NEW LIGHT OF THE WORLD

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 306, 14 September 1918, Page 8

NEW LIGHT OF THE WORLD

THE "FORDSON" TRACTOR MACHINE THAT IS REVOLUTIONISING' AGRICULTURE. A SOLVER OF THE FOOD PROBLEM. It does not need the services of a seer or even those of a food administrator to predict that practically .the whole of the civilised and allegedly civilised world is even at the present timo in tough straits for an adequate food supply. We in New Zealand are fortunate iu being located in a spot farthest away from tho ravages of war,' and in a country which probably has no equal on the face of the globe as a food producer, so that the real barebones state of Europe has not cut such a deep impress on our minds, hut one I only has to take a flying visit to America—only eighteen days' steam from our coast—to ascertain how vital a question the world's food supply has become. A limited study of the methods implied in tho word "Hooverism" will convince the most sceptical that America has realised that 15,000,000 cannot bo drawn towards tho battle-grounds of Europe without the world feeling tho loss of man-power in food production. Yet thoso men have to he fed—and fed well—or we weaken our chances of winning, so that those who remain behind' have not only to do their own work, .but must produce the same amount of foodstuffs as though the men under arms were in the harvest fields, ,the orchards, or out on the .cattle and sheep runs. Starve England! That was Admiral von Tirpita's brain storm. ATid he really thought that with the aid of his U-boats he could do it by blocking tho supply ships from America and other parts of the world. He reckoned without two big factors—the strength and resource of the navic,s of the Allies and the inventiveness of "llie ingenious American. The former we need not enlarge upon. The deeds of our Navy, and those of our Allies, -aiid the bravery and resource of British and American merchantmen, nre deeply embossed on tho minds of everyone that reads and thinks. As to the part. that American invention is playing in the war, my comprehension of what was doing in that direction was jogged to- wakefulness by being induced to see , a kinematograph picture of. a modern motor tractor at work. I had, like others, heard of tractors, and seen pictures of them in the.illustrated papers piffling guns at the front, but the pictures—a film that contained .twenty surprises for the twenty minutes it took to unwind—were a real startler as to the change that was doming in agricultural methods,.as tho result of war pressure and advanced thought as applied to ,the motor. The. motor tractor I was asked by the "Dominion" to witness pictorially was tho "Fordson," and without in tho least exaggerating, the farmer who misses seeing this picture is going to bo a direct loser. He cannot afford to miss such a demonstration of mechanical efficiency in the field, and, later on, ho will find that he cannot afford to ignore the "Fordson.". Let me explain what 1 saw. Across a rough, stubbly paddock came a queer little box of tricks, that seemed to be all engine. A man's head could bo seen about tho high bonnet, looking lazily ahead, as he sat comfortably at the steer-wheel. The.two front wheels were low and broad-faced, of Steel without being, shod with rubber or anything else in the way of a cushion. Tho rear wheels appeared quite double the height of the front ones, had a- face doublo tho breadth, obliquely barred with steel treads (forged with ttie wheel). Tho, tractor itself practically ended with the driver's seat, but hitched behind was .a three-furrowed plougn, which was turning the most perfect furrow I have ever seen. The lieavjv sod face of the field was sliced from undor and turned down with a precision and evennoss that must at one and tho same time be the envy and despair of every prize ploughman. Tho line of tho furrows was geometrically perfect, and the ease and speed with which tho operation was performed seemed almost uncanny. The difference between ordinary ploughing with horse-power,.and with tho motor tractor, seemed to me just as great as between the manual plough of ancient times and tho ordinary Oliver ploughs. , •• . What surprised and elated was to witness tho extraordinary resilience or elasticity of the tractor. Perhaps its weight had something to do with it, but it made light of the journoy aoross the rough' field, whilst the attitude and manner of the driver showed the ease and positive comfort that the tractor offers jts operator. At first glance the tractor, with its high bonnet. <uid big back • wheels, resembled a,' miniature "tank" _ in action, and has something; of its humour, which is not) .'surprising, as the "tanks"- were originally modelled on the lines of an American, tractor. On it came, bumping over the stubble and sods, rocking a little aa the machino gave to the undulations of the ground, coniing straight at us, keeping, however, a dead lino. Then came tho view from the back—the clean, 'deep cut, v and perfect roll-over—a' furrow to please the most ; pernicketty farmer. The screen showed the "Fordson" hitched up to a throe-disc plough, and a prettier sight to a farmer's oyo could hardly bo imagined than the faultless ■work'that wag being done. Attached to a harrow, or a modern manurespray, the work was equally as surprising and impressive, along grades as well as on the flat. One of,the most interesting sights was to see the tractor in uso as a maker and cleaner d roads. To make a road excavation is necessary—the road has first to be ploughed up, a slow lumbering process done in most New Zealand cities with power from a steam-roller. With the tractor as the power medium, road-making is made easy, and when it comes to scraping the mud or snow off streets,*,the "Fordson" was shown to bo capable of doing as much work as four teams of horses. Attached to a roller, for street or trackmalting of any kind, it is a surprising labour-saver. ' Tho farmer or the contractor has to feed his horses three times a day, must see that they are well shod, and in good health. All thii "Fordson" demands is a supply of. kerosene (the cheapest form of explosivo oil) and reasonable treatment, to give results never heretofore dreamt of in. this part of the world. Starve England! Not while tlftre are "Fordsons" to take tho place of lighters in England and America! The new tractor, handy, cheap (for the work it does), and wonderfully compact and standardised, comes as a new light to the world, and with the thousands already in uso by tho Governments of England, France, and America, there is little prospect of tho Allies actually sulferiiiE from real, want, for the "Fordson" is a great win-the-war invention, as tho .special privileges given for its manufacture in tlio States proclaim.

