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THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



shall be very pleased. With kind regards, I am, j'ours very 

 truly, T. H. Redman." If I turn to Mr. Smith's supporters, 

 I there find lota of practical men all giving testimony to the 

 excellence of the work, and speaking of even the round- 

 about system as an economical one. These several reports 

 speak lor themselves, and require no comment from rae 

 except to observe that it is conclusive, at the least, that 

 steam cultivation on the rope principle is an established 

 fact (Hear). Such is the history of the past. As regards 

 the present, we have, in our own immediate neighbourhood, 

 four sets of Mr. Fowler's tackle and one of Mr. Smith's ; 

 whilst the number of farmers in Great Britain using 

 steam cultivators cannot be far short of 100, and al- 

 lowing each to cultivate 400 acres, it will amount to 

 40,000 acres per annum already cultivated by steam. Still 

 this is slow work, as we ought to number our customers 

 by thousands instead of hundreds, and my belief is we 

 should soon do this if it were not for the hesitation of some 

 of our best men, who have made up their minds to go into 

 it, but are waiting to see what toay still come uppermost. 

 This is not very snrpriaing when we consider bow proverbially 

 cautious the farmera as a class are, and again, when the learned 

 author of Talpa, whose work got into the fourth edition in 

 1857, together with many leading men who, no doubt, base 

 their faith on the principles laid down in that book, are 

 coming out at some of our public meetings, "That they have 

 no doubt but it will some day be accomplished," but recom- 

 m»ndiug " to wait a little longer." This puts me in mind of a 

 pack of young hounds cub hunting, whilst Messrs. Fowler and 

 Smith are going right ahead, business like, sticking like bees 

 to their game, woi king every inch of ground. "Tally ho," 

 cries the author of Talpa, "you are all wrong; the fox is gone 

 this way." Back comes part of the pack leaving the few 

 leading oues to pursue the right scent; the pack are no sooner 

 got back to the view hallo than out cries a third, " Tally ho." 

 Here we have one that will plough forty acres per day, a 

 Jonathan that will beat everything iathe old country (Laugh- 

 ter). Strange, but true, that these false reports should weigh 

 with some of our first-class men ; that they having eyes, can- 

 not see for themselves, that which I have taken some pains to 

 show in this lecture, that the law of gravitation is decidedly 

 against the whole principle of locomotive traction over the soil, 

 to say nothing, that if the superiority of steam culture on 

 heavy soils consists to a great extent in the avoidance of 

 treading by the horses' feet, what will the steam engine do 

 when travelling to and again over the soil ? But we shall not 

 complete our observations of the present time if we omit to 

 notice this grant from America. The only idea I can form 

 of it is from an engraving in Bell's Weekly Messenger, about 

 two months since, and it requires but a little knowledge of 

 ploughing at first sight to condemn the whole affair. The en- 

 gine looks practical enough if vertical boilers will answer the 

 purpose, which is doubtful ; but the ploughs being placed two 

 abreast in the rear to the amount of ten or twelve, settles the 

 point as far as regards English agriculture. Why, to place four 

 ploughs in a frame they ought to, and must, to make work, 

 have a space at least ol eighteen inches between each (I give 

 mine two feet), so I leave you to judge how a ten furrow 

 plough would leave its furrows at lands end, with a space of 

 from fifteen to twenty feet between the first and the last 

 plough ; but brother Jonathan does not work in this way, and 

 he has placed his plough iu two rows side by side ; the con- 

 sequence is, the first row of ploughs make several rafters 

 and the second turns them over. Not a first-rate method of 

 making a seed bed, but yet suitable to the circumstances 

 of the American farmer to break up the large tract of 

 prairies which they possess and which is wholly different 

 from our own system, inasmuch as the engine is always 

 travelling on grass land which in a meaaure allows it to 

 progress. But, admitting that it is a practical implement 

 for American purposes, if brought to England I am certain, 

 from the causes I have mentioned, it would share the same fate 

 that our own locomotives have done. And, moreover, we know 

 enough of the reports that come across the Atlantic to be cer- 

 tain that these wonderful effects will bear the rule of reduction 

 to an enormous extent. It would be occupying too much of 

 your time to quote the various opinions of the many practical 

 farmera that are using steam-power at the present time ; suffice 

 it to say, they one and all approve of the several plans they 

 have adopted, and it is satisfactory to know that where one or 



two sets of tackle are planted in a neighbourhood, it is not long 

 before some of the neighbours are so satisfied of the practical 

 working of the same, that they order some for themselves, 

 though slowly, yet surely, progressing. Let me now ask, why 

 should there be any further hesitation on the subject? If you 

 look to Mr. Smith's tackle you will find very little alteration 

 in the mode since he began : the machinery is well made by 

 Messrs. Iloward, of Bedford, and Mr. Smith's grubber makes 

 good work. If you look to Mr. Fowler, he has so simplified 

 his plan, that there is nothing that can be dispensed with, the 

 whole apparatus attached to the engine weighing considerably 

 less than a ton, and every engine made to take herself and 

 tackle from field to field, and from one locality to another. 

