334 Report on Steam Cultivation, [Claeke. 



of two large occupiers joining in an apparatus whicli, though of 

 moderate first cost, was equal to their particular need, and 

 powerful enough to do as effectual service on their light or 

 medium soil, as more costly machinery on other land. Have 

 we made our meaning plain ? The inference is, that, under 

 such circumstances, the partnership of two farmers makes an 

 extraordinary difference in the formidable matter of starting the 

 steam -horse: only they must be careful to agree. Mr. Newton 

 and his neighbour manage very well as yet, we believe, with 

 only " a mutual understanding : " no bargain binding either of 

 them to time, or acreage, or " first turn." 



Let us not be misunderstood as recommending " cultivating " 

 alone, even on farms like these, or as implying that a more 

 powerful and capable machine, ploughing and executing all the 

 heavy tillage, would not have answered still better. The case is 

 simply stated as it appeared to us ; and though very satisfactory 

 as it stands, quite possibly it might be improved upon. At any 

 rate, there are cases in which a " steam farm " of 530 or 750 acres 

 arable cannot spare its tackle to do the work of a second farm of 

 like size. 



Our observations upon the husbandry at Campsfield may be 

 briefly written. The fields, of large dimensions, have boundaries 

 convenient for steam culture, with little timber spoiling the 

 neatly-kept fences. Mr. Newton farms on " the 4-course ; " and 

 showed us one of the best " turnip breaks " seen in all our 

 excursion, — the earliest-sown swedes a little damaged by fly, — 

 the best field of swedes grown upon land horse-ploughed 7 inches 

 deep, and dressed with superphosphate and leather-dust manure. 

 Artificial manure is pretty heavily used here; for, as we are told, 

 this sort of land " wants warming." We saw another grand piece 

 of swedes, for which the seed-bed had been steam-tilled in the 

 middle of March, from a wheat stubble ; the roots are grown 

 with artificial, but no farmyard manure. For fallow-crops, how- 

 ever, the usual plan is to smash up the wheat stubbles 7 or 8 

 inches deep, any time between harvest and the 1st of February. 

 The turnip layers are horse-ploughed for barley. Fart of the 

 seeds is horse-ploughed for wheat, and part steam-cultivated for 

 wheat. This must be cautiously done ; for once, a piece of 

 clover on Mr. Newton's farm, turn-over ploughed by steam for 

 wheat (he says), looked like yielding 5 or 6 quarters per acre ; 

 but just before ripening, all went down, and the produce was bad. 

 The ploughing was too deep, and the bottom not firm : the depth 

 should not have been more than 5 inches. The effects of the 

 steam tillage are summed up thus: — " The land drains better ; 

 the root-crops are better ; and, as a consecjuence, the barley, and 

 indeed all the corn-crops, are better." This ground always is 



