Reed.] Report on Steam Cultivation. Ill 



ness, and the value, therefore, of machinery that can quickly be 

 applied to the cleansing of a large area between crops must 

 be apparent. Under such circumstances, the application might be 

 profitable, even though in expensiveness it exceeded the application 

 of horse-power. Below is a summary of the work done : — 



ForthecropoflSGl— Land under tillage 400 acres 



Days at work ploughing and scarifying . . 70 days 



(or 51 acres per day). 



18G2— Land under tillage 510 acres. 



Days at work ploughing and scarifying 115 



Ploughing for hire 45 



(or 4^ acres per day) IGO days. 



1863 — Land imdcr tillage 510 acres. 



Days at work ploughing (6 acres per day) 84 



Days at work thrashing 21 



105 days. 



1864 — Land under tillage 510 acres. 



Days at work ploughing (GJ acres per day) 75 



Days at work thrashino; 26 



101 days. 



1865 — Land under tillage 510 acres. 



Days at Avork ploughing (Oi acres per day) 54 

 Days at work thrashing .. ,, .. 29 



83 days. 



The reader will observe in scanning these figures that, as the 

 days occupied in thrashing increase, those occupied in ploughing 

 decrease. This circumstance indicates, in the first place, that a 

 larger bulk of grain has to be dealt with ; in the second, that 

 there is increased facility in working. It may be well to remark 

 that the number of days' work done by the tackle in 1860 would 

 have been greater but for the wet autumn ; and that in 1863, and 

 again in 1864, the entire crop was thrashed by the ploughing- 

 engine, the produce in each year of 575 acres being thus dealt 

 with. At no time during this period did the number of horses 

 exceed 9, except occasionally in harvest. 



Cost of Work. 



Manual Work : — £. s. d. 



Engine-man 3 10 



Ploughman 2 6 



Anchor-man 1 G 



2 porter-boys 1 10 



1 boy, horse, water-cart 6 4 



16 



Coals 9 11 



Oil 10 



Total expenses per day .. .. 1 6 11 

 iSf.B. — All work done by the day. Piecework is " scamped," and therefore 

 VOL. III. — S. S. N 



