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XXI. — Report on the Exhibition and Ti'ial of Implements at the 

 Chchmtford Meeting. By William G. CA^'ENDISH. 



Sir, — In forwarding the Reports of the different judges of imple- 

 ments at the late Chelmsford meeting, I observe with pleasure 

 the continued increase of the number of exhibitors and of articles 

 exhibited. The show at Chelmsford far exceeded in this respect 

 all previous ones. Owing to the new classification of the im- 

 plements, first adopted at this meeting, there was of course very 

 much more time and attention given to the class under trial, viz. 

 those implements used in preparing the land for seed. The 

 strong-land field was so extremely hard that four horses could 

 hardly do the work required in ploughing. The same was the 

 case with the scarifiers ; some of them were utterly useless on 

 land in that condition, but had the land been left till after rain 

 they would have worked with ease and efficiency. Mr. Boydell 

 again exhibited his engine, drawing with ease any implements 

 that were attached to it ; and it still remains to be proved if it 

 will ever be found serviceable in agriculture. Fowler's sta- 

 tionary plough, working by means of a wire rope, had never 

 before been shown at any of the meetings of the Royal Agricul- 

 tural Society ; it did its work very well as far as could be ascer- 

 tained, but there were so many people anxious to see it that it was 

 found impossil^le to work it properly in such a crowd, therefore it 

 was sent with the reapers to the adjourned trials at Boxted Lodge. 



The ploughs in the light land did their work in such perfection 

 that it was with the greatest difficulty that the best could be se- 

 lected by the judges appointed for that trial. 



The adjourned trials of the reaping machines, and of Mr. 

 Fowler's steam cultivator, took place on the 13th and 14th of 

 August at Boxted Lodge, near Colchester, the residence of Mr. 

 W. Fisher Hobbs, under the direction of Sir A. K. Macdonald, 

 one of the stewards of implements, who informs me that the 

 Royal Agricultural Society, and all those engaged in the trials, 

 were under great obligation to Mr. Hobbs, not only for his kind 

 hospitality, but for the liberal manner in which he placed his 

 men, his horses, and his crops, entirely at the disposal of the 

 Society, and for the facilities which he afforded for carrying out 

 the trials most efficiently. Tiie very able and detailed Report of 

 the judges on these adjourned trials will be found highly inte- 

 I'csting. William G. Cavendish. 



The general assortment of field implements sulmiitted for trial at the 

 Chelmsford Meeting of the Eoyal Agricultural Society, did not exhibit any 

 novelty in principle ; but there was throughout the whole great ini]irovenient 

 in the details, and in workmanship. The trials were more severe than usual, 

 particularly on the heavy laud, which aflbrded an opportunity of testing the 



