MACHINERY ON THE FARM

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20084, 13 November 1930, Page 22

MACHINERY ON THE FARM

THE METROPOLITAN SHOW,T93j . : ——-—. _— : —— —— - " . .

Vogue in the Dominion

ADOPTION OF CATEST APPLIANCES

ne oes not require to be a hoary antique to recall the aysw en power on the farm was represented mostly by muscle and brawn, when the ploughman tramped wearily behind his swing or his two furrow plough, when the single-handed sower scattered the seeds-—what a smart fellow the two-handed sow.er was!—when the old tilter was the general method of reaping, when the half-dozen or less hand tyers followed it around, dexterously banding the sheaves with the aid of the "Yankee knot, steam portable engine was the only threshing power available, and when milking machines were still in the limbo of things undreamt of.

It has been a remarkable evolution in the space of less than half a century—from the methods mentioned above to reapers and binders—eventually to give place, it would seem, to the header harvesters—to tractors, drills, haystackers, home threshers, milking machines, cream separators, shearing machines, electric power, motor trucks, and motor-cars, for that matter. In the design of some of the tillage equipment of the modern farm, the implement makers of the Dominion have quite held their own with those of other lands. Their ploughs have more than local fame, as have their milking machinery. But it is rather in their adoption of the latest machinery than their creation of it that New Zealand fanners have kept in the van. Anything tending towards the reduction of labour costs and the increase of production has been *'tried out," not perhaps in every case with the anticipated success, but generally with a very large measure of it. The result is that per head of farm population there is probably no country in the world that equals New Zealand in the use of farm power. The statistics relating to farm machinery in the Dominion give some idea of the wide use of mechanical power:— Electric motors .. .. 13,377 Internal combustion engines .. .. 18,489 Agricultural tractors .. .. ' 3,377 Reapers and binders .. 15,172 Milking machine plants .. • •.. 18,756 No. of cows capable of being milked , similtaneously .. .. .. 67,932 Cows on holdings employing mil king machines 874,971 Cream separators .. . 1 .. * 45,781 Shearing plants .. 6,887 Shearing stands .. .. .. 20,329 Wool pressers .. .. .. .. 9,235 To visitors from the town, as well to many from the country, the most interesting part of the show is the machinery section.; Some time ago a northern politician complained that the wheat* tariff existed for the purpose only of helping "inefficient'* Canterbury wheat growers. This simple soul would receive something of a shock if he saw the great range of unplements exhibited at the show for the sole purpose of promoting efficiency. The wide display covers every proved contrivance for increasing production and reducing costs.

BUYING TRACTORS

fuel tank and connecting it.iiisl a special tank which was bub from an accurate spring balance, the tractor nsed fuel fromthi tie changing reading of-the'J showed exactly how much was consumed. ; Of more general interest a Sf™ n* t f 3ta ' not only becsntt primarily for draw-bap work ~H( tractor is designed, but also ! tins type of test is not often-; out in Britain. The chief '-JR m carrying out draw-bar teiSs provide a definite load for the'i to pulL In tlie present testa-« #>nthe trac/or was applied byi-m, a dynamometer car. As thepulls the car the drag of 'the*on the wheels rotates them a£ drives the dynamo. ' -a-*? la order to find out Wat' pcwer the tractor is pi-oHing-pulling the car it is' measure both its draw-bar unlTfj speed. The draw-bar pull is meifc nieans of a dynamometer, whtf sists simply of a cylinder and containing a closely fitting S The plunger is hitched to the* while the cylinder is hitched to'-i so that the cylinder and plnnj gether form a link through wJu tractor pulls the car. Uh e tractor sets up a pressure the cylinder, and this pressure iS mitted through a pipe to' ai:xn instrument mounted on the meter car,'where it causes .Ajjil much _ smaller, plunger to momS# a spring control. smaller,! carries a "pen, ' which tinuous line on a moving' injfflil driven by a constant-speed cKifl motor, and from the record the tractor is moving course the average pull whic£§ exerted can be found. fTh<Q«| the tractor was 'ahroyiViMiMMj timing it over a with a, stop-watch. -ffig It may be useful to cation of how, the results o&m| 'bemused to help the farmer'trapf suitable tractor. The •fiwrtffijjjji perhaps the most import3ug||n select a tractor ofsui table jpnl results of the maximum,dnriflH and of the maximum bolt Mn exactly, what horse-power is capable of delivering of work. Let the- ftnjcr, rough estimate of what, .ptpsjj quires -and see .a. machine which he 'thinkff#imH When. the size, of .tr&ctojpjlnj decided on, the fnel *- eansnjjS the next thing to be consumptions *"• rn tml," fortffHß .belt and drawbar, are gtaefll report, and any tractor cafetSfl pared in these respects ■"wsSeßH tractors - using the s&ine For each tractor tion at a number the belt is given, guidance on this °f the gpvers^j^^BH^l

POINTS TO OBSERVE

EXTENSIVE ENGLISH TESTS.

