TRACTORS TO THE RESCUE.

Otago Witness, Issue 3334, 6 February 1918, Page 8

TRACTORS TO THE RESCUE.

In view of Britain's most pressing needs, it is encouraging to learn that tractors are destined to play an important part in aiding production. The most anxious problem of the moment in the opinion of Sir A. Oeddes is not the supplying of men to the army, but in connection .with foodstuffs; while we have, too, the cabled information, of last week, accredited to Lord Rhondda, who, speaking on behalf of the British, French, a,nd Italian Governments, in communication with the American Food Controller (Mr Hoover), said: "Unless you are able to send 75,000,000 bushels of wheat above what, you exported to Febraury 1, irrespective of Canadian exports, I cannot take the responsibility of assuring our people that ther6 will be sufficient food to win the war. It now lies with America to decide- whether the Allies shall have enough food to hold out until, the Americans take the field." Needless- to say, the Americans will do their best. To hark back, however, to the tractor question. It will have been observed that the Home Government has asked farmers to put 2,400,000 more acres under grain for the coming harvest in the national interest. This is a large order, but behind it there rs a pressing demand for more grain', and it is evidently not feasible to depend upon Australia or outside shipments, in view of the necessities of transport of war material. The movement at Home is being grappled with in earnest, and there is considerable emulation among the owners of the various types of tractors in i.se in the different counties. The chief of the Mechanical Cultivation Department of the English Board of Agriculture in a recent interview stated that in this spring campaign 300,000 acres had been ploughed, regardless of the cost, as acreage was more important. They had had since to modify their views in regard to this, as the cost of fuel must be considered. 'They had been able to reduce the consumption of fuel on the tractors from 10 to 12 gallons per acre to 4.2 gallons per acre, while at the same time the acreage had been increased by 50 per cent. He declared that 75 per cent, of their troubles was due to the fact that farmers knew very little of the capabilities of tractors, and had given them unsuitable land. The Home Government has purchased 3750* self-lift-ing ploughs, which would be worked with tractors arriving from America. District Committees have been set up in the counties with the view of speeding on the work and in order to arrange contracts with farmers, etc. In Gloucestershire the tractor work is being placed on a competitive basis. The committees are keen on seeing what each tractor has done, and what has been the consumption of fuel, etc. Monthly prizes will be given to the driver and plor.ghman in each unit who plough the greatest number of acres in each month. The idea is to create friendly rivalry and competition. In regard to their work a North Devon farmer, who had 50 acres ploughed by the tractors recently, writes: "I am very much pleased with the work which the tractor ploughs have been able _to accomplish on my farm. I am quite convinced that under normal weather conditions a large quantity of- our land in this district can be ploughed by the tractor. The condition of the land at present is more water-logged than I have known it at this season of the year -for the past 35 years. (Rainfall for 18 days, s£in.) Because you find certain parts of the fields wet you must not draw the conclusion that those parts will never carry a-tractor. Given five or six days dry, or even an average rainfall, the tractor will run in most places. I hope the tractor ploughs will not be taken from this district, • for I feel, that under normal conditions they will serve a good purpose." The business firms are taking a hand in the movement, and we read of an intimation in the press somewhat as follows from some tractor manufacturer: "If anv of your farmer friends will communicate with me, stating acreage to be. ploughed, nature of soil, and local rate of payment, for ploughing, I will endeavour to make arrangements to help them immediately with ploughing, hauling, or cultivating as required. The* facilities offered are, of course, not unlimited, and it will be a case of ' first come, first served.'" It is undoubted that the tractors are going, to be largely instrumental in getting the lands worked up in time to assure an adequate supply of breadstuffs in view of any war emergencv curtailing shipments of grain from abroad. The food situation of the warring countries is in a sense the main factor in determining the oiitcome of a war when the contending parties are, from a military viewpoint, of somewhat similar strength/ It- was the food question which precipitated Russia into chaos. With millions of men fighting, lands were practically left unproductive, and the call on tHe* foodstuffs of the world in the_ early stages of the war has been insistent.

Some countries must therefore be on starvation rations, and, if undisciplined, will be the first to cry "Enough!" Just as surely as there should be a campaign of production throughout the Empire, so, too v should there be a campaign against waste of any sort. It seems more or less impossible nowadays for human kind far from the warring centres to do much in this direction unless under compulsion, surely clear enough evidence that our past training has been faulty in many respects.