Opinions from Others.
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Permits for Removals.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1428] Sir,—I have now-had an opportunity of laying before the Council your announcement of the 1st inst. on the subject of the contemplated restrictions on removals. The Council, however, do not feel that the matter is one in connection with which action on their part is desirable, if the Government should decide that some restriction on the employment of labour in this class of work should be imposed.— Yours faithfully, A. GODDARD,
Secretary, The Surveyors' Institution. 12, Great George Street,
Westminster, S. W.
Motor Volunteers for Glasgow.
.The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1429] Sir,—In your issue Of 8th February, you have published a reprint of the Army Council Instruction No. 90 of 1917, relating to above. Readers of your journal, who are owners and users of heavy and light lorries and delivery vans in Glasgow, may care to know that I have been instructed by the Territorial Force Association to raise a heavy squadron in accordance with the terms of Army Council No. 90 of 1917. I am also raising two light squadrons, the first of whichis almost complete.
You will be interested to know that I have to-day• enrolled all the motor lorries and vans belonging to the Glasgow Corporation, and this, I think, will be a great incentive to patriotic owners to follow suit.— Yours -faithfully, H. PaossEn. 98, Hope Street, Glasgow.
[We congratulate Mr. Prosier on his progress to date.—Eo.3 The Era of the Agrimotor.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1430] Sir,—We have read with very muchinterest Mr. Cecil H. Cox's letter, and we may say that we have always appreciated the very good ploughing work that has been done by steam engines and cable system. The limitation of this particular method of ploughing the land seems to be, however, that when the land is in a fit state to plough, all the farmers in the particular neighbourhood require the plant at once from the steam contractor ; whereas, if the farmer has a small paraffin tractor he is able to start his work immediately the land is fit, which, of course, is a verygreat consideration. During the last few years we have come across many instances where the various sets of steam tackle have been absolutely "snowed under" with orders which they have not been able to meet, and the farmer has therefore been compelled to get his work done the best way he could. We also think that it would be readily conceded that ploughing with a tractor going over the land, a better and more even depth of furrow can be cut.—Yours faithfully, For THE IVEL AGRICULTURAL MOTORS, LTD., Biggleswade, A. CODRINGTON,
Bedfordshire. Manager. . •
The Value of Roadside Telephones.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1431] Sir,—Being the instigator of the telephone system on the Marsden Moors (over the Standedge Hills), I respectfully wish to draw Ile attention of all motor-haulage contractors, commercial-vehicle owners, and others who travel this road, as to the existence of telephonic means of communication here of special value. During the severe weather we are now experiencing receivers are installed at both ends of the Cutting, at the "Great. Western" Hotel, No. 15 Marsden, and at the "Floating Light" Inn. No. 1 Marsden, and at both places the installation has proved invaluable this winter to all motor-vehicle owners and drivers alike, as the owner has had the satisfaction of knowing where his machine and man were. This telephone installation is very costly to the proprietors of these two houses, costing each party about 214 to £15 per annum, or an additional Ss, per week for rent. They are ever ready to assist drivers with wagons and cars in difficulties, and send any message through to owners.
The additional rent is rather heavy during these times of restricted hours, and I wish to thank all owners who have givenfinancial assistance previously to the system, and would be very thankful for any subscription or donation, however small, to keep the thing going in future. An official receipt will be sent to any who care to forward a remittance. I may say we pay one guinea annually to each party.—Yours faithfully, ALLEN KNIGHT. Linthwaite, Huddersfield.
Cable v. Tractor, for Ploughing and Cultivating. The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MoTon.
{1432] Sir,—There is neither sense nor judgment, in comparing dry farming in the Central States of America and Canada with farming in the South of England. am a.thorough believer in the utility of the double.: engine system, and am at the present moment strongly advocating that every set of double-engine tackle in England should be put in proper repair by Skilled mechanics and fully manned, ready to tackle the so-called grass land which is.being ploughed up.
I do not think that tractors will Make much of a job of this as without a heavy presser behind the ploughs we cannot expect to get much of a crop, but it is not for ploughing we find the greatest advan
' tage of these double-engine sets. • As a practical man ofmany years experience, I have grave doubts whether a tractor could be got. to tackle the heavy lands that are often-ploughed and pressed for corn by the double-engine sets, as if this class of land is at all wet, besides the difficulty the tractor would have in getting along, its own weight would do considerable harm.
The great utility of the double-engine sets is the working of fellows in summer; for this work, they can never be replaced. It is not only that the cultivator acts as a comb, but the sneed at which it gets across the fields opens the soil up as nothing else can do, allowing the atmosphere to penetrate, and nitrification to take place. I tried summer fallowing, cross ploughing, and cultivating with tractors myself, but very soon found that it was an expensive and unsatisfactory system. The tractors absorbed 50 to 60 per cent. of their power in getting across the ploughed land ; where it was rough, they would have soon shaken themselves to pieces ; although I fastened on two cultivators, one behind the other, the fact that the four wheels of the tractor had gone over the ground before, solidified the soil so Much that the action of the cultivators was largely nullified. Another great object in the use of the steam cultivator and drag is the cleansing of foul land in summer —I have had very considerable experience of this, having rented some very: foul land in this Dart of the country. Instead of trying to clean the laid by horse labourrand bringing the couch and other weeds to the surface, carting and burning them in beans, impoverishing the land by depriving it of a certain amount of vegetable matter, and leaving the land so much the poeser, also depriving it of the valuable element humus, the whole of the weeds are killed in the soil, and a clean field is left for winter corn.
