ox IMPLEMENTS SELECTED FOK TIUAL. 327 



stopping the plough and its consequent reciprocatory action all 

 go on without involving the necessity of any signals between the 

 man working the plough and the man working the engine. The 

 mechanism of the windlasses for regulating the movement of the 

 plough, as well as that for moving them forward as the ploughing 

 proceeds, is ingenious; but it is not possible, without reference 

 to enlarged diagrams, to describe the various devices which the 

 patentees have introduced in their endeavours to perfect their 

 isystem. 



The advantages claimed for the system by the patentees may 

 be shortly stated, as follows : — 



1st. The transmission of power from the engine by means of 

 the fast travelling, light hempen endless rope. 



2d. By the use of their windlasses, the fast motion of the end- 

 less rope can be applied to the slow motion required for th^ 

 plough at any part of the field without stopping the engine. 



3d. The use of one engine (and that may be any traction or 

 portable engine of the ordinary type). 



4th. The circumstance that the engine does not require to 

 traverse the field to be ploughed, thus avoiding the risk of break- 

 ing drain tile pipes. 



5th. The facility with which the power can be transmitted by 

 the travelling rope enables the engine to be placed in a situation 

 most convenient for the supply of water and fuel, the carts sup- 

 plying which do not require to enter the field, the position of the 

 engine being stationary. 



6th. The small quantity of land left in headlands, the breadth 

 of which averages 14 feet. 



In stating what have been represented as the points of superi- 

 ority claimed for Fisken's Tackle, the Committee must point out 

 that the trial now to be reported on was not of a competitive cliar- 

 acter, there being no competitive system of steam ploughing with 

 whicli to compare it, and therefore, in giving their report^ they 

 must confine themselves strictly to the result of the investigation 

 now made on Fisken's Tackle as represented in the model shown 

 at Aberdeen. At the same time, they have to notice that the re- 

 sults of the present trials, though not embracing other systems of 

 steam })l(nighing, and, therefore, nut competitive, will nevertheless 

 be useful should it be necessary hereiifter to compare them with 

 trials made on any other steam ploughing apj)aratus. Indeed, it 

 «eems doubtful whether two .syst(?ms of steam cultivation could 

 have been simulLaneuusly cun.sidered at one competition in a 

 tjatisfactory manner. 



With these preliminary observations, the Committee proceed 

 to give the following riisults of the various observations made, 

 und the conclusions they have deduced from them. 



