424 Report on Steam Cultivation. [C'OTiEMAN. 



lOi". Ad. per acre appears to be the cost of ploughing and culti- 

 vating, the proportion due to each not being ascertainable. 

 Annual outlay for steam cultivation, 265/. 8^. 4fZ. 



It is difficult to arrive at the saving in horses, the work of the 

 estate being mixed up with the farm. It is estimated that 12 

 horses are put down ; but, looking at the specimen of work in 

 1864 and 1865, this appears more by about one-third or one-half 

 than the results justify : even if only 6 horses are put down, there 

 has been no loss, and the effects on the crops are satisfactory. 



Conclusions. 



In endeavouring to arrive at conclusions, we avoid instituting 

 comparisons as to the merits of different inventions — on this point 

 our readers will judge for themselves — but we may point out the 

 conditions most suitable for each. Where the farms are small, the 

 arable land under 300 acres, the land hilly and the fields 

 irregular, we believe the roundabout system will prove most 

 practical and economical, whether the land be light or heavy. 

 Where the land is level, the fields large, and we have an area 

 suthcient to employ the machinery, say for 100 days per annum, 

 direct traction offers advantages, in greater power and deeper 

 woik, especially in the case of strong land, provided we have 

 roads for the engine to move on. The difficulty of travelling on 

 soft headlands, and the delays that arise therefrom, are serious 

 obstacles with traction-engines. On large areas of light land 

 great results might be anticipated from the double-engine system, 

 since there would be no trouble with the engines and no diffi- 

 culty about getting forward fast enough for the use of wide 

 implements ; unfortunately our inspection did not afford any 

 experience of double engines. Our general conclusion is, that 

 success depends more upon management than upon the nature of 

 the apparatus — good management will command success under 

 adverse conditions, whereas no advantageous circumstances can 

 compensate for want of intelligent supervision on the part of the 

 proprietor, which should be based upon a thorough practical 

 knowledge of steam machinery. There must be patience and 

 a determination not to be overcome by the many difficulties 

 Avhich novelty and ignorance give rise to. Granting, then, 

 that the machinery is in good hands, and the conditions favour- 

 able, the result will be a success — varying, of course, with 

 the particular conditions in each case : this being so, we 