Any man who criticises mechanical cultivation from n47 a purely engineering point of view is asking for trouble. It is most absurd to talk about half the tackle standing idle while the other engine is working at great pressure and developing great power. No cultivation appliance can ever compete with an up-todate set of double-engine steam tackle. I own both steam and oil tractors, but I should not like to attempt to farm without the double-engine tackle. I need not say more.—Yours faithfully,
Northbrook Farm, JOHN FALCONER. Micheldever Station, Hants.
[We are much pleased again to see Mr. John Falconer's name in our pages on the subject of ' Mechanical Aids to Agriculture." He is one of the leading agriculturists in the South of England, and a Member of Council of the R.A.S.E.-En.]
Power Ploughing: a Reply to Attacks on the Uae of Cable Sets.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1433] Sir,—I have read Mr. Roberts's letter in your issue of the 1st inst., and in view of the fact that he mentions my name, I take the liberty of answering. Mr. Roberts shows lamentable ignorance of English arable farming, or he certainly would not compare the methods of dry farming, as practised in the Central States of America, with those of England. In order profitably to discuss power ploughing, it is necessary to have not only a sound engineering experience, but also a thorough knowledge of agriculture as practised in the particular country in which the machinery is required, and, further, to consider what has been the previous experience with mechanical power ploughing.
When Mr. Roberts criticises the comparatively high horse-power used by cable ploughs, he has, apparently, ploughing only in his mind, and does not realize that the cable ploughs of England do 80 percent. of cultivating, harrowing, or dragging, as compared with 20 per cent. of ploughing, or that the horse-power which he mentions is really considerably under the actual horse-power used by modern steam ploughs when cultivating—doing an acreage of anywhere between 25 and 45 acres, and even more (under favourable conditions), in a day, and double the above-mentioned acreage if harrowing or dragging. These implements perform the work with an efficiency, economy, and speed which can never be obtained with direct traction. It should be noted that, as the acreage per day goes up, the cost comes down ; consequently, the price for cultivating -once is approximately half that charged for ploughing, and the price of harrowing approximately one-quarter. The turning harrow or drag is a most useful implement for preparing land which has been ploughed during the autumn or winter, for seeding in the spring. To use direct traction over land about to be sown with barley or oats in the spring, when probably the surface is dry for a few inches deep and wet underneath, would be fatal as far as an even crop and sample of corn were -concerned. Briefly, the cable cultivating plant is the more useful for general power cultivation. On the other hand, the tractor, while unsuited for secondary cultivating operations, will be useful for harvest work, etc.
If cable ploughs were used in England for ploughing only, half the horse-power, or less, would be required. Mr. Roberts says that no manufacturer would think of using plant of which only 50 per cent, was at work at one time. I would ask whether it is not more economical to have half the-plant standing, than touse plant continuously, which is eating up anywhere between 33 per cent. and 50 per cent, of its own power in its own propulsion, instead of at the drawbar? Does he suggest that there is any more economical method of transmitting power to an implement than by means of a windlass and rope ? The land in England, especially in the eastern and southern counties where steam ploughs are most used, has a tendency to get foul with couch or twitch. In e48 fact, it is one of the farmer's greatest bugbears, especially hfter wet seasons. The steam cultivator is the best implement for cleaning land, for the reason that the tynes get under the couch, lift it up, and, so to speak, rake it out, leaving it on the top to die ; whereas the plough turns it over, replanting it, and if cross-ploughed the roots are cut into short sections, which makes the couch all the more difficult to eradicate. It is necessary that the land should be cultivated several times, at intervals, and in different directions, in order to clean it. This is where the motor plough fails, because it would absorb a large amount of its power in its own, propulsion over soft ground; in fact, if it travelled fast enough to be efficient for this work, it would have little power, if any, left at the drawbar, to pull the cultivator. There has always been an excessive demand for steam cultivation immediately after harvest. If the latter part of August and September is dry, it gives the farmer an opportunity of cleaning his stubble land ready for the next crop before rain sets in. The cultivator is the ideal implement for this operation. Until the motor tractor can do work.sirnilar to thatof the steam cultivator, it will fail to displace the latter.
As I said on a former occasion in your pages [Interview in our Royal Show Report issue, dated 29th June, 1916.—ED.], motor ploughs have come to stay, and in their proper place will do useful work. There is, however, much to be done both in design and construction before they will be satisfactory. Better construction and material may meet the difficulty to a degree, but will entail much higher initial cost. The Press (I, of course, except THE COMMERCIAL Mona:) and the public have gone crazy over motor ploughs : there may be some disappointments. It would be interesting to know the average annual acres ploughed by the motor ploughs used in England today—the figures would be smaller than expected. It would also be interesting to know what is the life, in acres, of the motor ploughs now being introduced, and the amount it is necessary to write off per acre to cover depreciation and repairs.
The reply of the average farmei, in districts where cable ploughs are used, when asked how he likes the motor plough, is that if he could get cable tackle on hire when he wanted it, he would not have a motor plough. [Mr. Allen here again admits the scope for agrimotors. There are not enough steam-ploughing sets in the kingdom, we find, to meet all demands, and the only alternative for the average farmer is to buy several agrimotors.—En.] From actual experience, I have found that cable ploughs can resume work more quickly after a heavy rain than tractor ploughs. Since the introduction of motor ploughs, we'have not experienced a dry summer. It will be interesting, when we do get a dry summer, to see how the motor plough deals with heavy clay Iand.—Yours faithfully,
Cowley, Oxon. JOHN ALLEN.