294 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Claeke. 



Mr. Pocock's engine-man has 18^. a week regularly, with os. 

 a week more when steam-cultivating. The ploughman has ISs., 

 the anchor-man 9^., and two porter-boys Is. Q>d. each. The water- 

 cart lad has Gs. Qd. (bs. Gd., G. P.) ; making the manual labour 

 116-. Id. per day. The water-cart horse is put at 2s. Gd. (4s., 

 G. P.) Moving takes two hours ; the engine self-travelling, 

 but requiring a horse to steer, — an uncertain item, say Is. (id. 

 upon each day's work. Coal, 8 cwts., at 14s. dd. per ton, costs 

 say 6s. per day, and oil. Is. Thus the working expenses are 

 22s. Id. per day ; that is, 4s. 6d. an acre for the ploughing, 

 and Is. 5d. an acre for the grubbing once over. To this we 

 must add the expense due to the machinery. About 600 yards' 

 length of rope are in use at once, and 260 acres of plough- 

 ing, and 210 acres of scarifying and smashing up — making 

 in all 470 acres of work per year — have worn out 1500 yards 

 of rope in seven years ; that is, the cost of 1500 yards of rope 

 (i.e., 150Z.) is chargeable upon say 3000 acres of work done ; or 

 each yard of rope has been consumed upon about 2 acres of work, 

 at a cost of about Is. per acre. The rope is now in very good 

 condition, a portion of it having only lately arrived from Leeds. 

 The " repairs " have been about 20/. a year ; or about lOd. per 

 acre. Reckoning the interest and depreciation wholly upon the 

 tillage-work, the interest at 5 per cent, on the prime cost, 750/., 

 will be 37/. 10s. a year, or Is. Id. per acre ; and the depreciation, 

 at 5 per cent, on say 640/., will be 32/., or Is. 4</. per acre. 

 Thus, the annual outgoings will be as follow : — 



Working expenses : — £. s. d. 



Ploughing 260 acres, at 4s. 6fZ 58 10 



Cultivating 210 acres, at Is, 5cZ 14 17 6 



73 7 6 



Eope, 214 yards per year, at 2s 21 8 



Eepairs 20 



Interest 37 10 



Depreciation 32 



Total cost of 470 acres tillage, at an average) .q, r g 

 of 7s. 10(/. per acre f 



But a deduction ought to be made from this account for the use 

 of the engine in sawing, and, we believe, also in thrashing; the 

 steam-plough engine having a considerable amount of such work 

 to do, as well as the couple of 7-horse engines which Mr. Pocock 

 keeps for contract-thrashing. We did not ascertain the number 

 of days' work done by the plough-engine off the land ; probably 

 the above total outlay for steam tillage ought to be reduced 20/. 

 or 30/. 



Mr. Pocock states that, in the absence of the steam-tackle, he 



