THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



77 



ciently good ia themselves to enable farmers to adopt 

 them universally. He hoped that both eogiuea and implements 

 would be made more efficient, and that the day would socn 

 arrive when steam-cultivatiou might be practically carried out. 



The Chairman, in closing the discussion, said he thought 

 the real question to be determined was, not whether steam or 

 horses were the most economical, but which did the work best. 

 He should say that steam, although it might be rather more 

 expensive, was better on clay 1 inda than horses. It broke the 

 soil up deeper ; it obviated tl>e evil of treading, which was an 

 immense advantage on clay lauds ; and it enabled them to 

 break up thoroughly in the autumn a much larger quantity of 

 land than they could possibly do with any amount of horse- 

 power. He was sure they all felt much obliged to Mr. Wells 

 for his admirable paper, containing so much valuable informa- 

 tion ; and he could not help adding that the deputation, of 

 which he was a member, feit much indebted to Mr. Smith for 

 inviting them to visit his farm, and for the hospitality which 

 he had extended to them. 



Mr. Wells, in reply, observed that he regretted — if he 

 might judge from some of the remarks made by the gentlemen 

 present on the reading of his paper — that the views he had 

 endeavoured to enunciate had from some cause been misunder- 

 stood. He would, therefore, as regarded the observations of 

 Mr. Smith and Mr. Fisher Hobbs, refer again to that portion 

 which had reference to steam cultivation, and from which it 

 would be found that, so far from condemning the use of that 

 power on strong and tenacious soils, he had distinctly stated 

 it was not a question of an additional few shillings per acre in 

 the expense of carrying out that system, as the work performed, 

 from various causes, would more than amply repay the addi- 

 tional cost ; but the experience Mr. Smith had just detailed 

 on his 111 acres of land by the steam cultivating process had, 

 to his mind, settled the question as to its profitable introduc- 

 tion on small occtipations, except on the principle of hire. All 

 parties who had favoured the public with their opinions on the 

 benefits to be derived from steam cultivation, had invariably 

 claimed a considerable source of profit from the reduction of 

 horse-power by its use, and which, according to the calcu- 

 lations he had that evening laid before them, averaged eight 

 horses per holding. He had no doubt that the little farm 

 Mr. Smith alluded to was a perfect model of the system ; but 

 when he was told not a single horae was displaced, he must 

 remind them that even the precious metals might be obtained 

 at too high a rate ; and, on reference to his paper, they would 

 find it laid down as a rule, that the question of capital applied 

 to the cultivation of the soil for increasing its produce did not 

 admit of an argument, provided such capital proved a profitable 

 investment. Mr. Hobbs had requested an explanation relative 

 to the quantity of land capable of being ploughed in a day, 

 and on which the basis of his calculations had been made. 

 He was afraid that gentleman had not remarked the dis- 

 tinction he had set out with, on strong land and light soils. 

 On the former, he had allowed Mr. Smith's calculations to pass. 

 But that gentleman having, in his published letter to Mr. Dis- 

 raeli, challenged any practical farmer to test those calculatioss, 

 he was forced to join issue with him on his light land esti- 

 mates, for his experience told him that he had no difficulty 

 whatever in having one and a-half acres of land ploughed 

 per day on gentle warp, light sand, and wold land. So that, 

 far from retracting what he had stated, he was glad of 

 the opportunity of being enabled to reassert its correct- 

 ness, and to thank Mr. Parkinson, who had some 

 knowledge of his district, for having expressed the opinion 

 he had on this occasion. At the same time it was only 

 right to observe that the horses employed were cleanly 

 half-bred horses, that could walk rapidly away ; and that 

 the farms were in ring fences, with home steadings conve- 

 niently situated. If a pair of horses had to go a mile to 

 their work, and made two yokes, that would be equal to 

 four miles, or three miles of furrow ploughing ; and they 

 must also remember that the advocates of steam cultivation 

 fixed the basis of their calculations at two hundred working 

 days per annum ; and therefore he had calculated at the 

 same rate for horse power, which would give nine and a- 

 half to ten working hours per day. Of course, if it was 

 considered desirable to place horse power at the actual 

 working days, three hundred and ten yer annum, it would 

 certainly reduce the average amount ploughed per day ; 

 but, at the same time, it would lower tne cost-price of 8s. 



