n8 



CHAPTER VIII 



one engine on the cable and anchor system ; the horse hoes and cultivators 

 that he showed (and the use of which he strongly advocated) differed but in 

 detail from those in use at the present time. His remarks on the use of these 



instruments are as true to-day as 

 they were three generations back, 

 and are therefore quoted below : 



" The hoe plough is the next 

 instrument particularly deserving 

 of attention ; it is one of the most 

 useful that the planter can em- 

 ploy. This plough is used for the 

 purpose of hoeing up weeds and 

 loosening the earth between the 

 growing plants. It is provided 

 with two wheels, one in front of, 

 and one behind the hoes, by means 

 of which the depth of the hoeing is 

 regulated. It may be used with 

 three triangular hoes, each cutting 

 13^ inches wide, extending over 

 3 feet 6 inches of ground, or con- 

 tracted to a smaller width ; or the 

 two hind hoes may be replaced by 

 two curved knives for cutting the 

 weeds up on the sides of the 

 ridges. It is an implement of very 

 simple construction and in great 

 use in England ; it is also one that 



FIG. 24 



FIG. 25 FIG. 26 



will be found of very great advantage on sugar estates, in cleaning between the cane 

 rows, and in loosening the soil about the plants. The expanding horse hoe is an imple- 

 ment designed and manufactured expressly for the colonies, and is already beginning 

 to establish for itself a very sure reputation amongst sugar planters. By means 

 of a very simple contrivance, it can be extended and contracted at pleasure ; so 

 that the planter can have it made to expand even to 5 or 6 feet, if he requires it, 

 as he will in all cases where he plants his canes at six feet apart ; whilst at the 

 same time, by having spare tines or shares of peculiar form, he can vary the nature 

 of the work to be performed by it. For instance, the instrument is suited for rooting 

 up weeds and loosening the soil between the rows of canes ; by taking off the tines 

 and hoes and replacing them with light moulding shares, the instrument is at once 

 converted into a moulding machine, whereby the young canes may receive two or 

 three successive mouldings as lightly and neatly as by hand labour. I consider 

 this machine to be so valuable to the planter that no sugar estate should be unpro - 

 vided with it ; it enables him to perform at a very inconsiderable cost an amount 

 of work which, when executed by hand labour, is well known to be very tiresome 

 and expensive." 



Systems of Mechanical Tillage. In mechanical tillage two distinct sys- 

 tems are in use. In one, invented by John Fowler, in the first half of the 

 nineteenth century, the implement employed is drawn across the field by 

 means of a cable. Usually two engines located on opposite sides of the field 

 are used ; on each engine is a winding drum, which alternately pays out 

 or winds in cable, thus drawing the implement across the field. With 

 this system balanced ploughs with a double gang of shares are used, one 

 set being tilted in the air while the other is buried in the ground. This 

 system, which is illustrated in Plate XII, has been, and continues to be, 

 very largely used in the Hawaiian Islands, in Peru, and to a less extent in 

 Cuba. 



In the second system, the implement is hitched behind the tractor and 

 drawn across the field. Steam tractors have been used for this work, but 

 the system has only become extensively used with the development of the 

 gasoline or petrol tractor. Two types of tractors are found, the wheel 



