Clarke.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 271 



in a string'. A few miles north of that place, between Evesham 

 and Alcester, Mr. Davis farms 730 acres arable (and 245 acres 

 pasture) of poor blue-lias clay ; with beds of lias-limestone in a few 

 of the fields, serving- as natural drains to the land. No steep hill- 

 sides exist upon the farm, and the country is generally level ; yet it 

 is customary to plough with 5 horses — Mr. Davis, however, using 

 only four. The fields are of about 20 acres each, with sides 

 straightened by the stocking-up of hedges and with but few trees. 

 No changes have been made in roads. The " normal force " of 

 horses on this farm would be 38 to 40, certainly not fewer than 

 36 ; the introduction of a steam-cultivator has enabled Mr. Davis 

 to sell off fully half his teams, and to carry his tillage- work before 

 him with only 18 horses. Perhaps a pair more would be 

 advisable, as the land, though generally pretty clean, has a few 

 " outsides " that would pay for a little extra working. Here, 

 however, we have an extraordinary displacement of draft-animals, 

 equivalent, at 44Z. per horse, to a saving of no less than 792/. a 

 year (at the lowest number of horses formerly wanted), or 968Z. (at 

 the highest number). Out of this, of course, have to be paid all 

 the expenses of the steam tillage substituted. The extent cultivated 

 or ploughed in a year is 360 acres, the depths of work being as 

 follows : — In grubbing " bean-brushes" for wheat, 5 or 6 inches is 

 not exceeded, Mr. Davis believing that deep stirring immediately 

 before sowing is wrong ; but for fallow, and especially if early 

 in the season, the tines are set in as deep as possible — namely, 

 7 to 9 inches. The ploughing for beans or mangold is done at a 

 depth of 9 inches. We have not ascertained what Mr. Davis's 

 steam-work actually costs him ; but even if we assign it the 

 excessive sum of IO5. per acre, his total expenditure on steam 

 culture will be less than half the lowest amount at which we put 

 his saving in horseflesh. 



In 1863, Mr. Davis bought a 12-horse engine for 340/., and 

 has a Howard tackle with 3-tined cultivator, costing 250/., to 

 which is added a Fowler 2-furrow plough, costing 45/. He had 

 started with a Woolston tackle, but broke the cultivator, and 

 cracked off the flanges of the rope-drums by the pressure of 

 the coils. The Bedford apparatus has stood well, and, though 

 the " repairs " have not been serious — having been chiefly done 

 by a blacksmith on the farm — the wear of rope has been enor- 

 mous, a new rope having been required about every second year ; 

 This will give some idea of the extraordinary tenacity of the 

 clay, which, as already said, pulls 4 horses so hard in a common 

 plough, that the country custom is to use five ; and the 12-horse 

 engine, burning 12 cwts. of coal per day (at I65. per ton) ploughs 

 or digs only 3^ acres a day, and cultivates 7 acres a day. Five 

 men and 3 boys work the tackle, being paid 35. an acre for 



