21(3 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Claeke. 



IQs. an acre once over, and 18s. twice over. Mr. Pullen gets 

 more green cropping than he used to do ; his crops in general, 

 he says, are more productive, and of his former tillage force of 

 8 horses and 4 bullocks, he has dispensed with the 4 bullocks. 

 The tackle was purchased in 1863 for 470/. (the engine pre- 

 viously bought in 1861) ; it has been employed about fifty days 

 in each year, and the repairs have consisted of a new rope and 

 some few porters. 



No. 42. Mr. W. J. Edmonds, of Southrop, Leehdale, Glouces- 

 tershire. Here we found one of the best examples of expedition 

 and completeness of steam tillage within the compass of our 

 whole tour. Mr. Edmonds occupies 1000 acres arable and 200 

 acres of grass ; with a tolerably level surface, and lying in field% 

 of 10 to 30 or 35 acres each, generally large, and with few trees. 

 And with the exception of making more convenient gateways, 

 and so on, {ew alterations have been needful to prepare the farm 

 for steam cultivation. Lying in an oolite district the land includes 

 stone-brash, rich red-brown sandy loam, and clay with limestone 

 in it, though at considerable depth in a few of the fields, as in 

 them muriatic acid fails to discover lime in the staple. Alto- 

 gether this is a remarkably fine occupation, with a soil of gene- 

 rally good quality. 



In 1862 Mr. Edmonds' father commenced steam-ploughing 

 wuth a Fowler 14-horse engine and anchorage, upon 2000 acres 

 arable, at once displacing 7 teams, that is, 28 oxen; and 170 

 acres more of strong arable land were taken without increasing 

 the force of horses. In 1864 the farm was divided between 

 Mr. W. J. Edmonds, and his brother Mr, Giles Edmonds ; and 

 on the present holding of 1000 acres arable, only 20 horses are 

 kept, some of these also being old ones. Yet at the time of our 

 inspection (third week in September), and in spite of the wet 

 season, which had delayed tillage operations everywhere (and 

 the backward plight of many farmers is shown in our Report), 

 Mr. Edmonds was quite forward with his work ; his clover ley 

 was all ploughed for wheat, and he writes that 50 acres more, 

 after rape and early turnips, were well up before Christmas. Most 

 of the farm consists of " 3-hoi'se land," a considerable portion, how- 

 ever, being ploughed by 2 horses to a furrow ; and the proper force 

 of horse-flesh to such a farm (managed, but not strictly, on the 

 6-course shift), without a steam-plough, would be about So- horses 

 to each 100 acres ; that is, say 32 to 35 horses. Only 20 are now- 

 kept ; thus the displacement of 12 to 15 horses, at 44/. each, 

 amounts to a yearly saving of 528/. to 660/. And this displace- 

 ment of teams is agreeable to what it should be, if the engine does 

 all the heavier tillage. For Mr. Edmonds reckons that one-third 

 of the draft-work of his farm is in harrowing and light operations, 



