THE CARE OF FARM MACHINERY.

Shannon News, 17 March 1925, Page 1

THE CARE OF FARM MACHINERY.

It is desirable to stress the point that the capital cost of most agricul- u tural machinery is high relatively to the work done. It follows that every care must be taken to get as much work as possible out of each machine, and to extend as far as possible the life of the machine. Care is as necessary when the machine is idle as when it is in use. A recent inquiry in the United States was directed to ascertaining the difference in the life of implements which were put under cover as compared with those left in the open. This was not an academic indeed, a very scientific investigation; the data were,, however, opinions supplied by farmers themselves, and were the fruit of actual experience under field , conditions. The averages compiled from the farmers' replies are sufficiently striking to merit reproduction ''i.i in full: — Av. yrs. when Av. yrs. when

Under our conditions, the difference v between implements that are protected from the weather and those that ‘ arc not will be, every bit as marked; v> in fact, we should regard the life of some of the items in this list as too short under I'easonable conditions. There is no reason, for example, why a. binder, if properly cared for, and with a few renewals, should not have a life of 25 years. The principle to bear in mind is that the weather will deteriorate anything made of iron or wood, nor will the most generous allowance of paint defy rain indefinitely; the American figures lead to the conelusion that the life of any machine may be shortened by at least one-half if it is exposed to the weather, and ‘ this is probably an underestimate under New Zealand conditions. Expressed in another way, the form of carelessness which permits excessive deterioration doubles the cost Of every implement.

Implement. housed. not housed. Cultivator . . 12 7 Binder .... . . 14 •7 Disc Harrow . . 15 8 Hay Sweep . Side-delivery . . 16 71 ' Rake . . . . 12 8 ; Dai 11 61 9 Plough Manure . . 14 Spreader . . 12 6 Mower . ... . . 15 9 ‘s Wagon . .. .. 22 8