Steam Cultivation. 683 



stand, a cliarge of 31. lis. 3d. was added, tlius producing a result of 

 17s. 4.(1. per acre. He fancied it must have arisen thus : — The year 

 1865, when only 150 acres were done, was an unfortunate year for 

 steam-ploughing, and he presumed that the whole amount of the 

 interest on capital, maintenance, and so forth, was concentrated in 

 those few days. 



Mr. Jacob Wilson, who had been appealed to by Lord Vernon, in 

 the course of his address, said that when his Lordshij) commenced 

 steam cultivation, although he had a very small farm in hand, he had 

 to engage a special staff to work a pair of engines. In fact, he was 

 simjily working for the good of his tenantry ; and when the men were 

 not employed in steam operations, they were occupied in the 2'>lfinta- 

 tions and in other work. No practiced farmer would take that as a 

 fair example of employing agricultural labour ; but he could now get 

 labourers in Northumberland who could work the engine efficiently ; 

 in fact, any of his boys were quite competent to the task. He had 

 adopted Fowler's double-set engine after much attention to the subject 

 of steam cultivation, and opportunities of investigating the trials of 

 the Koyal Agricultural Society, which many other men had not 

 possessed. Up to the year 1864, he had never seen a set of tackle 

 which to his mind was what he wanted. He might, perhaps, be 

 peculiarly situated in having three roads running through his farm ; 

 consequently, however, much he enlarged his fields, he always had 

 crooked fences. Owing to the difficulty in working about circuitous 

 hedges with a single engine, he obtained a Fowler's direct set ; with 

 tliis he was perfectly satisfied, for he could work it at any angle in 

 any corner, and from whatever jilace he chose to put the engine. In 

 his coimtry the best coal was from 3s. to 4s. a ton, which brought 

 expenses down considerably, in comparison with those of 3Ir. Euck. 

 It was a matter of deep gratification to him to have been associated in 

 the preparation of the report, and that it had been so well seconded 

 by the country at large, and especially by gentlemen who used machi- 

 nery in the cultivation of the land, of whatever make it might be. 

 The desire of the Council was, that the report should have no bias 

 in favour of, or against any individual maker ; and he was sure that 

 the reporters would have the credit given them of having made 

 a fair statement. That report would, he thought, bring out one 

 point in a practical way which had never before been educed. A 

 great many persons, whom he might term amateurs, seemed to think 

 of going into steam cultivation, with the hope that it would do evcnj- 

 tliinij for them ; but those who had had exjierience of its working, he 

 was sure, would agree with him that there could be no greater mistake. 

 Even in the matter of manure, for instance, his experience was that 

 he did not want less, but probably more, because steam enabled him 

 to grow a greater variety of crops. That, he thought, settled the 

 point. The President had told them that only a very few farmers had 

 had this moans of cultivating the land for more than five years, in fact, 

 he (Mr. Wilson) believed that, as a rule, it could not be for more than 

 three or four years. Now, during that period they would naturally 

 have, as he himself had experienced, a good deal of u^J-hill work. 



