252 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



A considerable saving of power is effected, especially 

 in strong and stony soils, and the soil itself is left in a 

 more open and desirable state. The shaft can be 

 elevated or lowered to suit any deplh of cultivation 

 required, and the length of the cut or furrow slice can 

 be varied by change wheels on the crank and interme- 

 diate shafts. 



The field appointed for the trials was laid up in narrow 

 lands, varying from 7 to 10 feet wide, with a difference 

 of level of some 10 or 12 inches between the ridge and 

 the furrow, and thus afforded no fair test of the powers 

 of this rotary cultivator ; as, owing to the great breadth 

 of its cut (seven feet), in no part could it find space 

 sufficiently level to show its work to advantage. Enough 

 work, however, was done to establish its capabilities, to 

 indicate several points in its working details which might 

 be readily improved, and to show that the principle of 

 rotary cultivation had taken a distinct position as a 

 desirable and valuable addition to the mechanics of 

 agriculture. 



We think .Mr. Ricketts deserves great commendation 

 for the skill and ingenuity displayed in the design and 

 arrangement of the rough trial machine exhibited. The 

 working details may be thus given : — While in motion 

 on suitaHle ground the machine advances about 20 feet 

 per minute, the shaft making 75 revolutions, and the 

 tines or cutters attached taking a slice 4 V inches wide by 

 G inches deep, and 7 feet in breadth. At this rate 9H 

 poles per hour, or about b'} acres per day, would be 

 performed. The working expenses per day may be 

 taken at .^l 15s. 9d. ; this, taking 4 acres as the average 

 work done per day, woald give about 9s. per acre as the 

 cost of cultivation. Owing to the breaking of the chain 

 driving the transverse shaft, the work was brought to a 

 close durinif the first day, and the machine withdrawn 

 from further competition. 



Two competitors now only remained for our attention, 

 Me-!sr.<. Fowler and Howard, both of whose machines 

 and working arrangements are too well known to need 

 any description here. It would be right hjwever to ob- 

 serve that ]Mr. Fowler's have been considerably sinij)lified 

 and improved since the last annual meeting of the 

 Society ; and that a very important diminution has been 

 effected both in the traction power required and in 

 the wear and tear from friction. The engine too 

 and the windlass and anchor pulley are now self-moving, 

 and travel through any field, however large it may 

 be, after being once fixed, without any assistance 

 whatever. 



In testing the comparative merits of these two ma- 

 chines, we thought it best to direct our attention to : — 



1st. The cost of workin;,' per day of each. 



2ndly. The quantity and description of work done. 



3rdly. The practical or agricultural value of that 

 work. 



The trials were commenced in the field (light land) 

 already described, and were continued the following days 

 in a field on Blacon Farm, where the soil was a strong 

 tenacious loam in a very dry and indurated condition, 

 and matted together on the surface by a strong growth 

 of Thistles and Grasses. 



An experimental trial with a Wilkic plough (swing) 

 gave a dynamometrical result of 51 stones, or (i;,' cwt.. 

 as the traction power required to turn a G x furrow, 

 thus showing it to be fully equal to a strong three horse 

 soil. The trials comprised ploughs on the light land, 

 and ploughing and trenching with Cotgreave's ploughs 

 on the strong land by I'owler's machine ; while Howard 

 exhibited Smith's system of cultivation by means of his 

 spud-tincd cultivator, and his subsoiling and trenching 

 plough. 



The daily working expenses of Fowler's machine we 

 estimate as follows : 



Engineer 



Plough and anchor meu 



Two boys 



Water cart 



Coals, 10 C(vt. 



Oil, &c. 



Removal 



£ 8. d. 



5 



6 



2 



5 



10 



1 



4 



Interest at 5 per cent., auj wear and tear at 15 per 

 cent , on first cost (650/.), asauming 200 as the 

 number of working days iu the year ... 13 



£2 6 



On the light land the work was performed, including 

 stoppages, at th.e rate of 7i acres per day of 10 hours. 

 The actual rate of travelling, while the ploughs were in 

 full swin/, was 3.83ft. per second, which gives about 

 1 031 acres per hour, the soil moved (four ploughs) 

 being 3 feet 4 inches wide by G inches deep. 



On the heavy land, 4 acres 3 roods 12 poles were 

 ploughed in 9 hours 39 minutes, equal to 5 acres per 

 day of 10 hours, the same- sized furrows being taken. 

 With Cotgreave's trenching plough, the rate of work 

 was of course greatly diminished. The furrow was 12 

 to 14 inches deep, while the width (two ploughs used) 

 was 20 inches. About the same quantity of soil was 

 removed as by the other ploughs ;* but a little more 

 power was consumed. The work done was just 40 

 poles per hour, or 2^ acres per day. 



These results enable us to give the cost of ploughing, 

 by Fowler's machine — 



8. d. 

 Of light laud ... • ... at 6 per acre 



according to the rate of work doue iu trials ; 



or takiug 6 acres per daj' as the average, at 7 2 „ 

 Of heavy land ... ... at 9 2 „ 



Of trenchiug ditto ... ... at 18 4 „ 



Our estimate of the quality and value of the work 

 thus performed is, that the light land could not have 

 been done by horse power for less than 8s. per acre ; 

 that the heavy land could not have been ploughed by 

 horse power for less than 12s. Gd. per acre j and that 

 the trenching could not have been done by horse power 

 at all; and that by manual labour with the spade and 

 grafting tool it could not have been done for less than 

 lOd. per pole, or £6 13s. 4d. per acre, and then only in 

 a very inferior manner. 



Smith's system of cultivation, as exhibited by Messrs. 

 Howard, requires two operations : the first with a strong 

 spud-tined cultivator, which penetrates the ground to a 

 given di'pth (in this case 6 to 7 inches), and tears it up, 

 leaving the surface more or less in its original position ; 

 while the i^econd, with a similar implement of larjzer 

 dimensions, travelling in a transverse direction and at 

 the same depth, clears away any portions unmoved by 

 the first, and reverses the whole of the top soil, expo- 

 sing a rough irregular surface to the action of the at- 

 mosphere. 



The principal trials took place on the heavy land at 

 Blacon, when 4 acres 3 roods were gone over by the 

 first operation with the smaller cultivator (3-tined, 

 taking a breadth of 2(! inches) in 10 hours 37 minutes. 

 In the second operation (vVith the 5-tined cultivator, 

 taking a breadth of 48 inches), 4 acres 3 roods 33 poles 

 were finished in 4 hours .'iO minutes, which inclusive of 

 stoppages, &("., gave a result of work completed by the 

 two operations of about S acres in 15 hours, orS^ acres 



By ploughs 

 Cotgreave 



Furrow-slice. 

 Breadth. Depth. 



Inches. Inches. 



. 40 by 6 



. 20 by 12 



