456 STEAM CULTIVATION. 



farm and witness the operation of his tackle, and to see its 

 effect. He communicates to a London paper the substance 

 of the statements he made to his visitors, and from this I 

 extract the following, as serving to illustrate the complete- 

 ness with which the system has been tried and found satis 

 factory : 



" You must see that these fields are not only heavy ciay, 

 but hilly and uneven, and the face of them shows that they 

 are well drained as well as well cultivated. 



" This field, No. 3, on which you stand, together with 

 No. 2, through which you have passed, and No. 1 (light 

 land), which I will hereafter show you, contain 32 acres, 

 and were smashed by steam-power on the 31st of August, 

 and the 1st, 2d, and 3d of September, at the following 

 cost : 



Labor 3 14 



Coal 1 12 



Oil 2 6 



Interest on money, and wear and tear 2 96 



7 18 00 

 Or 4s. 9d. per acre (about $1.15). 



* ***##**#** 



" Now I will let you know what the operations and cost 

 of seed-beds have been on these four fields under steam 

 culture for 14 years, taking those on field No. 3 to repre- 

 sent the lot : 



" 10 steam-power smashings, 2 ridgings and subsoilings 



