Jan. 2, 1920.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 3 



The following figures, showing cost of ploughing, are calculated principally 

 on the work of the type of tractor with a low-speed engine (which is the 

 more reliable) at tlie least possible expense. The plant is put down at £370 

 for the cost of the tractor, and £65 for the plough. The prices are English 

 prices, and would naturally be higher in Australia. 



Approximate Cost of Ploughing 3 acres by Tractor in Great Britain. 



Paraffin (12 gal. at Is. 2d. per gal.) ... 



Lubricating oil (1^ gal. at 3s. 9d. per gal.)... 



Grease (6 oz. at 7d. per lb.) ... 



VVages (one man at 10s.) 



Upkeep (at 2s. 7^d. per acre) 



Depreciation (at 3s. 6d. per acre) 



Interest on capital of plant (at iOid. per acre) 



Total cost £2 10 lOJ 



If the shallower ploughing practised in Australia is allowed for, and work 

 on 5 acres here is reckoned as equivalent to work on 3 English acres, 

 the cost in Australia would thus be 10s. 2d. per acre. 



The figure for paraffiin is the lowest average consumption, but the possi- 

 bility of a reduction in price counterbalances this. The consumption of 

 paraffin varies according to the di-aught resistance of the soil — that is, a 

 sandy soil requires less per acre than a clay soil. A case of heavy land in 

 Bedfordshire may be mentioned ; the paraffin consumption ran into double 

 figures per acre, whereas on some of the lighter soils in Lincolnshire and 

 Lancashire 3 gallons per acre would probably be sufficient. 



Exception may be taken to the small average acreage given per day. The 

 writer knows of individual examples of much greater averages {e.g., a 

 Fordsou in Devon, drawing a double-furrow, ploughed 25 acres in a week), 

 but when loss of time through breakages and cleaning are taken into con- 

 sideration, the estimate given will be found to be even a little high. From 

 records of Government tractors, few indeed were found to plough over 10 

 acres per week. On one estate visited, where eight tractors were employed, 

 the general average was half at work and the other half in the workshop 

 undergoing repair or being taken down for cleaning. It will be seen that 

 the labour of one person only has been allowed for, it being assumed that the 

 plough used was a "self-lift," and that it could be operated by the tractor 

 driver, thus saving the expense of a ploughman. 



In the application of the tractor to ploughing, it is necessary that the 

 tractoi- driver, beside understanding its mechanism, should also have a 

 knowledge of ploughing itself. Hilly ground is unsuitable for tractor 

 ploughing, and unless the machine has a big reserve of power when working 

 on the level, it will undoubtedly stick when going over the gradients. For 

 Australian conditions it would be necessary to apply the self-lift principle to 

 the stump-jump ploughs in use, in order to reduce labour costs to the 

 minimum. Spring connections between the plough and the tractor have 

 proved unsatisfactory in England ; it was found impossible to back after 

 striking an obstruction. The usual method is to use a wooden connecting 