Testing tractors is a process that may result in great benefit to farmers who anticipate purchasing these useful machines and- have no means of judging the merits of the various machines offered except the official tests made on regular occasions under fair conditions. Such tests were made recently at Aldington, England, under the personal supervision of Mr S. J. Wright, B.A. of the Institute of Agricultural Engineering of the University of Oxford. Below are extracts from an article by Mr Wright describing how the technical tests were applied and showing how the farmer can make use of the tssts in the choice of a tractor:— The tests and their results are a very important feature in this year's tractor trials for two reasons. they ensure that all the tractors. shown to the public at the' demonstrations are sound machines of known performance and secondly they will help to familiarise the British and Continental manufacturers with the type of official test which has played so large a part in the development of the tractor industry in the U.S.A. With the second object in view, each entrant was given every opportunity of seeing exactly how the tests his machine were carried out, and each tractor was driven throughout by its own - operator. It is no less important that the farmer who may be influenced .in his choice of a tractor by the results of the trials should know as much as possible about the tests which tlie machines have undergone. Three different kinds of test were carried out on each tractor: belt tests, draw-bar tests; and field tests. The principal piece of apparatus used in the belt tests consisted of an electrical generator which was driven by a belt from the tractor pulley. It differed from the' ordinary .type of electrical generator, - with which most people are familiar, in two respects: first, it was connected' to a bank of resistances by means of which the power required to drive it could be varied at will from practically zpro up to the greatest power of which the largest tractor in .the trials was capable.- The .other and more ■ important special feature was that the generator was so arranged that at 'any instant the' effort-required, to turn, the armature and, the speed at •VFhich it was turning could be' measured, and so the horse-power which tha tractorwas delivering in driving it .could be calculated. > " Maximum Horse-Power. The principal objects of. the Tjelt tests were to the 'greatest h.orse-power which each . tractor .Heould deliver continuously throngli' belt, and ;also to -measure its-fuel consumption when delivering (a) its-maximum power, (b) its rated or normal-power, and (c} various fractions of its rated power. The fuel - consunjption was measured by disconnecting the-, carburettor of the tractor, -from, .its own

AGRICULTURAL CLUBS FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN A Canterbury schoolgirl engaged in the planting of potatoes.

THE ~m Metropolitan Show, 1930

351E MOLE PLOUGH Ji>

USE FOR TRACTOR.

