1 9^0.] Machinery for Food Production. 307 



Tractor Scheme. 





Horse Scheme. 



1.758 



Disc Harrows. 



11,694 



Horses with Harness. 



1,078 



Trailer Boxes. 



6,500 



Binders. 



249 



Tool Boxes. 



10,240 



Ploughs. 



106 



Land Pressers. 



250 



Potato Diggers. 



960 



Ford Box Vans. 



367 



Mowers and Reapers. 



131 



Motor Cars. 



3.684 



Rollers. 



109 



,, Cycles. 





Cultivators. 



6,318,532 



gal. Paraffin. 



2,239 



Drills. 



1,011,868 



,, Petrol. 



576 



Furrow Pressers. 



773,880 



Lubricating Oil. 



5.500 



Harrows. 



264,544 



lb. Grease. 



1.658 



Carts. 







1,604 



Wagons and Lorries. 







114 



Spraying Machines. 



Shortly after the Armistice 



it was 



considered desirable 



that the Government operations should cease, and that the 

 whole of the acquired plant in their hands should be disposed 

 of, but in such a way as not to upset any arrangements already 

 entered into by County Executive Committees, and also to 

 give farmers who knew the machinery and accessories an 

 opportunity of acquiring them. The majority of counties 

 decided to commence disposal early in 1919, but a few counties 

 were so committed that they were compelled to continue 

 up to the end of the 1919 harvest. All work definitely ceased, 

 however, on 30th September last, and the whole of the stock 

 has now been disposed of. Over 1,000 sales have been held 

 in market towns convenient to the place where the 

 materials had been used, arid in most cases farmers were the 

 purchasers. 



Apart from the provision of the above plant for the purpose 

 of prosecuting their scheme, the Department undoubtedly 

 did a very great service to farmers, as for a considerable period 

 of the War little or nothing had been done by manufacturers 

 in this country — who were engaged on other work — to replace 

 wastage and to supply the need for new implements, and but 

 for those made available for farmers by the Department, 

 a very difficult situation would have arisen. Further, the 

 Department's Tractor Scheme, as is generally recognised, 

 has hastened mechanical cultivation by many years. Before 

 the Department embarked on their Scheme it is doubtful 

 whether there were 500 tractors in this country, whereas 

 it is fairly safe to say that there are now 20,000, and that the 

 character of implement yards all over the country has been 

 entirely transformed. The sum realised from the sale of the 

 machinery, horses and implements above referred to shows 

 that only a depreciation of 30 per cent, occurred on the purchase 

 amount, which is very gratif3dng when it is remembered 



