Clarke.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 279 



ordinary wear of rope, porters, &c. Coal, at lis. per ton de- 

 livered, costs 35. 4c/. per day ; oil, about Is. 6d. ; water, about 

 750 gallons, is drawn by horse and man from a water-work pipe. 

 Six men and two boys are paid 13s. Qd. a day. And to shift 

 takes 6 horses for 2 hours, if in the same or on an adjoining fiald. 

 The quantity ploughed per day is 6 acres ; and cultivated, 6 acres 

 with the 3-tined, and 10 acres with the 5-tined cultivator. 



The engine is employed 45 days on this farm, exclusive of 

 delays from bad weather or from breakages, both of which have 

 been very trifling. The engine also thrashes, pulps, grinds, and 

 is let out to thrash for hire. In the spring of 1864 it cultivated 

 300 acres for neighbours, at 7^. to 10*. per acre ; but the tillage 

 is at present confined to this farm. 



Mr. Stanier has dispensed with 4 out of 10 horses, and thinks 

 he saves half the horse-corn on these. He considers that steam 

 cultivation assists the natural drainage of land, and has this 

 winter profitably fed off turnips with sheep. He says, " My 

 crops have increased so much as to excite the surprise of every 

 one, and I consider the increased productiveness of the land 

 entirely due to greater depth of cultivation obtained by steam, 

 power. Though, in my own case, the original outlay was great, 

 and my farm a small one, I consider myself amply repaid in 

 increased crops, greater depth of tillage, as well as cheapness 

 and efficiency of work. Even the most sceptical of my neigh- 

 bours now no longer doubts the numerous advantages of steam 

 over horse power." He further writes of the great value of 

 Howard's steam-harrows, which do 20 to 25 acres per day. 



No. 73. Mr. H. Reginald Corbet, of Adderley, Market 

 Drayton, Shropshire, purchased a Fowler 12-horse engine, 

 anchor, 4-furrow plough, and 7-tined cultivator, in February, 1861. 

 The cost was 777/. ; with additions, 75/., making altogether 

 852/. Many of the castings were too weak, and had to be replaced. 

 The repairs have amounted to 144/. Is. Sd. ; the weakness of the 

 " drums " necessitated their replacement by new ones ; the caps 

 and eyes of the rope were too small, and constantly breaking. 

 But since heavier eyes, &c., of an improved make have been 

 used, the whole have stood well. Mr. Corbet's farm consists of 

 400 acres, of which only 140 acres are arable — this hilly, and 

 in one large field of 100 acres, with other small fields ; the large 

 inclosure having been obtained by knocking down old fences. 

 Grass headlands are left for the engine to travel on, and " anchor 

 blocks " are laid down at intervals of 100 yards. The soil is 

 a strong loam upon stiff clay. The engine ploughs on an average 

 4 acres per day, digs about the same, or cultivates up to 14 acres 

 in a day. Water is supplied from a pit at the top of the farm, 

 and from a brook below. Coal costs there 12.S. per ton. Wages 