Id. to 5s. 6d., so that the actual cost of the work performed 

 would be precisely the same as he had fixed it at on his 

 light-land estimates. They must also bear in mind the 

 treading of the soil, which was so injurious to strong land 

 cultivation, was in many instances of essential service oa 

 light soils. 



JNIr. .1. Thohias : What depth do you go to .^ 

 Mr. Wells : On the gentle warp, to a depth of six 

 inches on the first ploughing, and up to nine inches on the 

 cross ploughing ; on the wold land, from four to six inches. 

 It depended upon the depth of the soil, whether intended 

 for turnip fallow or seed corn. There was nothing he be- 

 lieved, in his paper in opposition to steam cultivation, on 

 strong land ; but he did consider on light lands it would 

 not pay. He was also glad to find that some gentlemen 

 agreed with him on cultivation by steam power on the 

 principle of hire ; but he must warn them that it could never 

 be satisfactorily arrived at by farmers joining together, as 

 every farmer would think he had an equal right to its use, 

 when the season for its requirement wss at hand. His 

 opinion was that the parties who at present let out thrashing 

 machines should add two or three more hands to their stafl, 

 and undertake the whole process at so much per acre, as the 

 farmers themselves who require stubbles early breaking up 

 had not even hands to keep their horses in full employment 

 from the commencement of cutting corn until the conclusion 

 of the securing of the cereal produce, and in his district the 

 lifting of potatoes followed almost immediately after the 

 securing of the harvest ; it must also be borne in mind that 

 the engines at present generally in use were short of power for 

 steam cultivation, and would be no worse for thrashing pur- 

 poses if increased. With respect to Mr. Williams' remark?, 

 that evenmg's discussion, in his opinion, had nothing to do 

 with any supposed advantage the country would gain by the 

 increased growth of wheat in lieu of horse corn. It was well 

 known that of late years both barley and oats had in many in- 

 stances realized as much nett profit per acre as wheat, more 

 especially the former. It was true he had made no deduction 

 for the value of the manure arising from the horses ; but, on 

 the other hand, he had made no calculation of the value of the 

 straw ; and if there was any balance arising from the manure 

 in favour of the reduction of cost of horse power, it would 

 militate so much the more against the profits of steam cultiva- 

 tion, One gentleman had said the calculation should have 

 been made against spade husbandry, and not horse power. 

 He supposed that, notwithstanding the good results arising 

 from spade husbandry, horse power would never have been so 

 universally substituted for it, had not the latter, in its general 

 results, being the more profitable, and as auch that would be 

 the proper power to raise the argument upon, if even his 

 paper had not limited him to that course. Mr. Howard had 

 told them that the wear of the rope depended much on the 

 care of the men : no doubt not only the rope, but every im- 

 plement used on a farm was more or less in the same position. 

 He would only say that one of bis principles was to have a 

 place for everything, but, unfortunately, he seldom found 

 everything in its place ; and the rope was a most serious item 

 of expense, rapidly deteriorating whether in work or not. He 

 held a letter in his hand from a farmer in his neighbourhood 

 who had purchased Mr. Smith's cultivatiug apparatus, and who 

 stated he had not worked more, during the three years he had 

 it, than fifty acres per annum, and yet the same person told 

 him it wanted renewing. Before concluding, he would cite an 

 instance of the benefit derived from the cultivating or breaking 

 up process of the stubble, in preference to the turn-over prin- 

 ciple. The land he farmed, though perfectly clear of twitch, 

 was very subject to annual weeds, and it had long been his 

 custom to thin-fflrrow the stubble the earliest opportunity after 

 harvest. A few years ago he tried the experiment, in a six- 

 teen-acrc field of wheat stubble, by thin furrowing one-balf, and 

 dragging or cultivating the remainder. In November, both 

 were ploughed full depth. The following year the whole field 

 was sown with line ; the half that had been thin-furrowed 

 came up, as usual, full of annual weeds — the other half com- 

 paratively clear. Since that time he had always broken up his 

 stubbles'previously to the winter ploughing with Ducie'a and, 

 latterly, with Beutall's broadshare, or Clay's and Coleman's 

 drags. If there w as any other remark he had not replied to, 

 he shoula be happy so to do. He could assure the gentlemen 

 who had so patiently listened to his long array of figures that 



