The Mechanization of American Agriculture
Page 53
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JUST over 12 months ago a delegation consisting of a representative of both the Farmers Union and the National Union of Agricultural Workers, with Mr. J. E. Newman, of the Institute of Agricultural Engineering, University of Oxford, set sail to make an inquiry into the use of agricultural implements and in aehinery in Canada and the United States of America.
The results of this inquiry have been published in a report (Ministry of Agriculture Bulletin No. 27) just issued and a number of useful suggestions for the greater employment of power in British agriculture is put forward.
On the subject of the use of agrimotors, it is stated that in the prairie provinces of Canada it is probably true to say that the horse has ceased to be the mime power unit and has become supplementary to the tractor. The economy of the increased use of the agriraotor has apparently been greatly stimulated by the lorry, thus bearing out the maxim that increased production obtained by means of mechanical tillage requires mechanical methods of transport in the form of lorries.
In the wheat-growing areas the motor has accelerated fairly considerably the use of the agrimotor, especially with the combined harvester-thresher. The coin bination has made it possible to dispense entirely with -horses and to use the tractor for all the work on the farm. With the tractor it made harvesting no more difficult or strenuous than seeding, and by abolishing horsemen, harvesting and threshing crews, made the one-man, or family, farm a practical possibility.
Size of the Farm an Important Factor.
The size of the tractor and of the outfit used is determined by the size of the farm, the object being to employ the type of agrimotor that can be maintained at fullest capacity, and the implements chosen are such as give a full load for a maximum length of time.
The intensive use of the agrimotor and lorry is, however, not confined to the wheat-growing areas, but extends through all arable lands. Mechanical tillage, although it eliminates much labour, produces excellent results.
Figures showing the increase in the use of tractors and machinery are most impressive. In the three prairie provinces of Canada only four combination outfits were working in 1924, whereas in 1930 the number was over 10.000. In Kansas the number was 3,828 in 1925 and over 25,000 last year.
Apart from the efficiency of the "corn
bination " method of harvesting, the reason given for the success of the machine is its ability to work with a tractor, enabling the farm to be run with a minimum of seasonal and extra labour. Of course, the acreages are larger across the Atlantic. allowing the use of tractors bigger than are possible in this country.
An interesting feature is the reference to the row.crop tractor—au adaptable machine that can be used for working among growing crops, as well as for preparing the land beforehand. The implements are attached to the frame of this machine instead of being hauled.
The recommendations suggest the acquisition of a row-crop agrimotor for experimental work, as well as that of a new one-way tractor plough and oneway disc ploughs. A further recommendation is that steps should be taken to provide better equipment in the agricultural colleges for the teaching of engineering, especially in connection with the agrimotor.
In regard to this it is interesting to note that Dr. Addison, in reply to a question on the subject, in the House of Commons, said in the last part of his reply that, as a result of the visit to Canada and U.S.A., arrangements were contemplated for the trial of certain types of machine.