t 144 ] 



at will. It throws as the digger advances all the earth and 

 potatoes from ridges on land that has been cleared, against a 

 screen which keeps them from spreading far and wide. This 

 bruises the potatoes to a certain extent, but when a canvas 

 screen is used hardly any loss occurs. Potatoes are gathered 

 carefully each time, else they get covered up. When potatoes 

 do get covered up, they can be harrowed up again, but cons- 

 tant knocking about especially with harrows reduces the 

 value of potatoes and makes them liable to putrifaction. On 

 light land two horses can work the potato-digger, but on 

 heavy soil, 3 are required. 4 acres can be dug out in a day. 

 The cost of a potato-digger is 12 to 13. On heavy or wet 

 soil it does not work satisfactorily. The work done by a 

 potato-digger leaves the soil beautifully fine and mellow and 

 free from weeds. The remains of the weeds and potato- 

 haulms can be easily raked off and the land used immediately 

 afterwards for growing sugarcane, maize, jowar, ground- 

 nuts or arahar. The potato-digger can be used also for 

 digging ou t groundnuts and yams of different kinds. The 

 implement is unsuitable for the Indian raiyat> but a capitalist 

 going in for growing potatoes or groundnuts on a large scale 

 will find the outlay effecting great saving in the cost of hand- 

 picking. Four strong bullocks must, of course, be employed 

 attached to a proper swingle. 



185. Steam ploughs have been found utterly unsuitable tor 

 Indian surroundings. They have been tried by Mr. Archie 

 Hills of Patkabari (Dt. Murshidabad) and by Mr. Armstrong 

 of Dehra Dun, and others also. Skilled supervision and the 

 first outlay cost more in India than in England, and the ad- 

 vantage of steam-plough over horse-plough even in England 

 is only as 10 : 9. Where Englishmen have taken to farming 

 on a large scale, e.g., in the Fiji Islands, and where labour is 

 dear and labourers iscarce, steam ploughs are found of great 

 use. At the first ploughing, the furrows are made 12" deep ; at 

 the second ploughing 15", and at the third ploughing 18", and 



