HOW MANY ACRES A DAY?

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 637, 13 April 1929, Page 27

HOW MANY ACRES A DAY?

PROBLEM FOR FARMERS The question is often asked, but is not so easily answered, “How many acres will this machine cover in a day?” The following information is contained in a booklet, “Muscles or Motors,” reprinted by the International Harvester Company. There are many factors which affect the acreage covered a day with any farm machine, whether it is drawn by horses or tractor, so that it is impossible to give any figures which are more than mere approximations for average conditions. The width of a machine naturally has a direct relation to the acres it will cover a day, but the speed at which it travels is a most important factor in determining what the machine may be expected to do. The rate of travel of horses to field work is usually assumed to be about two miles an hour, but it varies greatly with different horses and under different conditions. A horse will walk faster in the morn-

ing than in the afternoon, after a hard day’s work. He will walk faster on a cool day than on a hot day, other things being equal. A horse will walk slightly faster under a light load than under a heavy load. He will walk faster on good, firm footing than in soft ground. A young horse will usually walk faster than an old horse. Some drivers force horses to walk at a good clip even under heavy load, in hot weather and if tired, while others are more considerate of their dumb servants. It is evident, therefore, that the acreage covered a day by a machine drawn by horses will depend entirely upon the conditions under which it is used. In the accompanying table, showing the approximate acreages covered a day by different machines of varying sizes, it has been assumed that the horses would walk at about two miles an hour. Of course the length of the field, the condition of the soil, and the size of the load being pulled have some effect upon the acreage covered a day, but these variations are not nearly so great as those mentioned which affect the amount of work done when horses are used. In the accompanying table, the acreage a day for tractor-drawn machines have, for the most part, been figured on the basis of a speed of three miles an hour, equivalent to the intermediate speeds of tractors, as that is the speed most commonly used for the operations in question. In the case of some operations where a higher speed is satisfactory and practical, the acreage is based on four miles an hour. Rule for Calculating Acreage There are 43,560 square feet in an acre, and 5,280 feet in a mile. If we divide 43,560 by 5,280 the result is B|. In other words, a strip of ground B|ft wide and one mile long contains exactly an acre. Eight and one-quarter feet, of course, is one-half a rod, so that a strip of ground a rod wide and one mile long contains two acres, or a strip of ground a rod wide and half a mile long contains one acre. From the above figures many farmers estimate more or less closely the acreage covered a day by different implements, even though they do not use an exact formula or rule. However, the following rule, which can be easily remembered, enables anyone to calculate very closely the acreage covered a day by different implements: Multiply the working width of the'

implement in inches by tbe rate of I travel in miles an hour, and divide by I 10; the result will be very nearly the acreage covered by the implement in 10 hours’ actual work. Example: How many acres should a three-bottom 14in plough cover a day, using a tractor speed of three miles an hour? Solution: Three times 14 gives us 42in, as the working width of the plough, and 42 multiplied by three (miles an hour travelled by the tractor) gives 126, which divided by 10 gives us 12.6 as the approximate number of acres such a plough would cover in a 10-hour day at three miles an hour under normal conditions. As can be seen, this formula is based on the figures already given, namely, that a strip of land Sift wide and one mile long equals one acre. Eight and onequarter feet equals 99in. In other words, if we multiply the working width of any implement in inches by the number of miles travelled an hour, and the resulting product by 10 (the number of hours worked a day), and divide this figure by 99, we would have the exact acreage covered by the machine, not allowing for any stops, turns, etc. Dividing by 100 instead of 99 makes the division easier, and allows a slight amount for stops and turns, but this is simply equivalent to multiplying the width in inches by the miles travelled an hour and dividing by 10. Another commonly used formula for calculating the acreage covered a day by farm Implements is: “Width in feet multiplied by miles an hour equals acres covered in a 10-hour day.” This will give a slightly lower figure than the first formula mentioned, and for this reason is more accurate when applied to small fields where proportionately more time is lost in turning. For example, an estimate of the work done a day by .an Sft. tractor disc at three miles an hour, using the second formula, would give S multiplied by | three equals 24 acres a day, while by I the first formula we would have 96 i multiplied by three, divided by 20, J equals 2S.S acres a day. Under many eastern conditions, where the fields J are sm-all, 24 acres would be about j right, while in large fields, requiring j few turns, the higher figure will be i approximately correct. | Table of Area Covered by Different j Widths of Implements at Common Speeds in Ten Hours j Width Acres Covered at Given of Speed an Hour.

MAMMITIS NEED FOR CLEANLINESS One o£ the essential factors in handling cows affected with mammitis is cleanliness. Mammitis is an inflammation of the udder, caused generally by a germ entering the udder through a teat passage. The symptoms observable are, first, clots in the milk from a particular quarter; swollen glands; and reduction of milk flow, which becomes thick and yellowish, and tinged with blood. If an abscess forms it will be noticed by the surface remaining dented after pressure. In acute cases gangrene occurs, and the mortified parts slough away. Prevention simply means cleanliness. Floors, walls, and utensils ! should be kept clean and disinfected frequently. Bedding should be cleaned i out frequently and burned. Some ; forms of the disease are very coni tagious, and infection may be carried on the hands of milkers, or cloths, or by means of milking machines. i Affected animals should be isolated. The milk should be drawn away frequently and destroyed, and the udder massaged and disinfected after each milking. In mild cases rubbing with warm camphorated oil two or three times a day may cure. A dose of salts (1016oz), followed by aconite (10-20 drops) will allay the fever. Where inflammation is active warm boracic acid foments, or a belladonna poultice, supported by a wide bandage passing over the loins, with holes for the teats, may be usefully employed. The general practice is to draw the teat several times a day and inject into the quarter, by means of a syringe and teat-siphon, a solution of baking soda (one tablespoonful) and boiled water (one pint), massaging the quarter gently to distribute the solution, which is drawn off in 15 minutes. Boracic acid solution is sometimes 1 used.

■Operation. Inches. 2 Miles 3 Miles 4 Miles 10 2.0 3.0 4.0 24 4.8 7.2 9.6 28 5.6 8.4 11.2 32 6.4 9.6 12.8 42 8.4 12.6 16.8 60 12.0 18.0 24.0 80 16.0 24.0 32.0 100 20.0 30.0 40.0 104 20.8 31.2 41.6 112 22.4 33.6 44.8 120 24.0 36.0 48.0 160 32.0 48.0 64.0 168 33.6 50.4 67.2