"H ia interesting, ij somewhat • Hn'rC to learn from a well-informed QJ33&ian farm paper that a new and use for tractor farpi power discovered in California —that palling the mole, or drain plongh. . - strictly speaking, says this authority, drainage is by no means' a new jjjag, as it has been successfully • ag -joyed in England for 50 years, but jt js comparatively new and but little to most Americans; at the start, Californian manufacturers of the Mipment called their implement a «*pphef plough. It matters little which ia used, for both are suggestive jl'-tbe way in which the implement jmJjM burrows or tunnels through the tad., "''•Hi# implement consists of a strong carrying a heavy standard or jtlfltT) 10 whi®? l i® attached a cons or ' wp^°' 6l,a P ed device,' the "mole," that iiafßS behind it —in soils with sufficient content —a burro»v or tunnel ftrangh which water may pass. These ■tfe' lines are run from high ground to few pound or are .provided with outlets or tile drainage ditches. . -ifc ..effectiveness of mole drainage "jmendß upon the nature oi the soil, f^be'successful the subsoil must contain itoßgh e!ay to prevent the walls 1 of gg tunnels or drains from crumbling. Si -each soils the drains may remain tjfii and effective for many years. As t npiofc as 20 years of service has been dtined for some mole drains in England, bat from three to five years are more MWBOn figures for most soils. But fly cost is 80 low that land may be 'tuSfy mole- ploughed every few years •'A3 a drainage system maintained K minimum of expense. - Plainly, i< tto speed and cheapness of mole is its great advantage over jd! »ther forms of land drainage. The tuta plough operates as' fast as the tnetor can pull ft. By its use the - iutur can drain and put into cultivate zoo acres in less time and with '. 1m expense than he could dig open i , Vr* r 4ito ditches .in five, and the effective iggoage that -would be prohibited by ; the high primary cost of any other qpj£em may be carried out. This. aeiHod has its obvious limitations, but the nature of the soil allows a vmuosable measure of success, mole spiaage gives promise of being' of !gms- service in the improvement of -jjgiß lands, and offers a new field of *||Ks table activity to the praetor _ gfjtte drain pl.ough helped to,make the of Southland, w;here the was one of .the. Jobs of the when.it was at itb.beight 30 or IIS!?- -7 ea ?* agp.'.ln fjipjgi _days.it jr.otked.. .«nly J>y. impressing ■' atytte'.liones « two or three neigha twelve-horse team This gave way to" We »t«t|{Kß traction engine -.at the (9d flf rope, tut the tractor, one cheapens y r < ' f - ,> • r 1 ■ Two -.factors are important in estiI sorts. One is the i used, the other, j. The first entails achine's varied uses, ibility of increasing latter necessitatesraft requirements of ats, and the ways vising tractor hookL 14 inch mouldboard sn depth will have a a. A one-way plough old require a pull of while that width of . has a'draft of only' t- 50 pounds. Such a 1 in all field implo[a tractor of certain- - the operator must mate' draft of each.

SCHOOLS AND FARMING.

BOYS'* AND GIRLS' CLUBS.

AIMS OP AGRICULTURAL COURSES. .(WB.XTTEU FOE THE PBESS.) [By John Brown, B.Sc. (Glasgow), A.D.A., Chief Instructor in Agriculture, Canterbury Education Board.]

The idea that the school should be something more than an educational organism, that it should relate itself to tho whole life and welfare of the people, and be the main fountain from which ideals of service- flow, is slowly gaining ground. Education is not merely a matter of drilling in the "three R's." These are only the means _of acquiring or expressing the ideas and ideals which make up our lives—quite essential to that end, and therefore fully warranting the importance attached to them in our school curriculum—but not the end in themselves. Teaching How to Live. The aim of education, broadly stated, is to teach how to live, and to prepare for life-work. It has taken us long, and many do not yet realise, that tho objects, activities, interests and phenomena_ of the child's environment should constitute the means of education. When these are agricultural, as they are in most of our schools, then agriculture is, or should be, the predominating influence and outlook in our schools. That is the argument for "an agricultural bias'' in our schools. It should be noted, however, that the aim is education with all that it implies, and is not to be confused with training for the occupation of farming.

Wliy Agriculture is Taught. The reasons for the introduction of agriculture into the schools, either as a subject or as a. motif in the curriculum generally, have been well expressed by Davenport, and are worth repeating:— (1) To cultivate an interest in, and instil a love and respect for

land and the occupation of agricui ture.

(2) To create. a regatd for industry in general, and an appreciation of' the' material side of - the .affairs of a highly civilised people.

. (3) ;■ To cultivate /the active and creative instincts,, as distinct from the reflective and receptive that areotherwise almost exclusively exercised in our schools.' (4) To give practice in failure and success, thus putting to the testy early in life, the ability to do a definite thing.*' . . " (.5) To train the child in ways and methods ' of acquiring information

for himself, and incidentally to acquaint him with the manner in ■which information is originally acquired and the world's stock of knowledge is accumulated. (6) To connect the school with real life, and make the value and need of schooling the more apparent.

(7) As an avenue of communication between the pupil and the teacher, it being a field in which the pupil will likely have a larger bulk of information than the teacher, but in which the training of the teacher can help to more exact knowledge. Class Excursions. These are the aims underlying the school work in agriculture in Canterbury, and in pursuit of them our teachers here and there are becoming every year bolder. Here, for example, are some of the interests which served as occasions for agriculture class excursions last year:—Visits to freezing works, woollen mills, nurseries, orchards and stud farms, seeing the header-harvester at work, seeing ensilage stacked, studies of lucerne. growing in the field, participating in the Agricultural. Department's field days, visiting the Winter Show. For the little ones, Nature rambles are almost weekly events with up-to-date teachers.

