STEAM CULTIVATION". 453 



acres per day, must do much to free him from the annoyance 

 of frequent delays from wet weather at a time when it is im- 

 portant that everything proceed rapidly. 



The comparative cost of cultivation, when done by steam 

 instead of horses, is, of course, dependent on circumstances. 

 On small farms, and for use in small fields of irregular shape, 

 the cost of maintaining an expensive set of machinery, and 

 the time lost in moving from one field to another, would 

 more than make up for any saving in the actual cost of the 

 work. On farms having 250 acres of land under the plough, 

 and having few fields of less than 10 acres, the saving in 

 cost of work would be very great. 



This saving of cost, however, is of minor consequence as 

 compared with the other advantages of steam cultivation. 



The improved condition of the land, including its better 

 drainage, is the great argument in favor of the process. 



The movement of the ploughs is nearly twice as rapid as 

 that of the horse-plough, and the furrow, instead of simply 

 being turned over, is thrown from the mould-board so rapidly 

 that it is much more thoroughly pulverized. As the furrows 

 are all laid in one direction, there are no dead furrows left 

 when the work is done. In the ordinary ploughing of an acre 

 of land it receives 350,000 foot-marks per acre, one-half of 

 these being upon the earth at the bottom of the furrows, 

 which in time becomes compacted to an almost water-tight 

 condition. In steam ploughing, the land is not touched by 

 a hoof, and when (as is often the case) all the operations of 



