286 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Clarke. 



crops Is satisfactory, he finds a p^roater improvement in tlie 

 quality of the produce, consequent upon the use of the steani- 

 ploui2^h. 



No. 78. Matthew Savidg^e, of Sarsden Lodge Farm, near 

 Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. Quite a nest of steam-ploughs 

 is to be found on the estate now owned by Earl Ducie, and 

 which was improved by the late Mr. Langston, M.F., till it 

 became one of the finest examples in England of permanent land 

 amelioration. At the Leeds Meeting, in 1861, Mr. Langston 

 purchased a Fowler 14-horse engine and 4-furrowed plough, 

 adding afterwards a 7-tined cultivator ; and in March, 1864, 

 after the death of Mr. Langston, Mr. Savidge bought the full set 

 "second-hand" of Lord Ducie, for 600Z. His report is that he 

 has every reason to be satisfied with his bargain, and that all the 

 fanners in his vicinity are well pleased with the Fowler form of 

 tackle.* 



What is the precise sum incurred by Mr. Savidge for wear 

 and tear, allowing for important replacements always rendered 

 necessary after a few years of heavy labour, it would not be 

 right to publish in the case of a second-hand set. For though 

 Mr. Savidge objects to travelling his machinery far upon roads, 

 it occasionally goes out to contract work, at some 145. an acre, 

 and though the best working land seldom falls to the lot of the 

 steamer, the earnings come in nicely to defray the coal-bill and 

 the men's labour due to the tillage upon this farm ; and there 

 would be an end to fair and equal bargains between letter and 

 hirer, if every bit of the risk and profit were publicly known to 

 a T beforehand. One fact, however, we may mention, and most 

 important it is : the Leeds rope, 5 years old, has worked 5000 

 acres, and the tillage as we shall presently describe, has been no 

 playing with a few inches of surface-soil, but a profound searching 

 into a difficult subsoil. Among other items of damage, the 

 encfine crank-shaft has been broken, and the use of bad water 

 rendered necessary a new pump. But (besides the rope) the 

 "clips" upon the hauling-drum wear well, when not too tightly 

 pinching, and the small "repairs" have not amounted to 10/. 

 a year. The daily working expenses are as follow : — The 

 engine-man has 2^. ; ploughman, 25. ; anchor-boy, \s. Ad. ; three 

 porter-boys, 1.9. each ; and the water-cart man, Is. Qd., amounting 

 to 9.S-. lOd., to which must be added l.s. 2d. for a gallon of beer, 

 making lis. a day for labour. All these hands are agricultural 

 labourers, assisting at other times in any work on the I'arm. The 

 water-supply being plentiful and convenient, with a " portable 



* During the three or four dry seasons 1 began to think we could cultivate our 

 land with the grubber only, but last autumn has plainly told us we cannot do 

 without the plough, — M. S. 



