102 THE BOOK OF THE LANDED ESTATE. 



but I am. convinced that the extra expenditure would pay a fair per- 

 centage. There are less expensive means of upturning and trenching 

 soils, which are treated of under the chapter on the Reclamation of our 

 Waste Lands. Among the principal of those which have come under my 

 notice are the Tweeddale plough and subsoil trench-plough, and the steam 

 cultivating machinery of Messrs Howard of Bedford and Fowler of Leeds. 

 All of these are excellent for the purpose, and I have seen land of a very 

 poor quality which has been permanently improved by their means. 

 There is no doubt but that all our arable land would be immensely im- 

 proved and rendered much more productive by being trenched and opened 

 out by means of either the Tweeddale subsoil-plough, or by any of the 

 steam cultivators now in use ; and yet, judging from the work which I 

 have seen done by these implements, the trenching is not done so com- 

 pletely or effectively as by manual labour. I repeat that our soils can be 

 very much improved, and rendered much more productive, by being 

 subsoiled by either steam or horse power, but that the implements which 

 are now available to be worked by either of these powers do not 

 perform the work of trenching so perfectly as when it is done by manual 

 labour. 



When large farms and whole estates have to be trenched by manual 

 labour, there would be great difficulty in procuring labourers to do the 

 work, but this in a great degree might be obviated by having -tfie work 

 done gradually, as recommended. 



Although I have recommended the mode of trenching by manual 

 labour, yet 1 am aware that the greater number of landed proprietors 

 and farmers would shrink from the first outlay. It is therefore a question 

 of very great importance, " If manual labour is difficult to procure and 

 very expensive, what is the best, and at the same time the least expen- 

 sive, mode of carrying out the trenching of land thoroughly ? " I am 

 inclined to think that, for the proper carrying out of all our heavy opera- 

 tions, we must look to steam power for aid ; but as yet we have no 

 implement which steam can work to perfection in the thorough upturn- 

 ing of our soils. 



The Tweeddale plough, in conjunction with the Tweeddale subsoil 

 trench-plough, works admirably on some soils, and the same may be 

 said of the steam cultivators now in use. It has been remarked that 

 " the Tweeddale implements worked ly steam power would be the per- 

 fection of culture ; " if this could be accomplished, I am inclined to 

 believe that the work would be very thoroughly done. 



