318 



The " Buckeye " Ditcher. 



[July, 



hour for wages would have been reduced from 7s. 6Jd. to 

 4s. lOd. Interest and depreciation would have remained 

 constant for the period, but the cost per running hour on this 

 head would have been reduced to 5s. 8d. Repairs may be 

 expected to remain the same per running hour as in the actual 

 experiment. 



The last column in Table IV gives a sum of these estimates 

 equal to £1 5s. lOd. per running hour, and referring again to 

 Table III for the work done per running hour we obtain the 

 costs per chain in each case as follows: — 



s. d. 



3 ft. 6 in. drains in moist clay ... . . ... ... 15 2 



2 ft. 6 in, drains in moist clay ... ... ... ... 7 4 



3 ft. 6 in. drains in dry clay ... ... ... ... ... 8 7 



2 ft. 9 in. drains in dry clay ... ... ... ... ... 5 7 



2 ft. drains in dry clay 2 10 



The fact which is brought out most strikingly by a con- 

 sideration of these figures is that the costs of digging in a 

 dry subsoil are much reduced. Since the machine was not 

 used on wet clay, it is impossible to say whether the cost of 

 digging in wet clay would be greater or less than in moist clay, 

 but the figures suggest that the best financial results will be 

 -obtained in summer use. 



The next point to note is that the cost of shallow drains is 

 very much less than that of deep ones; thus 3 ft. 6 in. drains 

 in dry clay cost exactly three times as much to dig as 2 ft. 

 drains in similar soil. So pronounced a result was contrary to 

 original anticipations. 



Comparing the cost of digging trenches with the " Buckeye" 

 with that by hand is not an easy matter unless the work be 

 carried on side by side. At the demonstration the cost of 

 excavating the 3 ft. 6 in. mains which, under commercial 

 conditions, we have shown might be 15s. 2d. per chain in 

 moist clay and 8s.. 7d. in dry clay, was estimated by practical 

 farmers who saw the work to be between 12s. and 17s. per 

 chain if dug by hand at present prices. The cost of digging 

 2 ft. 6 in. drains in clay at the present time would probably 

 approximate 6s. per chain, which may be compared with 

 7s. 4d., the estimated cost per chain for 2 ft. 6 in. drains in 

 moist clay and with 5s. 7d. the cost per chain for 2 ft. 6 in. 

 drains in dry clay. Similarly, the cost of 2 ft. drains in clay 

 if dug by hand would probably cost now about 4s. per chain 

 as compared with 2s. lOd. by the " Buckeye " in dry clay. 

 It is to be noted further that, provided the man who controls 



