Clakke.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 223 



" when not steaming," tlie hands are employed in farm-work. 

 The manual labour is that of 5 men and 3 boys ; the engineer 

 Ss., the other men 2s., and the boys Is. each per day, or 145. 

 for the whole force. Ordinary labourers' wages are IO5., and 

 carters, 125. per week. The carting of the 350 gallons of water 

 boiled away costs 5s. per day ; and a removal takes 8 horses 

 and 4 men for 2 or 3 hours, which, done every fourth day, 

 comes to about 2s. Sd. upon each day's work.* The engine 

 has burned 8 cwts. of coal per day, at 15s. Qd. per ton, that 

 is, 65. 2d. a day, besides cartage, 2s. 6d. per ton ; the oil has 

 cost 1.5. 



What has been the wear and tear upon the large amount of 

 work done by this appaiatus? The repairs in the five years 

 amount to 94/., averaging on 130 days' work in each year 

 2s. lOhd. per day. Part of this sum is for new shares, and for 

 repairing the axles and wheels of the cultivator ; a quantity of 

 exceedingly rough ground at first starting having worn these 

 parts of the implement very much. The main item, however, 

 was for a new rope ; the first rope was worn out witliin the 

 three years, and had cultivated about 2300 acres. Still, this 

 rate of wear was much more rapid than it is now, because 

 they did not work a sufficient number of porters at first to hold 

 up the rope off this stony land. A " double-snatch-block " 

 and extra porters were then procured, and have been found 

 to save the rope a good deal, so that the present rope seems 

 little the worse for two years' wear, and will certainly last over 

 much more work than the other. According to this statement, 

 furnished to us by the agent, Mr. James Napier, we may safely 

 put the wear of rope at only Ad. to 6d. per acre for the sort of 

 tillage done.t 



" Interest " has to be computed upon the original cost price, 

 520/., which with 21/. for the " additions," consisting of the 

 double-snatch-block and rope-porters, makes the whole invest- 

 ment 541/. Probably we shall be near the mark, if (deducting 

 wearing parts) we take " depreciation " upon 450/. ; reckoning 

 both this and the " interest " at 5 per cent, each, and charging 

 the two amounts upon the 130 days' work in a year, and upon 9 

 acres per day. 



The several items per day and per acre, averaged from totals 

 of five years carefully booked, for more than 5000 acres of work 

 done, will stand as follows : — 



* That is the time actually employed, but with time spent in coming and going, 

 the cost would be 3s. per day. — J. N. 



t Some further allowance must be made for time lost by breakage or other 

 mishaps, also for cleaning and dressing the rope-porters, &c., items which, though 

 trivial in themselves, come to a considerable amount in the course of a year. — J. N. 



