THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



515 



a perfect operatiou of the implements, the raiU forming the 

 guides, and thus all the operations of the field are enabled to 

 be brought under the power of the steam. Let us now seethe 

 value of these advantages in other operations, besides those of 

 ploughing, grubbinff,subsoilinj,', rolling, harrowing, &c., which 

 I do by steam. On some lands, after a long continuance of 

 dry weather, followed by perhaps two days of rain, and again 

 fine weather, the surface is dry, but underneath the soil is soft 

 and deep : the whole is as tender as possible, end might 

 almost be hoed with a feather. The gardeners will at once 

 stir and hoe the ground, bringing up the black mould in strong 

 contrast with tlie fresh green plants ; for the weeds will now 

 spring into rapid growth. And if the farmer can yet go upon 

 his land without injuring the plants, he requires many days to 

 hoe them, whilat in a short time the surface becomes again 

 hard and caked, and covered with weeds; or perhaps more rain 

 will still further delay the operation. But on my system I can 

 hoe from 150 to 200 acres in twenty -four hours with the 

 greatest precision, without putting a foot on the laud. So 

 again with seeding — I am enabled to seize a favourable 

 moment in the weather for crumbling the earth fine, or 

 for putting in the seed. In twenty-four consecutive hours 

 150 or 200 acres of laud may be drilled. The manner of 

 carrying out the various operations I will not allude to to-night. 

 I refer gentlemen desirous of examining the subject to the 

 profossional papers of December, 1857, read at the Freemasons' 

 Tavern, and of 1858 before the Society of Arts. But allow 

 me to draw your attention to parts of the subject not before 

 discussed. Let me, for instance, consider a rotation of crops, 

 taking first the grasses. Inasmuch as by my system the car- 

 riages run upon the rails, the economic advantages are so 

 great thit I am enabled to cart water, and distribute it on the 

 lind at Is. per acre, giving about 3,0 JO gallons on that space. 

 Secondly, I am enabled to mow by the machine at less than 

 Is. per acre; and I can cart the large crops which some of the 

 artificial grasses will yield, if watered and repeatedly cut, at 

 an equally reduced charge. If this be considered, it will be 

 seen what a large head of cattle may be supported with summer 

 food, besides raising a great quantity of manure. The root 

 crop also, for the reasons before stated, of better cultivation, 

 and from the great abundance of manure, will yield much 

 larger crops — and an increased quantity of meat will thus be 

 raised — whilst the laud being richer, the cereals also will bear 

 heavier crops. When, independent of all these advaiitages, it 

 is found that I can cultivate land at £1 per acre less than 

 it can be done at present, after paying all expenses for interest 

 and renewal, will it appear strange that if the profits afford 

 thus a very large interest upon the capital laid out, I should 

 look for the system to be adopted as a matter of course ? 

 The amount of the money required is of no moment at all ; 

 in fact, the greater amount the better, if the interest be 

 large, and upon what security can a man expend capital 

 better than on laud ? All that is wanted is, to ascertain that 

 the system is true. I grant there is a difticulty at the present ; 

 for the farmer who lakes the greatest interest in my system 

 (and there are several present here who I believe will corrobo- 

 rate my statements of the work done) is not willing to lay out 

 capital on his landlord's property ; whilst the latter Joes not 

 sufficiently appreciate the system to risk its adoption. But 

 when proved, money may be borrowed for the purpose, the 

 same as for drainage ; or a landlord, receiving say £'2,000 

 a-year, by selling a portion of his land, will be enabled to lay 

 down the remainder on this system. And if he then receives, 

 after paying for renewals, a net income of £4,000 a-year, there 

 is but little doubt that bi^ example will be followed wheresoever 

 it can be. 



Mr. Acton (The Temple) expressed a hope thft all these 

 improvements would not have the effect of displacing manual 

 labour in the cultivation of the soil, and au apprehension that 

 the landlords would take advantage of them for the purpose of 

 raising rents (cheers and laughter), lie trusted that such 

 schemes were not more injudicious than solid, or more curious 

 than wise (laughter). 



Mr. CoLLiNSON Hall (Navestock) believed that Mr. Acton 

 might dismiss his fears with respect to the labourer. He (Mr. 

 Hall) had applied steam more extensively, perhaps, than any of 

 his neighbours, and yet he employed more labourers than his 

 neighbours, with the further advantage that he ha i a higher 

 cultivation and produced a greater amount of food (Hear, 

 hear). His own desire was to see the working-man less la- 

 boriously employed with his body and more actively occupied 

 with his mind (Hear, hear). He believed the time would 

 come when the farmers might reduce their horse-power one- 

 half; but it would not be advisable to do that until their land 

 was in a higher state of cultivation than it was at present.- 

 Let them keep both engines and horses until it was in a better 

 state of cultivation. With regard to the use of high pressure, 

 many years ago he saw that there was a difticulty in profitably 

 introducing steam into agriculture, inasmuch as farmers es- 

 timated the cost of their horses at half-a-crown a-day, 

 whereas in commerce a horse cost five shillings aday ; and, 

 whilst an agricultural labourer was considered to be worth 

 oce-and-eightpeuce a day, a workman in Manchester would be 

 worth five shillings a-day. Consequently, if he burned the 

 same proportion of fuel that was consumed in Manchester, he 

 had cent, per cent, against him to make it profitable. He 

 came to the conclusion, therefore, that in order to make steam 

 profitable, he must get as economical machinery as he could, 

 and that he ought to consume the smallest possible quantity 

 of fuel. At that time he paid lis., and went six miles for 

 the fuel. That made the cost of the fuel nearly double. The 

 problem he had to solve was, If a certain amount of power 

 came out at SOlbs. pressure, what pDwer would come out at 

 2001b3. pressure ? In conversation with many practical en- 

 gineers he found that most of them differed from him ; some 

 few only gave him encouragement; none would make his 

 engine (laughter), inasmuch as they feared it might damage 

 their reputation if they manufactured what was so completely 

 theoretical, and any accident happened. He was, therefore, 

 obliged to construct it in his own farmyard. In 1851, he 

 commenced an engine of 2001b3. pressure, then anotiier of 

 3201b3. pressure, without any accident, for the simple reason 

 that the power was relative to the strength. He took care, if 

 he went much beyond the point to which engineers had pre- 

 viously gone, to go still further relatively with the strength, 

 and he maintained that with his 3201bs. pressure he had 

 greater security than was obtained from the ordinary strength 

 they had been accustomed to. Of the fact that the applica- 

 tion of steam to the cultivation of the soil would increase the 

 produce there could be no question. With regard to tlie 

 prospects of the future, Mr. Smith had told them, as the result 

 of his own experience, that there' was a difference of one 

 quarter of corn per acre between steam and horse culture. He 

 believed that would prove to be correct, and in that caie it 

 would be impossible to doubt the great and solid advantages 

 of steam. In conclusion, he begged to thank Mr. Mechi for 

 the very sound and enlightened views which he had pro- 

 pounded that evening upon the subject. (Cbeera). 



Mr. Beale Browne (Andoversford) said they must all 

 feel indebted to Mr. Mechi for his able and useful paper, and 

 he congratulated his friend Mr. Williams upon having lived 

 to see his pet-child attain to such a stage of maturity. He 



