15G 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



REPORT BY JUDGES ON FOWLER'S STEAM -PL OUG H. 



The Highland and Agriculturul Society's Premium- 

 Book, published in February, 1607, contained the fol- 

 lowing iiitimatioa : — 



" For the practical app'ication of s'cam or water-poa'er to 

 the plongliintc or diggiuK o' laa i, £200. The merits of the 

 iuveutiou will be tested by its general appu:'ability, by ihe clii- 

 racter of its woik, and by its saving in time, labour, aud out- 

 lay, as corapaied with horse-power. The inventor must be 

 prepared to deliver his machine at Stirling by the 1st of Octo- 

 ber, aud to put it in practical operation on such farm in the 

 neighbourhood of that town, and to work it for such a period, 

 and under such regulations, as the Directors may determine — 

 the object beiug to test its capabilities by coutinued work, and 

 not by a mere show trial." 



The utmost pains were taken to make the premium 

 knovfn to implement makers, in the hope of securing 

 competition; and though for some time there was a 

 prospect of this, eventually Mr. John Fowler, jun., 28, 

 Cornhill, London, was the only party who appeared. 



The following gentlemen were named as a comm'ttee 

 of judges to test the merits of Mr. Fowler's invention, 

 and to determine how far he was deserving of the pre- 

 mium offered : Messrs. John Miller, of Leithen ; James 

 Stirling, C.E , Edinburgh ; John Dick.'-on, farmer, 

 Saughton Mains; John Finnic, farmer, Swanston ; John 

 Gibson, farmer, Woolmet ; VV'illiam Henderson, farmer, 

 Craigarnhall ; and Robert Patterson, Offer?. 



The neighbourhood of Stirling having been fixed for 

 the trial, all local arrangements were left to the super- 

 vision of the Stirlingshire Agricultural Society, by whom 

 the farm of Stewarthall, possessed by Mr. William For- 

 rester, was selected as the place, and the 20th of Octo- 

 ber named as the time for the trial ; and it was resolved 

 that, previous to the public being admitted to inspect 

 the operations, they should be privately conducted for at 

 least three days in the presence of the judges exclusively. 



Before entering upon a narrative of the proceedings, 

 it may probably not be out of place to describe, gene- 

 rally, the machinery brought forward by Mr. Fowler. 

 It consists of three main parts — viz , the Plough, the 

 Steam-engine and gearing connected therewith, and the 

 Anchor. 



The plough, which is constructed to turn over four 

 ordinary furrows at the same time, consists of a strong 

 framing about 20 feet in length, supported at the centre 

 on two wheels, one of which travels in the last formed 

 furrow, and the other upon the '■ land," and by adjust- 

 ment as to relative heights on these wheels the apparatus 

 is brought into train, and the depth of th6 furrow to be 

 turned over determined. The two ends of the framing 

 join each other at a considerable angle at the centre, so 

 that when the one end is nearly horizontal and at work, 

 the other is raised at an angle of about 35 degrees, and 

 is thus kept entirely clear of the ground; each end of 

 the framing is supplied with four ordinary plough-heads 

 (share, sock, and mould) closely following each other, 

 and each placed so as to take in and turn over a breadth 

 of 10 inches, or 3 feet 4 inches for the four at each ope- 

 ration. The plough-heads on the two ends of the 

 framing being in every respect reversed to each other, 

 the machine does not require to be turned at the end of 

 the furrow, but by simply elevating the end of the frame 

 last at work, the other end, which balances it, is brought 

 down to working position, and by means of the two car- 

 rying-wheels the necessary lateral motion of 3 feet 4 

 inches is easily and correctly given by the man in charge, 

 and the plough is at once ready for turning over another 



set ot furrows by being pulled in the opposite direction. 

 This pulling is performed in both directions by means 

 of a steel-wire rope of about f inch diameter, j)asbing 

 fro.'H the engine at the one end of the field to the anchor 

 at the other end, and back to the engine again. 



The steam engine us?d by Mr. Fowler is a portable 

 one, very similar to those now so much employed in 

 England for thrashing and other agricultural purposes. 

 For greater facility in getting into motion, aud stopping, 

 and otherwise for bringing the engine more completely 

 under the control of the engineman, it is fitted with two 

 steam cylinders working on a double crank at right 

 angles to each other, as in locomotive engines. The 

 cylinders and crank-shaft are placed on and fixed to the 

 upper part of the boiler, and the motion is carried down 

 from the crank-shaft by means of an upright shaft fitted 

 with mitre gear and reversing clutches to two dru.ms, 

 upon which the wire ropes are alternately coiled and 

 uncoiled during the operation of ploughing. Ti:e drums 

 are placed horizontsflly under the framing' of the engine, 

 and their gearing is so arranged that either can be at 

 pleasure thrown into gear with the upright shaft, so that, 

 while the one is set loose to allow Ihe uncoiling of the 

 wire rope, the other is at work dragging the plough. 

 The drums with the rope partially coiled on have an 

 effective average diameter of about 3 feet, and are 

 11 inches in breadth each ; by means of the connecting 

 gearing already alluded to, the drums are made to take 

 on the wire rope at the rate of from 2^ to 25 inches an 

 hour, equal to about the rate at which the pistons travel. 

 The pistons being 6^- inches diameter, or 33 square 

 inches each in area, and the steam in the boiler being at 

 say 651bs. per square inch, will exert a tractive strain on 

 the wire rope (allowing a half for loss by friction, &o.) of 

 2,140 lbs., or nearly one ton. The engine and plough 

 being placed at oppcsite ends of the field, it is evident 

 that the plough could be drawn towards the engine, and 

 the first set of the furrows turned over, by means of a 

 single rope attached to the plough, and the other end of 

 the rope coiled up on one of the d:ums of the engine ; 

 but to effect the returning draught it is necessaiy either 

 to employ another engine with the necessary apparatus 

 at the other end of the field, or, by passii'g another rope 

 also fixed to the plough over a sheave fixed there, and 

 returning and connecting its other end with the second 

 drum of the engine, to work both directions by one 

 engine. This latter plan has been the one adopted by 

 Mr Fowler, and the simple and ingenious apparatus to 

 which the sheave is attachedis termed 



The anchor. This consists of a strong low wooden 

 frame about 10 feet long and 5 feet broad, supported 

 when in use upon two axles or roUers ; on each of which 

 there are two thin-edged wheels or discs of malleable 

 iron, which sink by the weight of the machine to a depth 

 of 8 or 9 inches into the soil : they are prevented from 

 sinking deeper by the bodies of the rollers (about 9 inches 

 in diameter) coming in contact with the surface of the 

 ground, and bearing up the remaining weight. To the 

 framing between the rollers are fixed the bearings of a 

 large horizontal sheave about 4 feet in diameter, around 

 which the wire rope turns when the plough is being 

 drawn away from the engine; the fitiain thus thrown 

 upon the sheave, which is double the direct strain 

 exerted on the rope by the engine, is resisted by the four 

 discs, which, being placed at right angles to the line of 

 traction of the plough, act like the flukes of four power- 

 ful anchors^ 



