THE OIL ENGINE ON THE FARM.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXXIII, Issue 15922, 7 May 1912, Page 2

THE OIL ENGINE ON THE FARM.

(By.. \V. WORBY BEAUMONT, MJnst C.E., in "Farm and Home *ear . Book.") ' ......:;-

■ The internal combustion engine is rapidly making it true to say that power is the cheapest thing you can want if you have any real use-lor-u. On the 'farm there can be no doubu-as to the many useful purposes which ..may be served by mechanical power.,■■• it must, however, bo cheap power, and to bo cheap it must be obtainable economically in the varying quantities required by the different kinds ot farm work.' '' ' That which would be cheap where a considerable power output is continuously required from an engine would cease to be so where the large power is but occasionally wanted and the engine is called upon to work on very small power requirements jon most ot the occasions-of its employment. 'On most farms power is most frequently required for driving food-pre-paring machinery, including chaffcutters, turnip-cutters and pulpers, bean mills and oat crushers, the latter not used as much as they should be, and on some farms may be added milk separators or creamers. On dairy farms the last-moritiohed requirement may be alone sufficient reason for installation of mechanical power, but in this, as in all other.cases, the question of greatest number of purposes served economically and conveniently is the ruling question. IMPORTANT POINTS. On the great majority of farms as at present conducted, and likely to be conducted in the near future, the power required for threshing need not be considered, as the hiring of engine and thresher will probably remain the prevalent practice. On the same farms it is questionable whether hay and harvest carting, will not continue to be done by horses, and the same horses will be available for deliveries to town or market or railway station of field products; arid return with coal, manure and other requirements. It seems to be only in special cases that the now and, in the future, available motor-waggon can be looked for the farm-to-town heavy load work. For such farms then tho chief requirement will be met by the use of a email engine of about eight real horse-power, not the nominal horsepower of some catalogued oil or petrol engines, Such an engine would work sufficiently economically on light work, and could even do a little sawing.' : '

What sort of engine could then be chosen for this work?. On some farms the building accommodation may be such as to permit the use of a small Portable engine inside a dairy for airy work, and if mounted as a simple low-speed tractor, it would be easily moved to positions for other farmstead work, and even on to a field for turnip-cutter'work. It could often be used for light loads, with a trailerwaggon, to or from town or statioii, but on such farms an engine thus far sufficient could not be at present considered, sufficient for profitable ploughing or reaping machine work, although for reaping and mowing it might be considered applicable as a supplement to the horses, otherwise or at other times . sufficient;. especially as during harvest time it would hot be so much required for food preparing work, root cutting- and.pulping tor example.- v ■■«■

THE SORT OF ENGINE REQUIRED

The question then is what sort of engine is required for the majority of farms, those comprehensively spoken of as small farms, and the answer seems to be an,engine of from four to eight actual horse-power, either mounted on. wheels for easy removal from place to place on the farm, or mounted as a self-moving engine of the simplest type of self-moving mechanism. Such ah engine.could be used for the somewhat numerous labour-saving purposes be-fore-mentioned, and could be so used as to save many times the interest and depreciation of its cost. It should be capable of doing its work with ordinary paraffin (kerosene) always, although little objection can be made .to the use of petrol for starting up quickly. It must not, however, be a petrol engine, which works occasionally and indifferently with paraffin, and must therefore be made by those who thoroughly understand oil engine construction in distinction from the petrol engine with a so-called paraffin carburetter.

1 • With regard to the purchase of such ail engine, modern conditions of trade and industry make it necessary that the farmer of to-day must not look upon the cost of such an engine as an expenditure, so much out of pocket, but as an investment, or as a trading I cost equal to the interest on capital 1 outlay and depreciation, including redemption. THE QUESTION OF ECONOMY. It is, of course, for every farmer to satisfy himself by unprejudiced con- ; sidoration of the possible saving of laj hour cost, and the value to be given to work performed at the time when it I can be most profitably performed, saving of time of either harvest or market, but the consideration must be unprejudiced, and the profit and loss estimate must be made by him as a man capable of weighing both sides of a question, just as though he were in a | modern manufacturing business.

On large farms the question is somewhat different, because on these it may pay to have a small engine for the homestead work, or a small engine m the dairy, and another on wheels for homestead and field food preparing work, and this without prohibitive loss of efficiency on light work may bo large enough to haul a trailer on the road, or a mowing or reaping machine, ami m some places do a little ploughing. It would also be useful for sawing house timber for various purposes with a saw bench that would cost but little and on some farms a small electric lighting plant could be installed. It must however, be admitted that .all this means some intelligent supervision. _ It means an addition to the thmgs that have to be looked after thingsfor which the work has to be prepared, thincs that must be done in modern I faring which has to count, with fo- ' A NECESSITY. ifl S "?rbe n ffiXutt%£fSe f = * her „ ,t hand when the oil-engine will is near at-I™ n " essitv because it will bean «^ u n al both on farm at" reduced cost, and at any and field, at " d his me!llia redllc . convenient time , valuab i e time, tion + £L- ana mlrketfas compared with methods winch have been sufficient in well known, the Royal » ■ Ifl'tiiral Society carried out cxtenAgr«mltuia« . th icultural tractors, sivo trials. da] WM offercd . fef "''titorfwerc intend.! to be for These -tiaw and were tested !f Bygrave, near Baldock. on plough■at inline reaping machines, as tracing' ha 'Xg a loaded trailer on avertors l> aU "" fa -nip tractors entered for f?°,SW those with oil engines trl iw partly on petrol, and steam worKms ¥. t jj e light traction engine engl»?f hfl report of the judges of these ty ?°u of. whom the writer was one, will t r ,ol flv be published, and to tins the olieh attention may be directed, be-

cause, although the. prize! offered was for agricultural tractors, the engines of the tractors are intended for general farm work. On the whole, it may be said that the ideal engine has not been forthcoming, but that which has been done encourages expectation that it will be in the near future. In this article I am making no attempt to direct users in the selection of oil engines, because there are few teiwhom the same Engine is necessarily, the best or the most suited. 'Requirements vary not only with the sine, practice and product of the farm, hut on th>* locality, and every purchaser must, ', a great extent, decide for himself, f. though he may be usefully assisted fe; independent advice. There are now many makers of good and durable engines for fixed and semi-portable pV poses, but choice of general purpose at field oil engine is at present vc limited.