196 The Injiucnce of the 



farm, without cake or corn, on purpose to prove the value of 

 deep work on my land without enriched manures. Now I am 

 going to mix deep work and enriched manures together to see 

 what they will do. My dung carting is noted on purpose to let 

 all know what I am at and how I work. 



*' Now I must remark upon No. 3, heavy land, 38 acres, now 

 wheat, after beans — the beans a good crop last year. It is a nice 

 plant. The greater part of this field was bought in 1869, and 

 was in like condition to No. 2. During my occupation it has 

 been under corn cropping without any fallow ; it is now clean. 

 The operations for the wheat were one steam-power smashing, 

 at a cost of 6s. 'id. per acre, 5 inches deep, and one crossing 

 with horses, at is. per acre. Total cost of seed bed, 85. id. per 

 acre. This surely is a bit of evidence on the side of steain- 

 cultivation, especially so when we take into consideration the 

 two wet years while I was cleaning this land Avithout fallow. 



" Now I will collect the cost of seed-beds on these three fields for 

 working them in 1873, the year after the two wet years. No. 1 

 stands at 8s. 9*^. per acre, 10 inches deep. No. 2, at 12s. 9r/. per 

 acre, 10 inches deep ; and No. 3, at 8s. id. per acre, 5 inches 

 deep. Total IZ. 9s. 8r/., or an average of 9s. \S)d. per acre, which 

 hereafter will be my yearly average for working them. Horse 

 farmers cannot work land and keep it clean for such a sum, 5 

 inches deep, in any season, to say nothing about wet seasons. 



" I will not go into particulars about the working of Nos. 1 and 

 2, light, for their cost will come out the same as Nos. 1 and 2 

 heavy land ; but I must state an experiment that I have tried 

 on No. 6, light land, since 1868. The field is in character fen 

 land, rich in vegetable mould, but poor in lime. It has always 

 grown heavy crops of wheat, oats, and barley not of fine quality. 

 It would grow neither beans nor peas well, producing a heavy 

 crop of straw with but little corn. 



" In 1868 I had a crop of barley after wheat ; the barley gave a 

 produce of 54 bushels per acre ; the seed bed was obtained by a 

 smashing by steam and two crossings by horses, at a total cost 

 of 10s. 8r/. per acre. In 1869 I had it barley again, giving it 6 

 cwt. of superphosphate per acre. The produce was 63 bushels 

 per acre. The seed-bed was a ridging and subsoiling by steam- 

 power and a splitting by horses, total cost 10s. per acre. In 

 1870 it was barley again, which had 6 cwt. of superphosphate, 

 giving a produce of 56 bushels per acre. The operations were 

 similar to those in 1869, at a cost of 9s. Id. per acre. In 1871, 

 with 6 cwt. of superphosphate per acre, I had it barley again, 

 which gave a produce of 61 bushels per acre. The operations 

 were a ridging and subsoiling, at a cost of ^s. Sd. per acre ; it 

 needed nothing but harrowing down before drilling. In 1872, 

 with 6 cwt. of superphosphate, I had it barley again. The seed- 



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