FORD TRACTORS.

Bruce Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 73, 17 September 1917, Page 4

FORD TRACTORS.

The lirst two of the Ford agricultural tractors to reach this country from the United States are now at work in Cheshire. They arrived in parts just three weeks ago, were assembled in three hours at the Ford factory, Trafford Park, Manchester, and at the time of writing have ploughed about 200 acres of "strong" land for potatoes. I have seen the machines at work by night as well as by day, and chatted with the farmers in whose fields they have been working. If the Suggestion that the average English agriculturist is slow to appreciate new machines and new methods is well founded, this American tractor must be a very interesting proposition, because the men whose land it has broken up arc remarkably enthusiastic about il. I hold no brief for Ford interests— I have never driven a Ford car nor toured in one—and 1 am not going to say the Ford tractor is the least bit better than any other tractor, for the simple reason that 1 do not know sufficient about other manufacturers' produets to warrant a comparison, but after spending a couple of days watching two Fords at work 1 have no hesitation in saying that as soon as this type of tractor is placed on thc'inarket there will be no lack of buyers. One makes that statement with confidence, because farmers, after but a few days' experience, say they would be glad to accept delivery even if they had to rely upon their own men to work them. Such is the first impression which the Ford has made. Its significance can scarcely be over-estimated. Of course, we must remember that farmers are also motorists in these days; at any rate, thousands of them keep a car of some kind, and are more or Jess acquainted with petrol engines. They are, therefore, quite ready to

tackle tractors, provided they are simple in construction. The Ford can certainly claim that merit. The engine is built on lines with which Ford owners are familiar, but an important variation is in the transmission. It has a worm <!rivc, plate clutch and spur gears, which give three forward speeds and reverse, the changes being effected by a ball and socket lever. The four-cylinder engine (IOL' nun x 127 nun) is rated at 25 Ji.p., and standard Ford ignition is adopted. A small tank provides petrol for starting, and a large tank over the engine (underneath the bonnet) will hold eightgallons of paraffin. The carburetter is a llolley, and the exhaust manifold is enlarged into box form, inside which there is a paraffin vaporising coil. All 1 the exhaust gases are utilised for assisting vaporisation, and the average consumption of paraffin so far has been nine pints per hour. With paraffin at is per gallon the fuel costs, therefore, are about Is Jhi per hour. The tractor is Bft long, 4ft (Jin in . height, and sft tiin in width at the broadest point—that is to say, measured across the driving wheels. ■ The two-furrow plough used at present, of American make, is quite simple in design, and does not necessarily call for' a second man to look after it. as the tractor driver, on reaching the end of a furrow, has only to pull a cord u\d a cam lifts the shares out of the ground. Another tug at the cord lowers them agaiu. The whole equipment, therefore, can be worked by one man.

AT WORK IN ENGLAND.

Great interest is being taken in theso lirst two tractors by members of the staff at the Ford factory at Manchester, but the drivers are men who can make no claim to be either experienced motorists or ploughmen. And yet they are doing wonderfully well, working in three shifts of eight hours each. The engines, J am informed, sometimes run for days together without being switched off, practically the only stops being involuntary through the clutch being let in occasionally w'hilst the engine is running at too slow a speed. It is quite an ordinary thing for an engine to run a full 24 hours without a stop of any kind, as arrangements are made to keep the ploughs at work without any intervals for meals. My observations were made after the tractors had been in use rather less than a fortnight, and up to that time there had been no mechanical breakdown of any kind. They had been at work wholly on heavy land, ploughing furrows varying in depth from nine to 11 inches, and had averaged one acre per machine every three hours, or eight acres per day of 24 hours. A large farmer for whom over 100 acres were being ploughed told me that he could not average an acre per working day with a pair of horses on the land where the tractor -had been engaged, and his statement was confirmed by other agriculturists in the neighbourhood. I gathered that a 12-acro field is the smallest on which the motor ploughs have so far been set to work. "There is only one remark 1 have to make which is not complimentary," said the farmer. " I would prefer three furrows, each of, say, llin width, to those of two furrows of IbTm each." 1 shall not be surprised if the War Agricultural Committee do not use tlirec-furrow ploughs with these two

tractors, in order to please the farmers. Such ploughs are made in this country, and can easily be obtained. As I have already 'hinted, the Ford tractor is not yet ready for sale to the public. By the way, it is not manii- j factured by the Ford Motor Company, ' but by Messrs Henry Ford and Hon, at - Dearborn, Michigan. The War Agricultural Committee are charging 17s (id per acre for the land they are ploughing in Cheshire, the committee providing the machines, men, ' fuel, oil, etc. The farmers in .the- district say there is practically no difference between the present cost of their horse ploughs and tire hire of the Government tractors, but they are very giad indeed to be relieved of the work, especially as the two tractors, working together, are doing .1(5 acres per day under by no means favourable conditions. I stayed out a considerable time one night to see the Fords at work. The weather of late has not been very agree- » ■ible. for night work on the land, but the tractors have been busy, wet or fine, except on one evening when the farmer objected to the snow being ploughed into his land. I'Jach tractor has standard Ford head lights, the illumination from which is quite good enough to work by; in fact, 'or an hour or two I walked by the side of one which was ploughing two furrows lOin deep at a speed varying from vwo to four miles an'hour, all the work being done, it was interesting to note, on the second gear.—Kaynor Roberts.