Clarke.] Report on iStcam Cultivation. .305 



6 inches deep. With a soil that will permit of such profound 

 culture as this, no wonder that Mr. Strickland wishes that his 

 engine had been a "1-1" instead of a " 12-horse power." We 

 noticed that this engine, like some others we have seen, is roofed 

 over, as a protection from rain and sun. 



Coals are cheap here, " slack" being used, at as Ad. a ton, with 

 2s. 6d. more for leading home ; and the engine burns 1 cwt. an 

 acre when cultivating, or 2 cwts. an acre when deep ploughing. 

 Oil costs Is. od. a day; water has to be fetched a distance of 

 2 miles ; a couple of water-carts, however, more than supplying 

 the engine. Indeed, all the watering of the live stock on this 

 farm has to be done by this carriage, a deep well being required. 

 The manual labour consists of two men at 2s. 4:d. each, and 

 four at 2s. each — these hands being employed at other times on 

 the farm. A shift generally takes 2 to 2h hours, but the anchorage 

 (when mounted on its travelling-wheels) has been hauled up 

 to the engine (by the rope) directly a field was finished, and 

 both engine and anchorage placed in another held ready for 

 work, with the exception of leading out the rope, in three-quarters 

 of an hour. Two horses are always requisite for pulling out the 

 rope. 



The farm is managed on a 7-course system. The wheat 

 stubble is " cultivated-up" by steam, for the fallow-crop — which 

 consists of swedes, Avithout white turnips or mangolds ; the rough 

 work is allowed to lie all winter, and is then crossed in spring. 

 This answers for cleaning the land, and there is certainly not 

 much " wicks " now visible. The seeds are ploughed by horses, 

 not very deeply, for wheat ;• after this comes the potato-crop, and 

 when the tubers have been taken up the land is steam-cultivated 

 for wheat. All the fields are worked or ploughed perfectly 

 flat, and all the seed-beds are prepaved by the steam-engine, 

 except that after seeds for wheat ; the area of work done in four 

 years having been 813 acres cultivated 8 to 15 inches deep, 

 and 278 acres ploughed from 12 to 15 inches deep — these 

 measurements, of course, being stated on Mr. Strickland's autho- 

 rity. The engine also thrashes all those Avell-built well-arranged 

 ricks Avhich are here placed (for safety) diamond-wise, at 30 

 yards apart. 



The headlands are not worked by steam, because it would not 

 answer to delay the tackle for the purpose. When doing the 

 deep tillage, first time over, they were obliged to place a couple 

 of 4-stone weights upon the implement besides the ploughman, 

 to hold it down among the stones ; but the land now works with 

 20 lbs. less pressure of steam than was needed the first year. 



By steam cultivation Mr. Strickland has been enabled to grow 

 a larger breadth of root-crop, and to take green crops every alter- 



VOL. III. — S. S. X 



