3G2 Report on Steam Cultivation. [Claeke. 



charging- each as 8 acres. The fences, too, are crooked, and the 

 shape of the fields often extremely awkward. Then, in travelling, 

 they experience the difficulties of very narrow and bad roads ; 

 and though coals are certainly cheap so near to the mines, 

 labour is correspondingly dear. But worse than physical im- 

 pediments have been the restrictions imposed by law. Owing 

 to difficulties with the magistrates about the locomotion of the 

 engines by daylight, one of the two "sets" had to be shut up 

 altogether from December, 1864, to July, 1865. Into the full 

 losses of the Company from this cause, including the after-disad- 

 vantage of farmers losing confidence in the Company, (the 

 element of uncertainty as to whether the tackle was procurable 

 or not, leading men to make other arrangements for effecting 

 their tillage,) we cannot now enter. It is enough to say that, 

 the Act of Parliament passed for two years, permitting day- 

 travelling (the only safe time), though imposing burdensome 

 conditions upon the proprietors of engines, Avill expire in Sep- 

 tember, and must be renewed if Steam-Ploughing Companies 

 are to continue in existence, or, in other words, if small farms 

 are to obtain the benefits of steam cultivation. With " amend- 

 ments," too ; for if the " smoke-consuming " clauses of the 

 present Act were to be put in force, the whole " hiring-system " 

 would be at once done for. 



As an illustration of the excessive number of journeys and 

 changes which these engines have been obliged to make in 

 this part of Yorkshire, we may state that in 1864 they worked 

 for 38 different farmers, going to many of these several times 

 over ; and in 1865 they worked for 34 farmers. What was the 

 work done? In the first half of 1865 (only one "set" able to 

 be at work) the Company tilled 261-^- acres, and thrashed 1302 

 quarters of corn ; and in the latter half of that year (both " sets" 

 in operation) they tilled 792 acres, and threshed 788^ quarters 

 of corn. That is, 1053| acres of tillage, and 2090J quarters 

 of thrashing were done for 34 farmers, and to do this, in 

 many cases, the same farm was left and again revisited several 

 times. In the first half of 1864 one "set" tilled 528^ acres, 

 and thrashed 1523 quarters ; and in the latter half of that 

 year (the second "set" starting in September) 887f acres were 

 tilled, and 1886 quarters thrashed. Thus, 1416J acres and 3409 

 quarters of thrashing were done for 38 occupiers. The engines 

 travelled 318 miles in getting to and from the field-work, or 

 averaged only about A^ acres for each mile of road-work. And 

 for the thrashing, the engines travelled no less a distance than 

 349 miles, getting less than 10 quarters of thrashing for each 

 mile of journeying. As little as 10 quarters has been thrashed 

 for one man. 



