An Easily Handled Field Loader for Bulk Lime

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 85, Issue 2, 15 August 1952, Page 105

An Easily Handled Field Loader for Bulk Lime

By

C. J. CROSBIE,

Machinery Instructor,

Department of Agriculture, Christchurch

PRODUCTION, transport, and storage on • the farm of lime in bulk have been extensively developed in recent years and economies of production and handling have been worked out. Problems of production and transport have largely been overcome by commercial enterprise, but the end use of bulk lime on the farm still offers some difficulties to the farmer and the contractor. Probably the greatest of these is the elevation of the lime from the stockpile to the distributor. This has been solved to some extent in the past with front-end loaders and elevators; the latter, though doing the lifting work satisfactorily, have factors that have detracted from their general usefulness. This article describes an elevator or loader that has been developed in North Canterbury in recent months and patented., CONSISTING essentially of a wheeled chassis on which is built an inclined plane, the loader has an engine to supply power to an endlesschain scraper mounted on an articulated framework/ The scraper framework is pivotally mounted on its top drive shaft and has its lower portion articulated, the two sections each being controlled by a hand winch for raising and lowering so that it can be adjusted to suit the heap of lime being worked. Method of Operation The loader is drawn into the field on its own four wheels and when it is in position the castor wheels are raised to lower the , mouth of the machine to the ground. If the loader has arrived first, a sack sheet is spread in front of it to receive the lime from the transport truck and in this way loss is reduced to a minimum. So gentle is the action of the loader that the sheet shown in the accompanying illustrations has already been used for 2| months’ work without signs of wear.

If the lime is in a bulk heap, the loader’s quickly detachable drawbar is fitted to the rear of the loader, which is pushed into the heap by a tractor. With the engine going and the clutch engaged the scraper is lowered into the heap and the lime is conveyed to the distributor, which has been drawn under the upper lip of the loader. Being the width of a standard truck, this loader takes almost the whole width of the lime heap, and its attendant in a few minutes with a shovel can gather in what it misses. When it has loaded the lime within its reach the loader is again pushed into the heap with the tractor, and, quick couplings on the front of the tractor and on the loader drawbar make this only a minute’s work. If the loader arrives first in the field, the successive truck loads of lime are tipped on to the sheet and are used while the truck is returning empty for more lime. On long hauls from the limeworks two or more trucks are used on the road.

The trucks, which are equipped with a special hopper that can be fitted in

a few minutes to any cartage contract tor’s tip trucks, each carry 5 tons of lime. .

The loader elevates.. the lime from the heap to the distributor at ,the rate of 1 ton per minute. The distributor shown is fully and evenly loaded in 3 minutes without the driver’s resorting to shovel work to spread the lime being . loaded. Whereas the limespreading contractor using the loader handled in a good average week 120 to 130 tons of lime when he received it in bags, he now spreads 170 to 180 tons in the same time with little physical work on his part or on the part of his helper who tends the loader. In a good 10-hour day he has spread 53 tons of bulk lime by the method shown in the illustrations. In 2J months- this contractor and his helper have already spread 1600 tons of bulk lime this year, all with the help of the . loader illustrated.

Loaders with hoppers need a ramp for standard tip trucks to load into them, or the tip trays must be specially shortened to allow the truck to tip into them from the ground, but this loader will take lime from any tip truck and in addition will work from a stockpile. The speed of work and ease of handling of this machine should appeal to all engaged in spreading bulk lime.

Excessive Wool Branding

By

G. D SHAND,

Livestock Instructor, Department of Agriculture, Timaru

EXCESSIVE wool branding has caused great concern among wool buyers during the past season's sales. Unnecessarily large brands and duplication of brands can be seen on sheep at any sale, and growers must realise that by needlessly "plastering" sheep with branding fluid they are causing considerable damage, which inevitably is reflected in lower prices for their product.

THE question of whether wool branding can be eliminated is a debatable one, but some angles of the problem are worth consideration. In the author’s branding district a total of 1200 sheep owners have registered livestock brands and '-in many other branding districts (where there is closer subdivision) the total is considerably higher. The small area of a sheep’s ear necessarily limits the range and type of placement of marks. In wool-branding districts use of a brand in addition to an earmark is compulsory; even in districts exempt from branding requirements a desire among owners to have the : additional safeguard of branding is evident. Sheep owners can do much to minimise the type of damage which is exercising wool manufacturers and wool buyers; they can eliminate “plastering” the fleece or they may remove the brand when skirting. Legal Requirement The relevant section of the Stock Act stipulates a brand of not less than 3in. in length, but not a maximum length. .It is recommended that sheep owners measure up their present registered brand to see if it is excessively large and therefore excessive brand coverage is occurring. There . appears to be no necessity to have a

brand exceeding 4in. in length. It is common for them to be 6,7, and Bin. long, and in isolated cases lOin. The “length”- of a brand means the longest measurement any way, which often will be the diagonal distance. Limiting the measurement to 3 or 4in. will give a neat, compact brand that will not cause excessive deposition of branding fluid. , ■ Placement of the Brand There appears to be no objection from the point of view of observation to placing the brand in the vicinity of the tail setting just sufficiently high to prevent the removal of the lower portion of the brand during crutching. The most common sites for brands are the withers, top of the shoulder, or centre of the back. These sites are unfortunate choices as on them the most valuable part of the fleece is grown. The advantage of placing the brand at the tail setting is that the wool carrying a compact 3 or 4in. brand can be removed easily when the fleece is skirted on the wool table. This, however, cannot be done when tup marking is practised. However, to remove the brand when it is on the withers or centre of the back would result in severe mutilation of the fleece. There should be a bag handy

to the wool table for branded wool only. The advantages of modifying a brand which is too large have been stressed,' but the change can be made only by cancelling the existing brand and by applying to the local Registrar of Brands, Department of Agriculture, for registration of the new brand. It is necessary to submit a tracing of the brand. Keeping wool-branding irons clean will assist the making of neater brands. Irons are often' left hanging up in woolsheds with a thick coating of old branding fluid adhering. A simple way to clean them is to put them in a range or open fire for 5 minutes;, the fire will burn off the old material and the irons will then give a clear impression. Blobs or smears of branding fluid on wool are often the outcome of having too much branding fluid in the pot used for the purpose. A suitable method is to use a strong saucepan with a firm handle in the bottom of which is a piece of shorn sheepskin the size of the inside of the pot. Only sufficient branding fluid to dampen the wool is added. The “self-inking” type of pad with a reservoir for the branding fluid gives a very clear impression without drops contaminating the surrounding wool. Purchase of Sheep Further unnecessary wool marking is that done by a new owner who has bought sheep at a sale or privately. Unless there is possibility of confusion because a neighbour has bought part of the same draft, there is no need to rebrand, as proof of ownership can be established simply in the case of theft or for any other reason by reference to the agents through whom the sheep were purchased. . \