258 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Claeke. 



from 6 in the morning to half-past 7 at night ; and later in the 

 autumn, from 7 till 6 o'clock. 



Fetching water, about " 7 tons per day," is done sometimes 

 by the man alone, sometimes with horse and cart. In shifting, 

 2 horses are wanted ; if on rough land 3 horses, for two or two 

 and a half hours. Few difficulties occur, although they have had 

 "a stick-fast." The consumption of coal is 14 cwts. in 10 hours, 

 at 12s. 6c/. per ton ; oil and grease, Is. per day. The average 

 daily performance is 6 acres of ploughing, 5 acres of digging, if 

 very deep upon heavy land, or 12 acres of cultivating on heavy, 

 and considerably more on light land. 



The results at present are that 24 horses have been reduced to 

 18, and these are not anything like so well kept as before, never 

 being required for any really tough work, Mr. Ealand does not 

 note any effect produced upon the general manual labour of the 

 farm. The drainage is decidedly better, and a much larger 

 breadth of roots is grown ; and as he does not now dead-fallow 

 so much as before, he grows more crops of grain. He has 

 experienced no loss of wheat, because he has not ploughed deep 

 for that crop, though he sometimes cultivates deep for wheat, 

 early in the season when he can let the land lie. There has been 

 a decided increase of yield, though Mr. Ealand cannot say (as 

 some steam ploughmen do) " one quarter per acre." This year 

 he has the finest mangolds he ever grew. He says, " I am quite 

 satisfied that much more produce can be obtained by steam- 

 power than by horses at any cost, on strong land" He said to 

 us, " If you can't make strong-land farming pay with steam, I 

 defy any man to do it without." He made use of a familiar 

 phrase about giving so many shillings per acre rather than farm 

 without steam. The meaning obviously is, that he is satisfied 

 with his Fowler tackle ; and he considers that a steam " grubber " 

 alone could not possibly do his work, namely, some 600 to 700 

 acres of ploughing as well as cultivating in the course of a year. 

 In fact, said he, " I would not be without it for any money." 

 But his farm had been properly prepared for this system. Owing 

 to his success, both his brother and brother-in-law have started 

 tackle of their own, but being light-land farmers they considered 

 that Howard's apparatus would best answer their purpose. 



A new rope has not been required yet, great care having 

 been taken with it ; and though the rope was not " dressed " 

 before winter, it was put away when very clean, and came out at 

 spring-time quite bright. 



The apparatus has not been in use long enough to afford fair 

 data for the calculation of total expenses. 



Selected items of information are here gathered into columns 

 for ready presentation, but not for being added up and averaged : 



