TEA MACHINERY. 227 



Given a proper plough, and I feel sure a large strong 

 bullock thus harnessed would be successful. 



A really good Tea garden plough has yet to be 

 invented. All that is necessary is to give some agricultural 

 machinists here at home the conditions necessary for 

 success, and I predict what we want would be soon forth- 

 coming. I will myself try to do so, let others do the same ; 

 one of us is sure to succeed. 



I give all these extracts to show that many think as I do. 



Cultivation with ploughs of any kind can never be 

 feasible except on flat land. The hill gardens in India must 

 in no case hope to introduce it; but I sincerely trust the 

 planters in India who own level gardens will not rest till 

 they have solved the problem, and that Messrs. Kinmond, 

 Jackson, and other inventors of Tea machinery will give 

 their valuable aid. The following two letters from the Tea 

 Gazette show the difficulties to be encountered in steam 

 cultivation : 



STEAM CULTIVATION FOR TEA. 



Sir, As promised in your last issue, I now write to say that I have 

 received from England the catalogues and price lists of Messrs. Howard, 

 of Bedford, Messrs. Barford and Perkins, and other makers of steam 

 ploughing machinery. Messrs. Howard seem to think that the greatest 

 difficulty would be in lifting the return rope over the bushes. This 

 would be certainly a difficulty, but the idea of steam cultivation for 

 Tea is so valuable that it is well worth while thinking this out. I will 

 in your first issue for January give a resume of all the information 

 gleaned from the illustrated catalogues and the letters from the 

 engineers at home on the subject of steam ploughing, and will then be 

 glad to co-operate with any gentlemen interested in Tea by giving my 

 professional opinion and assistance without fee in endeavouring to 

 solve this matter. I trust, should I ever have to write another series 

 of articles on Tea machinery for the Tea Gazette, the steam plough 

 may figure as one of the machines which I will have to describe as in 

 use on Tea gardens. 



