IMPLEMENT TRIAL.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 9012, 26 January 1895, Page 9

IMPLEMENT TRIAL.

Messrs P. and D. Duncan held a trial yesterday on the farm of Mr C. Lewis, Haltwell, of a twitch eradicator and cultivator. Tbe implement consiate of a light steel frame mounted on two steerage and two travelling wheels. The front of the frame is dosigned for the connection of the tiue levers, the frame admitting of any lateral adjustment of tines or the using of more or less levers. The tine levers .them■elves are morably attabtfKl *or pivoted ' thereto, and in design are of double spring steal with a space, between each side to admit of a backward or forward movement of tines to suit the different soile operated ' upon. The tines are ot curved spring steel, and although slight their flexibility admits of their sustaining very severe strains. Pressure is applied to the tines by moans of a pressure bar operatod by moans of werra • . screw and hand wheel handy to the driver's seat, the compression strain passing to each , individual tine through a coil spring, which, , in coo junction with the independent attach* ment to frame of each tine lever admits of the flexible vibratory l motion to each tine bo elFeotive in working up twitch land. On (ho question of eradicating twitch farmers may be divided into two schools. Some advocate the employment of harrows %nd the grubber by whose aid the roots may >o teased out ot the soil and, afterwards r&kod up and buent; others again would work the land down until it was line enough . to admit of the use of the moulding plough, which would bo utilised to turn the soil over and ever exposing every root in turn to the influence of the son, and this method must certainly exercise a very beneficial fertilising influence upon the soil itself. The great obstacle in the way of the latter method has been the difficulty of working • down the land after it has been cross ploughed. At this stage it consists of square 12in blocks of about the texture of . an ordinary door mat, which choke any implement that may be brought to bear upon them, and render it necessary to adopt the ' teasing method for a timo at least. The roller skeitos, however, supply a method of dealing with them, as by its use they may be speedily reduced to such as render tho use of the moulding plough at once practicable and advisable. Apart from such work as this, which was the work • the new invention was engaged in yesterday, it will obviously be of great service in breaking down grass land for potatoes* mangels, &*., in the spring. By its uaoiand may be reduced , to such a condition that it will plough up almost into mincemeat. Not only does it uke Bft or more at a breadth, but its weight enables it to deal with land that would drive up in front of a , plourfi, whilo tho ordinary discs or spading hariows would simply slide qgg| it. In short, the roller akeiths struct us as being a very useful invention, and one that will result in a great saving of time and horseflesh. Wβ may mention that a few days, after Messrs Duncan had produced their first specimen, Mr Lewis, who has "' long felt the want of something ot the kind, waited upon them witli a suggestion embodying the use of skeitha in connection with a roller, though the mode of application was somewhat different. The paddock was ono of some twenty-five acres, which was infested with twitch, mostly of the smaller kind, but in one corner au acre or two of the larger variety was in great force. The land had been worked for some time past, but a cessation of work for hay-mak-ing, combined with dropping weather, had . enabled * portion of it to supply material for a searching test of the capabilities of the machinery. In one part a solid mass of the giant twitch was to bo found ; in another % piece of land carrying a good sole of both kinds bad been cross-ploughed, while a portion of this had been subject to the operation ol the roller skeitiis. Farmers then bad an opportunity of noting the capabilities of the grubber, and also the effect of roller and grubber in conjunction. The flexible tine grubber was tested to the utmost in a piece of land infested with English couch grass—so much so that the land was completely matted with tho roots ; of that, probably, worn of all "twitches" —in tact, it was like putting the machine j into a grass paddock. However; so well did the machine do it* work, that, .after three strokes, the land was perfectly loose and friable, so much so that, as a former, who witnessed tho operation, remarked s> bay rake might be used to gather np the roots of the twitch. A great feature about the machine in that,' however matted the land may be, it never ologs; the independent action of each individual tine was such thtt they freed themselves at onoe. Wo liave no hesitation in stating that Messrs P. and D. Duncan may fairly be congratulated on their new machine designed to cope with all kinds of twitch. Daring the afternoon, Mr Henry Overton, Mr Bayne (Director Lincoln College), Mr Murphy (Secretary Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Asso- .. - elation), and others were present, and expressed themselves as much jplcased with •he workiug pf tne above machine.