MOTOR POWER ON THE FARM.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 450, 23 March 1912, Page 7

MOTOR POWER ON THE FARM.

Mr. Venning, a South Australian farmer, at a recent meeting said, "Whereas a few years ago, horses were employed to cut chad and to do various kinds of stationary work, motors of different types had now largely replaced horsepower for that class of work. With a motor work could be done much more quickly a nd the horses could be used to better effect in other farm work. Recently with a motor-power winnower he had cleaned 2,500 bags of wheat with no trouble whatever. Four men could clean 200 bags of grain per day comfortably, but to get tlic most out of the plant and keep everything going in full swing six men were needed. With the same engine—one of fi"e horse-power—all the chaS-cutting and corn-crushing for the farm was done. This engine easily worked a No. 4 cutter with a twenty-foot clr-ator, and put through a ton of chad per hour. He recommended intend ng purchasers not to procure tco sir all a plant, as with a small plant and low power , just as much attention was needed, and the work took much longer. He thought it well to have a little more power in reserve than was generally needed. A six horsepower engine and a number 4 chaffcutter cost about £l2O, and if properly cared for would last a long time. The petrol engine could be started from cold in a few minutes, and this he considered a great advantage over oil and steam engines. Motors required a certain amount of attention, and should be kept clean and in good order. Given this and a little experience on • ths part of the man who worked it, satisfaction was assured. Motor vehicles, he continued, are quickly coming into use, and will soon be as common as horse vehicles. He had for some time past driven a motor buggy and preferred it to a horse buggy, especially for long journeys. It was easy to average from 12 miles to 20 miles per hour on anything like a fair road, and cost from 8/ to 10/ per 100 miles for petrol and oil. The buggy was fitted with solid rubber tires, and these were better than the motorcar tires for stumpy roads. With the advent of motor-propelled vehicles it was becoming dangerous for drivers to sleep when travelling with a team of horses, and they would do well to keep on the right side of the road if there was a motor vehicle in the vicinity."