Tests of Well-known English Agrimotors.
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For the convenience of our Overseas readers, we reproduce a condensed account of two trials of Britishbuilt, agricultural machines.
The first demonstration of this kind took place in Kent, on the Culford estate of the Earl of Cadogan. The agrimotor used was built by Marshall, Sons and Co., Ltd., Gainsborough, and was one tof this maker's 30-35 h.p. Colonial type productions.
It is interesting to note that, before the advent of the power-driven unit, all the ploughing on the Culford estate had been performed by horse-drawn ploughs. With a two-horsed unit, an acre a day was considered a. satisfactory performance. In 100 hours, the agrimotor, using paraffin as its fuel, ploughed 150 acres, and 3374 gallons of paraffin were used. The cost per acre, including labour, was 3s. 6d. A fourfurrow plough, set to a depth of 9 in., was employed. Threshing oats was the next work undertaken, and in six hours' 200 sacks of oats (each sack containing four bushels) were threshed. The fuel consumption during this operation was 9 gallons 7 pints. Other work done by the Marshall agrimotor at this time consisted of hauling loads of timber, bricks and other building material, to various places on the estate. Up an incline of 1 in 15 the machine showed itself capable ,.)f hauling 20 tons of material.
A test took place some few weeks following the
Marshall demonstration, at Farningham, in Ke. Here a 36 h.p. Daimler petrol-driven agrimotor, and two 12 h.p. cable-ploughing steam engines made by John Fowler and Sons, Ltd., were employed. The petrol machine pulled a four-share Ransome plough, set to a depth of 9 in., and having a width of 4 ft., while the steam engines actuated a Fowler six-share anti-balance plough. In places, the field, of 450 acres, presented an undulation of 1 in 10.
The work done was, in both cases, of a high quality, the steam plant dealing with approximately twice the amount of work which the agrimotor finished. The difference in initial cost of the plant, however, was sufficiently great to balance any advantage possessed by the steam-engines in this respect. The petrol machine was seen to great advantage when negotiating the headlands.
The figures taken of the work done at this test by the petrol machine are of interest. They were : acres ploughed, 2; petrol used, 7i gallons ; lubricating oil consumed, 2i quarts ; hours worked, 2; gallons of petrol per acre, 3; average cost per acre, 4s. 4d. In order to meet the demand, both abroad and Overseas, for a machine of the direct-traction type, John Fowler and Sons, Ltd., produced at a later date in the year a petrol-driven agrimotor. This machine is illustrated below.