Jan. 2, 1920.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 5 



plough with 10-inch furrows 7 inches deep in medium soil up an incline of 

 one in five. The Austin is another new machine of English manufacture 

 that is attracting much attention from farmers of Great Britain and France, 

 but it has not been long enough in use to justify comment upon it. 



In Great Britain, where the cost of horse ploughing is high, the farm 

 Miotor tractor has undoubtedly come to stay. For two reasons at least, 

 however, the time for its adoption in Australia seems to have scarcely 

 arrived ; first, the cost of ploughing by horses here is less than the tractor 

 cosis quoted, and st-cond, horses are more reliable. Admittedly, of course, the 

 attention now being centred on the improvement of the tractor, with the 

 attendnnt possibility of cheaper manufacture and reduced cost of fuel, will be 

 factors in the ultimate popularity of the tractor in this country. 



Concerning the tigures given, it may again be remarked that they are the 



best possil-jle in faA^our of the tractor, and ihat in England very few machines 



are working at such a low cost. The appended figures, puMished by courtesy 



of one of the provincial War Agricultural Executive Committees, show the 



work done by tractors over a period of six months (Jaiiuai-y to July, 1918), 



with running expenses : — 



Amount and approximate value of work done : — 



4,224 acres ploughed, at 22s. per acre ... ... £4,646 



7,041 ,, cultivated, at 7s. 6d. per acre ... 2,640 



£7,286 



Total cost in engineer's fees and bonus, storage, 

 tractor ploughman's wages and bonus, and staff 

 salaries and expenses... ... ... ... ... £7,760 



The average cost per acre cultivated is equal to half the cost per acre 



ploughed. The amount of work done, therefore, totalled 42:!-!; + =8166 



unit-!, at a cost of £7,760 (excluding the cost of oil, fuel, and spare parts 

 supplied by the Food Production Dej^artment), which worked out at about 

 18s. per acre. 



The total amount of fuel, &g., used was : — 



£ 



Petrol (1,089 gallons at 3s. 2d. per gallon) 172 



Paraffin {.59,]y2 gallons at i.s. 8d. per gallon) .3,266 



Oil 13,510 gallons at 3s. 6d. per gallon^ 614 



Grease (1,168 lij. at 7d. per lb.) ... ... ... ... 34 



£4,086 

 This was equivalent to about 10s, per acre. The consumption per acre 



worked out thus: — 



Petrol ... ... "14 gallons per acre. 



The cost, then, per acre amounted to 18s. + 10s. = £1 8s. This did not 

 include the spare parts supplied by the Food Production Department, nor 

 depreciation and interest on capital. It included, however, the cost of fitting 

 all the spare parts, Ac, and running repairs. The cost of the spare parts 

 supplied by the Food Production Department was unobtainable. 



