THE 'STEAM-CULTIVATOR.' 197 



me harm [" Hal " ?] you have indeed ! I used to love 

 follering the plough, and see it heave up the furrow- 

 slice so smooth and nice, and swelling the rich earth as 

 it swam along, better than anything else I know on 

 earth except, perhaps, hearing my little Fanny 

 reading when I come home sleepy at nights, but 

 now I don't know how it is, I seem to run my head 

 agin' it every time I see it, on stiff land, a-squeeging 

 and pressing and kneading its way along : it gives me 

 the very headache to look at it ; it does really ! Now, 

 please not to mind about the long words, for once ; 

 but let me hear it on to the end. I should like to 

 know the worst on it and the best if there is any. 

 I want to know now, really, why, if Steam's the pro- 

 per thing why it hasn't been done. They do most 

 things by steam now-a-days : if it is to get upon the 

 fields, why don't it ? What stops it ? ' 



s You have asked me,' said I, ( the very question I 

 ask too Why is it that amongst all the great inven- 

 tions of the day, the subject of CULTIVATION BY 

 STEAM seems to hang fire ? Not for want of thought 

 upon the topic ; for there are many minds full of 

 thought about it, and few people now-a-days believe 

 the thing impracticable : indeed, no one can find any 

 good reason why it should be so. There is no parti- 



