170 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Reed. 



The horses are reduced from ten to six. In harvest, a couple 

 of light ones are bought to help through with carting, and sold 

 again when it is done. If the land were heavier, Mr. Greene 

 would certainly have a double-engine set of tackle. 



No. 27. Mr. Smythe, resident at Newsells Bury, near Royston, 

 in the county of Herts, received us Sept. 19, The farm con- 

 sists of 700 acres of arable land, and 50 of grass, lying together, 

 and extending over an undulating surface abounding with steep 

 inclines. The fields are open and large, with scarcely a break 

 or a hedge. Of these 700 acres 550 are suited to grow turnips, 

 100 are mixed soil and weak clay, and 50 are of a medium 

 character. The stiffest lands, which are found on the summits 

 of the hills, are said to require three horses to plough 5 inches 

 deep ; the light land below is easily ploughed with two. The 

 subsoil of the upper field is clay upon chalk ; of the lower, 

 gravel upon chalk. The supply of water is a matter of 

 difficulty. A necessity exists to husband water. The natural 

 ponds, together with the wells and tanks which have been con- 

 structed, have frequently all been exhausted when steam tillage 

 would prove most serviceable. It is then necessary to fetch 

 water from a distance of 3 miles. This water leaves a great 

 deposit in the boiler, which renders it desirable for the mud- 

 holes to be cleaned out once in 12 days. When steam Avas 

 introduced, the horses were reduced from 2|^ per 100 acres (the 

 usual number in the neighbourhood) to 2 horses, and then their 

 work became lighter. The tenant's course of cropping varies 

 with the quality of the land, as he is not restricted to the four- 

 course shift. He believes that those who spend money liberally 

 in machinery and manure should be trusted to farm as they 

 please. Steam has enabled him to take a crop of beans when he 

 could not have done so without it : thus, on the 1 00 acres of 

 heavy soil, the rotation he intends to follow is — fallow, beans, 

 wheat, seeds, oats. On the 550 acres of turnip soil the four- 

 course system does prevail ; 50 acres of the heavier land are laid 

 down with sainfoin, which remains 4 years. The 100 acres of 

 stiffish clay are divided into four plots, and tilled for wheat and 

 dead fallow. By deepening the sta])le Mr. Smythe finds that 

 his crops are increased, particularly the roots. This circum- 

 stance allows him to feed more sheep. 



When we arrived the finishing stroke was being put to harvest. 

 Two grain mowing-machines were at work on a late piece of 

 barley. Nothing was being done with the steam-tackle. There 

 were two reasons for this — wet weather and want of labour. 

 Except during the first year or two of its possession, Mr. Smythe 

 has not been able, for want of labour, to work the steam -tackle 

 in harvest-time. This harvest he opened with 360 acres of corn 