Observation Studies. Observation studies in the school garden, combined with practice in the fundamental operations of gardening, and first steps in the science of common life and agriculture by laboratory methods, are regularly taken in all schools, and although the time is limited to one hour v per week, the value of these exercises is not measured thereby, for the work is co-ordinated at' far as possible with the other school work. Further, they evoke the greatest interest in the pupils, and provide a real educational stimulus, even if comprehension may not be complete.

Agricultural Clubs. Practically .the same general aims are served by the institution of the Boys' and Girls' Agricultural Clubs, whivh have been started in connexion with the schools in North Canterbury this year —in fact, the aims are likely to be more fully realised in the individual work set by the Clubs-, than in the class work in the schools. For this reason, and also cn account of the limited time accorded to agricul-

ture as a school subject, a development of the home project idea, which is the basis of the Club work, is contemplated. Each pupil chooses some line .of work to be carried out at home, for which,, when satisfactorily completed, credit is given in the pupil's scho'ol record. , The work is carried through entirely by the pupil, who is required to pursue supplementary reading, and inquiries on his home project as a definite part ol' the sfchool work. The teacher visits the home occasionally to inspect the pupil's' work and give advice and suggestions —an admirable plan for bringing the school and the home into <?on-

tact, the absence o£ which is unfortunately the rule, rather than the exception, m New Zealand, to the loss home, school and pupils alike, rowing crops, preparing and tending a vegetable garden, raising chickens, eeding and fattening a porker, raisca ' _ m akmg jam or sauce, ottlmg fruit, constructing a trellis, making a frame, and raising plants, doing a specific phase of household work, growing flowers and maintaining table decorations, those and manv others come within the category of possibilities of Home Project work. Making collections of weeds, grasses and insects are examples of projects undertaken out of school hours by many of our pupils at the present time, their work along these lines being frequently seen on exhibition at our A. and P. Shows. A modified programme of Home Project work is also in operation in the city and suburban schools, for which competitions in home gardening are now in progress.

The Country School. While the introduction of these interests into the school marks a distinct departure from old standards of education, it is felt by many that they do not go far enough, and 'that a greater degree of subordination to it of the subjects which receive first consideration at the present time, number ■work and language, is called for, especially as adequate education along the lines of Nature study, science and agriculture may, at the Fame time, offer opportunities for language and number study. It must be remembered also that the greatest factor availablo for agricultural education for our boys and girls is the country school. For here they are all to be found. Only a few ever get to the Agricultural Colleges. Not a large proportion extend their education to, the High School, and many of those who do never return to the farm. If the great mass of our farmers are to be taught to get the best out of the land and out of their lives, it is to the country schools tli/at we must look for their education. Emphatically this is the part which the primary school a,nd the District High School should play to a far greater extent than it does at present. ' Practice Farm.

There is a totally mistaken idea abroad that for adequate education in agriculture in any school a practice farm is essential. This is to confuse the aims of agricultural education in the schools. As stated above, the object is not to turn out farmers, but to develop their abilities, expand their minds and sympathies, give them some idea of the knowledge content of agriculture and business methods in relation thereto. The manual training part at this stage may," with advantage, be confined to the woodwork and ironwork at present provided. In an agricultural community all the farms in the vicinity may be put under contribution by the alert teacher for instruction in methods and management, so as to afford training in the elements of failure and success." In a word, the real work of firming, as exemplified oii the . farms." tound about, with or without the co-operation of the farmers —but the latter would be seldom withheld—offers the best possible insight into agriculture as actually carried on, and when our schools, particularly our'district high schools, begin to touch experience and. practice in a perfectly frank and natural way, instead of conning over the pages of an agricultural text, we shall the beginning of a system of agricultural education worth while. In fact, we have made a start already. The Oxford District High School has been workjng tentatively along those lines, and the outlook is particularly encouraging. District High Schools.

The writer would like finally to reaffirm, out of a long experience in the teaching and practice of agriculture under many varied conditions, his conviction that the hope for an agricultural education worth the name rests with the district high schools throughout the country. Further, that inasmuch as the help which science can extend to agriculture has always a strictly local application, it is to cooperation with such institutions as these in their own midst that the farmers should look for the elucidation of their local problems.