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148 
WEIGHT A VITAL FACTOR IN CATTLE HAULAGE
Page 64
Page 65
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/HAVE received a good deal of .encouragement in connection with this series of articles, largely in the form of letters from readers. One such communication, . from Mr. W. E. Macve, was published in The Commercial Ito for dated January 6. Mr. Macve will already have noted that, in my article in the same issue, I deal with one of the points he raises, notably, that the haulier is seldom able to pick up a full load of livestock from any farmer.
Sometimes he may collect only one or one or two beasts per farm and there is no doubt that, whilst that is something which is unavoidable, it, nevertheless, is a factor in making it so difficult to draw up any universal schedule of rates.
There is a person recognized generally in the administration of English Common Law as a "reasonable man." Such a man does all things as he ought to do them, and regards all matters in a reasonable way. In such a case as this business of devising a schedule for haulage rates for livestock, he would take into consideration the views and requirements of the customer, that is to say, the farmer, the cattle dealer or the butcher, as well as those of the haulage contractor.
The schedules oi rates published in the previous issue are not those likely to please a reasonable man for, whilst they are logical to the application of the business of a haulage contractor, they are unacceptable, and impossible, in the case of the small farmer who, often enough, has only one or two beasts to be conveyed to market and he cannot possibly expect to pay 26s. 8d. for the conveyance of one beast to market simply because that is the amount which would be requisite to make the job a profitable one for a haulier.
The attitude of the reasonable man—half-way between these two extremes—is represented by the schedule embodied in the table accompanying this article. Of that table, more later; meantime, I must deal with one or two other points raised by corre-. spondents.
There is a second point raised by Mr. Macve, namely, the weights of pigs. On. general grounds, I think Mr. Macve is probably right: Anyway, he ought to know, since he is manager of the Northern Ireland Transport Board and, therefore, quite conceivably, has to deal with the conveyance of many thousands of pigs• per month.
My own figures, published in the article to which he refers, actually gave the weights of pigs which I had seen picked up at a market a few days before I wrote the article and incidentally, it was a fat-stock show. It is a fact that one of "the many difficulties in this particular branch of haulage is the wide variation in weights of the animals.
There are occasions when animals go well above the average weights and, as an indication of what may be expected, the following data are of interest.
A thoroughbred Shire horse may weigh from 1,800 lb. to 2,000 lb. A Clydesdale is generally a little lighter. A Suffolk horse may weigh as much as 2,400 lb.
Red Poll fat cattle run from 11 cwt. to 15 cwt., but the average is more in the neighbourhood of 10 cwt. Kerries weigh about 9 cwt. A Dexter bull will tip the scale at 8 cwt. and a cow at 71 cwt. Herefords weigh up to 17 cwt., . Highland cattle up to 13 cwt. or 14 cwt., and Jerseys 8 cwt. South Devon are the heaviest cattle Usually met with, and weigh as much as 174 cwt. when two years old. A calf weighs from 140 lb. to 160 lb.
An ordinary sheep may weigh anything from 50 lb. upwards, since Lank -rams weigh sometimes as much as 200 lb.
So far as pigs are concerned, however, Mr. Macve's
figures are confirmed by the fact that Large White boars have been known to turn the scale at 10 cwt., and even sows at 9 cwt. These, of course, are exceptional. An average figure for a Middle White pig is from 100 lb. to 120 lb. or 150 lb.
Another letter of interest is from Mr. E. G. Oldham, of Warwick. Mr. Oldham is, with possibly one excep tion, the largest cattle haulier in this country. He has, furthermore, been very helpful to me in this job of trying to assess fair rates and he writes to point out that, normally, only the smallest type of livestock vehicle, having a:body length of 10 ft. 6 ins., comes within the 30 m.p.h. limit.
He does make the exception in favour of particularly expensive aluminium-alloy bodies which, however, are rarely employed. Bodywork for livestock has to be substantial. The floorboards have to be thick and heavy and, of course, the weight of the upper floor, ramp and other fittings necessary for the use of the vehicle, is included in the unladen weight of the vehicle, Actually, I did indicate the speed-limit aspect in Table I (page 658, issue dated December 30). 1 quoted the licence for the 10-ft. 6-in, vehicle as R...30 per annum and the licences for the others as being £35 per annum.
The point which Mr. Oldham does not raise, but which occurs to many in this industry is that, if the vehicle were carrying horses, it would be permitted to travel at 30 m.p.h. If it were carrying an ass or a cow or a pig or a sheep, its legal maximum would be 20 m.p.h.
The point raised by Mr. Macve may be further developed. A haulage contractor who picks up a' small consignment—a single beast or a few sheep, lambs or pigs—is especially handicapped if the run to the market be a short one, up to five miles or so. In those circumstances it is unlikely that, without making rather a long detour to include calls upon others farmers, etc., he will be able to add to his load and make it remunerative.
The only way to meet that condition, a way which is reasonably fair to both parties concerned, is to stipulate a minimum, and that is the first point to be noted with reference to the figures in Table 1, with which I hope
to deal, in greater detail, in a subsequent article. In that table, there is a minimum figure of Os. as being a fair charge for even the smallest consignment of cattle.