Dubois has several points to recommend it, such as the extreme simplicity c28 by wide steel angle plates bolted across the tread. Fordsons also showed a complete range of their ordinary tractors, seven machines in all, including two of the little Belle City Crawlers.
A Bold Scheme of Ploughing.
A sensational cable plough exhibit was that of Messrs. Giesberger, a Dutch firm. This outfit was deigned specially for work on sugar-cane plantations in Java. Two big Holt tractors are employed, each fitted with horizontal winding drums and with a special gear for carrying the plough. Tile latter is a duplex arrangement, two ploughs being united by an enormously substantial steel tubular member. The advantage of this arrangement is that, as the plough comes to the end of its furrow, it slides up. the special carrying gear on the tractor. Both tractors then move forward simultaneously to the point where the next furrow is to be -commenced.
The American contingent at the Paris Show was an important on this year and even larger than usual. Amongst others may be mentioned Deering tractors: two of the Farmall agricultural type were shown and a third which is designed for road haulage. The lastmentioned machine had a large and comfortable wooden driving cab in which the driver and an assistant could be completely protected from the weather.
The L.A.T.A.M. three-furrow motor plough is of the type of which an example was produced in this country after the war, being mounted on two large driving wheels, with a trailer wheel, the ploughshares being below the frame, the engine being placed forward over the driving wheels and the driver being seated over the trailer wheel.
For Work in the Vineyards.
Motor reaping machines and hay 'cutters were a feature of the Show. A particularly handy little motor hay reaper noticed was the Rapid, made by a Zurich firm. Small tractors and cultivating machines for special purposes such as work in vineyards, etc., were shown in considerable numbers. Amongst some of the latter Galling for special notice were those of Messrs. Bauch, exceptionally well-finished jobs for agricultural 'machinery. Messrs. Th. Schneider, the automobile firm of Besancon, who entered the agricultural show, for the first time in 1927, again exhibited some of their fine Siam tractors.
Latil showed one of their big four-wheel-drive tractors coupled to a two-wheel steel tipping trailer. The useful 4gro machine was again exhibited. This is another tractor of the " motor-horse" type for direct coupling to an immense variety of agricultural implements.
It was interesting to engineers and agriculturists to note the remarkable differences which occur in present-day agrimotors as compared with. the types produced only a few years ago. It has been recognized that the former will not accept anything which is palpably flimsy in its construction, with the result that practically all modern machines are. of most generous proportions and built to last. Most of them are fine examples of engineering, and display a really intimate knowledge of the requirements of the work for which they were designed.
On the whole, the 1928 Salon .de In Machine Agricole was distinctly encouraging. Motor agriculture may not be making much headway in France itself, but there is little doubt that it is doing so in the French colonies. A particular feature of all agricultural motor machinery noted at this year's show was the fitting of air filters and oil-purifying appliances. These were practically universal on all the motor exhibits.