 Those who might prefer the windlass of Chandler and Ohver 

 attached to the hind axle of the engine, and working 

 on the round-about sj'stem, may rest assured that, with 

 good cultivating implements, they may. work with the same 

 advantage as Mr. Smith does. What, then, can there be to 

 wait for ? The author of Talpa (if there really is anything iu 

 his beautiful theory beyond the mechanical part of the rotary 

 motionof the drum to pull a plough) should join with some 

 first-rate engineer, while his imaginative mind can lesd the way 

 and teach how this great principle is to be carried out, or suc- 

 ceeding generatioiis will lose the advantage which his know- 

 ledge of the subject could at the present time be brought to 

 bear in its construction. Then, in that case, it might be wise 

 to wait a little longer, and see the result. Again, if iu these 

 " go-a-bead times " — these days of " practice combined with 

 science," it should be anticipated that the engines will be 

 made to generate their steam without fuel, then I would say, 

 " wait a little longer." But, on the other hand, if, as practi- 

 cal men, the fsrmers of England are free from such fancies as 

 these, and are disposed to go into steam-culture, they may rest 

 assured that the present mode of hauling (which is the most 

 important thing to look to) is brought to such a state of sim- 

 plicity and perfection, that, wait as long as you will, you cau 

 scarcely improve it (Hear). Moreover, the longer the farmera 

 of Great Britain wait, the longer will they deprive themselves of 

 the benefit which will accrue to them and the public at large from 

 its good effects. Some of tiiese it may be as well to mention here, 

 viz., autumn cultivation — the admirable manner in which the 

 sell is prepared for root crops, and the advantage those who have 

 steam power will have over their brother farmers whenever we 

 have a wet summer. I shall be very much deceived if, with 

 one wet summer, orders by the hundred do not come in for 

 steam ploughs. But it might be said, the outlay is the cause 

 of the delsy ; it costs so much to begin with. Let us see how 

 this will bear the test of argument. I will take two farms of 

 400 and 800 acres ; the 400 acre farm requires sixteen horses 

 to cultivate it well ; eight of these might be sold, say at 30Z. 

 each, which would make 240^., and this, if the owner had an 

 engine, would nearly cover the expense of a set of tackle. 

 Again, the 800 acre farm would require at least thirty horses, 

 twelve would do the extra work, and eighteen might be sold 

 off ; reckoning these at 30Z. each would produce 540L This 

 would require of the owner only 160^. in addition to pay for a 

 ten horse set of Fowler's tackle complete, and recollect he 

 would have the engine for other purposes as well. But, let 

 me observe, the outlay is nothing when compared with the 

 annual saving that might be effected on a farm of 800 acres. 

 The eighteen horses, which I am certain could be dispensed 

 with, cannot be kept well for less than 30^. each, per annum, 

 which will amount to 540/.; add to this the cost of six men 

 and boys, at 123. per week, to work them for the year, 187/. 

 4s., will make a total annual cost of 727^ 43. Now, what will 

 be the annual cost of the ten horse engine ? I will take the 

 figures of the judges at Chester (who, you will remember, 

 charged the maximum price of Fowler's machine, 21. 63. per 

 day), from which I will deduct interest and wear and tear 

 (which I have not charged on the horses), 2s. for removal, 

 being half, as the engines now move themselves, which was 

 not the case at Chester, and Is. the engine driver, 4s. being 

 quite equal, if not above, what is generally paid, leaving 30». 

 per day as the working expenses, free from wear and tear, and 

 if I calculate 240 days, at SOs. per day, the annual cost will be 

 360^., which, deducted from 727^. 4 s., the annual cost of the 

 horses, will leave a balance in favour of the steam engine of 

 367/. 4s., or more than half so much, gentlemen, for a power 

 which consumes nothing when it is not at work I For recollect, 

 you have to keep your horses fifty-two Sundays and equal to 



