8 August, 1907.] Cheap I\lotor Power on the Farm. 



509 



CHEAP MOTOR POWER OX THE FARM. 



/. M . B. Connor, Dairy Supervisor. 



When inspecting the dairy farm owned by Mr. W. J. McVeigh at 

 Craigieluirn I was greatly taken with the novel and ingenious method 

 adopted for working the chaffcutter. M'he arrangement is JNIr. McVeigh's 

 own idea, and the work of erection has been planned and carried out by 

 him. It consists of a motor-bicycle, 2f H.P., driving a two-bladed 

 chaffcutter, with a 9-in. mouth, which cuts for a herd of 30 cows, and 

 something additional for neighbours' requirements. From the motor, an 

 ordinary separator cable drives on to a separator intermediate wheel, 

 two feet in diameter, from whirh a i^-in. pu'lev dri\esi on tO' a rnillev of 



similar size on the chaffcutter. The motor is kept cool, b\ the ingenious 

 fixing of a pair Oif 12-in. fans, driven at an angle of 45 degrees, with 

 a flexible shaft at a speed of 1,500 revolutions per minute, w'hich keeps 

 the motor cooler than during the ordinary use on the road. The motor is 

 fixed in a convenient stand from which it can be dismantled and made 

 ready for road use in a couple of minutes. 



Chaff is cut at the rate of 15 cwt. per hour at a cost of pd. per ton. On 

 my arrival at the farm Mr. McVeigh had just finished cutting 30 bags 

 of chaff for one of his neighbours, so I had an opportunity of seeing 

 evervthing going at full speed ; about an hour afterwards I noticed him 

 riding the motor along the Sydnev-road at the rate of about fifteen miles 

 an hour. The illustration attached is from a photograph taken at the 

 time, and will convev some idea of the fixing of the mechanism. 



