io6 



] ournal of Agriculture. 



[lo P'eb., 1910, 



BUILDING HINTS FOR SETTLERS. 



VII. — Portable Tramways for Farm Work. 



R. T. Archer, Dairy Expert. 



The value of the silo as a means of conserving fodder in the most 

 suitable succulent condition for feeding to cows for the production of 

 milk is becoming more and' more recognised. Maize has been prov'ed to 

 be the most suitable of all crops to grow for the purpose of filling the silo. 

 Owing to its solid stems it packs closely, minimizing the amount of air space 

 and therebv reducing to a minimum the loss through combustion of sugar, 

 &c. On many of our rich flats, a very large weight of fodder per acre 

 can be produced at the lowest cost for cultivation. 



tram track, MESSRS. HALFORD BROS. FARM, KONGVVAK. 



But, through rain, these same rich flats sometimes become so soft, when 

 the crops are ready for harvesting, that to cart the stuff off in the usual 

 way is to convert the land into a quagmire and make the harvesting a very 

 expensive item. These conditions presented themselves to some of the 

 farmers in South Gippsland la.st .season, notably Messrs. Halford Bros, 

 and .^ir. W. J. Williams, on whose farms abundant crops of maize and 

 tick beans were grown and could not be got off before the heavy autumn 

 rains softened the ground to such an extent as to make it almost imprac- 

 ticable for wheel traffic. 



To avoid the almost total loss of the crops a system of portable 

 tramwavs wns tried with highly satisfactory results. By this means one 

 horse was able to haul in 2 tons at a time ; in one instance, one horse 

 carted in 70 tons and the onlv feed it required was the maize it picked up 

 on the way. The tramway is made entirely of wood. The sleepers, 

 6 ins. X 4 ins., are 3 ft. 2 ins. in length and are split out of rough logs. 

 A groove is cut in the sleepers into which the rails of 4 in. x 2 in. sawn 



