Cole:m.vn'.] Report on Steam Cultivation. 401 



the account with the great advantage of expedition in operations, 

 and the greater certainty of the root-crop, attributable to the 

 more moist condition of land cultivated instead of ploughed. 

 This fact has been particularly noticeable. With regard to the 

 wear of the rope it will be seen that the total cost amounts to 

 148/. ; supposing 5000 acres have been cultivated and the ropes 

 are now worn out, the cost per acre has reached Id, — a taiv 

 average result. 



Expenditure per Datj. , 



£. s. d. 



Labour (5 men and 2 boys) 14 G 



Water-cart " 4 



Coals, 8 cwts. (at 7s. per ton and leadins;) .. .. 4 



Oil " Ih 



Wearand tearand interest, at 122 psr cent, on 350/.,*) ^ -.q oi 



calculated on 85 days ( ^ 



Eepairs and rope, 25?. per annumf 5 lOj 



1 19 3i 



We inspected the farm and were much pleased with the 

 general appearance of the land and the economical management 

 apparent — confirmed by an inspection of the accounts which are 

 very accurately kept. A fair rent is charged for the farm, and, 

 as a rule, a good percentage has been realised upon the capital 

 employed in its working. 



Owing to the wet avitumn, much less cultivation has been 

 effected than usual. Still Mr, Wootton does not consider that a 

 plough would be advantageous. The land runs naturally to 

 couch grass, and ploughing it in would perpetuate instead of 

 destroying it. Cultivation for barley after roots fed off is not 

 practised, because ploughing the land by checking the weeds 

 allows the crop to get so forward as to smother the weeds. Mr. 

 Wootton considers the advantage of steam so manifest, that he 

 would be quite willing to take the tackle at a valuation sup- 

 posing he were about to become tenant of the farm, even if the 

 proportion of arable land was only 300 acres, which he thinks 

 the minimum for steam cultivation. 



No. 125. ^ We next visited Sinai Park Farm, near Burton-on- 

 Trent, lately taken in hand by the Marquis of Anglesey, after a long 

 period of wretched impoverishing treatment, Steam cultivation 

 here goes on at the same time with, or is preceded by, works of 

 permanent improvement, and the point of great importance is 



* 150Z. deducted for half the cost of engine employed in other work. The 

 durability of Lord Hatherton's apparatus cannot be taken as a precedent, except 

 under equally favourable circumstances, but even in this case our estimate of 

 7| per cent, for -wear and tear appears sufficiently close, as it leaves 125i. of the 

 original outlay of 500Z. not yet paid off, but represented by stock valued at 200?, 



t Engine, lOZ. ; tackle, Zl. ; rope, \Ql. 



VOL. IIL — S. S. 2d 



