318 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Clarke. 



investing in such a costly " plant," unless he be prepared to under-^ 

 take a great deal of work for other people. 



Mr. Wilson has accomplished the novel performance of ridge- 

 and-furrow ploughing by steam-power. Horses "open furrows" 

 at intervals where the "ridges" are to be: the 4-furrow plough 

 is then taken twice along each side ; that is, it throws 8 furrows 

 toward the " ridge " on one side, and then being turned " end for 

 end," the implement throws 8 furrows toward the " ridge " on 

 the other side, — thus forming a " land " or " stetch " of 16 furrows 

 breadth. A horse-plough "makes up" the "balk and mole- 

 furrow." This practice has been followed upon the turnip-fields 

 this winter. 



Before passing on to another farm, we may here advert to 

 another mode of working, likely (we should think) to supersede 

 the "double-engine system," if not in the hands of farmers, at 

 any rate in the hands of contract-men and companies, who are 

 better able to manage elaborate arrangements of machinery. We 

 have now in the field a method followed by Messrs. Howard, 

 which may be called the " double-double " or the " half-way " 

 system. This consists of two engines, and also two implements ; 

 engine No. 1 pulling implement A one way, while engine 

 No. 2 is pulling implement B the other way ; and then engine 

 No. 1 pulling B back again while implement A is pulled back 

 again by engine No. 2. But in order to avoid unhooking ropes 

 and crossing work, the journeys are of only half length, both 

 implements travelling from their respective engines to the middle 

 of the field, where they meet, — but not quite in the same line, so 

 that they can pass each other at a distance of about their own 

 length, just enough to make the furrow-ends meet, instead of 

 leaving a strip of uncut ground. 



The plan is promising, as will appear from a contrast very 

 easily made in figures. Suppose that, on the old double-engine 

 system, one implement, 7 feet wide, traverses from engine to 

 engine in 200 seconds, and takes 10 seconds to turn ; that is, a 

 stripe of land 7 feet broad and the whole length of the field, is 

 cultivated in 210 seconds. Now take the same two engines in 

 the same position, but with two implements meeting mid-way. 

 There being two plys of rope instead of only one, we must 

 reduce the width of each implement to say 6 feet, in order that 

 the engine may be able to pull it at the same pace as in the 

 former case; say then that two 6-feet wide implements travel at 

 the same pace, — they will accomplish their half-way journey in 

 100 seconds. Then, as the engines have to shift forward on the 

 headland while the implements are at the ends, a longer time 

 will be wasted, say 20 seconds in " turning " at the end : that is, 