The "Fordson" is manufactured liy Henry Ford and Son nt Dearborn, Michigan.. The standardised tractor has an. engine of 22 iliorse-pnwer at 1000 revolutions per lninnte. It will maintain a- drawbar pull of 1800 pounds at ploughing speed, and 2700 pounds in low gear. On an average the consump--tion of kerosene is 2} gallons per acre. As all farmers are awnro the amount of ground ploughed must vary according to the local conditions, but eight acres in ten hours would just about strike a fair average. Are you listening, Mr. Farmer? The total weight of the- "Fordson" tractor is 2700

pounds with water and ftiel tanks full. Its length over all is oulf 120 inches, height 05 inches, and width 62 inches. Tho ploughing speed of tho tractor is 2J wiles per hour; on lower speed, 11 miles per hour; high speed, OJ miles per hour, Did you get that, Mr. Farmer? Those eye-opening speeds are, of course, calculated on an engine speed of 1000 revolutions per minute. With these convincing'facts before one, can you, Mr. Farmer, afford to miss seeing this picture? If you cannot, don't hesitate to ask for a screening. , * The New Zealand agents for the "Fordson," the Colonial Motor Com-■ pany, Ltd. (whose headquarters are iu Courtcnay Place, Wellington),', have a special projection room, where they , are pleased to entertain possible clients. All are- welcome. Further than that, the company lias its very own kinematograph outfit—the neatest portable outfit of tho kind yet introduced to the Dominion, by which the picture is projected. - 'I'his is the De Vry Portable Motion Picture Projector, which includes tho winding and unwinding reels, tho necessary mechanism, the lenses, and the lamp all within' the compass of a small, neatly-finished case. The De Vry takes standard reels and film, and is capable of throwing an Bft. square picture a distance of 30ft. It requires no special setting up, and can bi!- worked ivitli the power of any lighting socket. The machine gives a perfect definition, and in its asbestoß box> with its black 'leather finish, and com-* fortablo grip, looks more like a swell suit-case or dispatch-box than the complete kinematograph outfit it.is. The Colonial Motor Company, Ltd., have secured the agency of the Dβ Vry fer New Zealand.—By arrangement.