94 INSTALLATION OF TEENCHING 



Dufaure performed his ploughing from the 15th November 

 to the end of February, and always noticed that horses which 

 were very poor at the end of the summer, used to rest and 

 fatten during the work of the winding drum, which works 

 regularly without jerks on account of the elasticity of the 

 cable, acting as a buffer. 



De Juge * used for trenching his land, a winding drum 

 hauling the plough direct and displaced at each furrow. 

 From the 8th to the 20th December he ploughed 360 poles, 

 of a soil formed of an agglomeration of clay and. pebbles, to 

 a depth of 24 inches. Taking into account the cost of 

 bullocks and manual labour (which is very cheap in that 

 district) the cost per acre reached 8. 



At Fondouck (Algeria, 1898) a plant, comprising a, 

 Vernette winding drum stationed in the centre of the block* 

 was worked by five mules, a man, and boy ; the plough was 

 worked by a man and boy, a team of two bullocks, and a 

 horse and a driver to haul the plough back, that is to say 

 (without counting the men digging out stones and large 

 roots, staff paid for by the proprietor), altogether : 



3 men, 

 2 boys, 

 5 mules, 

 2 bullocks, 

 1 horse. 



The depth ploughed was 14 inches, and 2J acres were 

 ploughed in seven days. The contractor did the work for 

 the sum of 4 10s. per acre, the proprietor having to board 

 men and animals. The plough turned a sod of 20 inches to- 

 22 inches wide, and travelled at a speed of 4^ inches per second. 

 The central position of the winding drum allowed, with a, 

 cable 328 yards long, and working convergingly, 21 to 35 

 acres to be ploughed. 



When the soil is very stiff 28 to 32 poles only are 

 ploughed per day. 



In April, 1899, the swampy timbered land alongside the 

 railway, between the Lincourt station and Bajac's implement 

 yards, was trenched with a winding drum of the latter 

 make (Bajac), yoked to two strong bullocks with single 

 yokes, working at a depth of 18 inches, and a width of 20 

 inches, the plough travelled at an average rate of speed of 



* Soci6t4 des Agricultemjs de France, stance du 13 Fev. 1890. 



