378 



Report on Steam Cultivation. 



[Coleman. 



and it is not attempted. The roots are sown by the middle of 

 May and carted to the buildings by the beginning of December. 



The tenacity and peculiar nature of the land may be gathered 

 from the fact that on the home-farm — it is rare to work more 

 than three of the ploughs, and all the deeper work is done with 

 two. Steel skifes are preferred ; the adjustible skifes are found 

 a great improvement on hilly land. After five years of working, 

 we were assured by Mr. Stonehouse that there was no perceptible 

 reduction of draught in doing the same depth. This would be 

 difficult to understand, had not the horse-ploughing been equally 

 deep. We walked over most of the land, and can report that the 

 work was thoroughly well done. 



This example is the more interesting from the fact that a daily 

 journal has been kept since September 30, 1863, in which are 

 recorded all the breakages and the actual area worked daily, 

 varying, for digging, from 2 to 7 acres. We give the summary 

 of each year's operations. 



Number 

 of Bays. 



Area 

 Worked. 



Working 

 Expenses. 



Kemarks. 



Sept., 1863, to Sept., 1864 

 Sept., 1864, to Sept., 1865 

 Sept., 1865, to Sept., 1866 



127 



81 



751 



757-3 



488-2 

 471'0 



£. 5. d. 



185 4 8 



183 1 



121 14 5 



Ploughing and cultivating. 

 Principally ploughing. 

 Ploughing and cultivating. 



The working expenses in the above calculation include 

 labour, fuel, and oil. The cost of labour amounts to I85. per 

 day ; water-cart horse, 3^. ; oil. Is. 6f/. ; and coals, on an average, 

 9s. 



If taking the average at 91 days per annum, we make an 

 estimate for cost of plant, repairs, &c., somewhat similar to that 

 in the last case, we shall arrive at the following results : — 



Expenditure per Day. 



£. s. d. 



Labour, including water-cart 110 



Coals 9 



Oil 16 



Wear and tear on original outlay, at 7i per cent. .. 19 2\ 



Interest at 5 per cent. 12 10 



Repairs, calculated at 158?. 5s. per annum .. .. 1 14 9 



4 18 3d 



Thus the annual cost of steam cultivation amounts to 447Z., 

 giving 15s. 8fZ. an acre as the expense of each operation, and as we 

 have in the catalogue not only ploughing and cultivation, but also 

 clod-crushing and harrowing, it must be confessed that the opera- 

 tions, though admirably done, have proved very costly. The 



