Claeke.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 267 



put at \s. 2d. upon each day's work. Carting 500 gallons of 

 water from a field well costs As. ; tbe boy who does the driving 

 and pumping having also to oil the rope-porters. The oil used 

 is 1^ pint, costing Is. ; and the coal, at 12s. per ton, has cost 

 Mr. Randell 9^. a day. The tackle is manned by six hands — 

 the engine-driver at 2s. 4:d., and five other men (none of them 

 lads) at 1^. 10<^/. each, all being ordinary farm-labourers.* Working 

 expenses per day, then, stand as follows : — 



£. s. d. 



Manual labour 11 6 



Water-carting 040 



Share of removal 1 2 



Coal 9 



Oil 10 



Working expenses per day .. 16 8 



Thus, the working expenses per acre, are Qs. Sd. for cultivating 

 first time over, at 4 acres a day ; and 4^. 5d. for crossing, at 

 6 acres a day. Add the repairs and wear of rope, which, we have 

 seen, are 2s. 2d. per acre, and the cost comes to 8^. lOd. and 

 Qs. Id. per acre respectively. The work done in a year consists 

 of 113 acres of stubble broken up once over in autumn, and 79 

 acres of seeds broken-up once over in July, for wheat — making 

 192 acres done once. Then 39 acres of the 79 are crossed, 

 making 231 acres altogether. The 192 acres at 8s. lOd., and 

 the 39 acres at 6s. Id., bringing the yearly working expenses to 

 97?. 12s. 9flf. Adding the before-named 70/. for the machinery, 

 we get a total of 167/. 12s. 9c?., or 14s. 7c?. per acre, as our esti- 

 mate of Mr. Randell's whole annual outlay upon steam culti- 

 vation. 



This is not specially cheap work, as far as the cost of execution 

 is concerned. But steam-power husbandry has taught us this 

 lesson, that there may be a wide difference between what a 

 tillage operation is "worth to do," and what it is "worth when 

 done." For how does Mr. Randall's account stand in the long 

 run ? He now works 16 farm-horses, which, at 44/. a piece, 

 cost 704/. a year. So that his total expenditure upon draft 

 tillage, both by steam and horses, and upon the carriage-hauling 

 of the farm, amounts to (704/. -f 168) 872/. How much did 

 his draft cartage and draft tillage cost him before the steam- 

 engine came ? The extent of the farm having been altered since 

 that time, the original number of horses will not afford the right 

 comparison ; but Mr. Randell considers that the normal force 

 due to the present area of arable, supposing he had no steam- 

 cultivator, would be at the very least 6 horses more than he now 



* Wages are now 2d. per day higher. — C. R. 



