STEAM CULTIVATION. 435 



make the premium known, the late John Fowler, junior, 

 28, Cornhill, London, was the only competitor. The trial 

 took place on the 20th of October 1857, on the farm 

 of Stewart Hall, near Stirling, possessed by William 

 Forrester, and it \A'as resolved that, previous to the public 

 being admitted to inspect the operations, they should be 

 privately conducted for at least three days in the presence 

 of the judges exclusively. After careful trials, the judges 

 were of opinion that Mr Fowler had satisfactorily estab- 

 lished that land of a certain description can be well and 

 economically ploughed by steam ; and they thought it due 

 to him to say that he highly merited the approbation of the 

 agricultural public, for the ability, energy, and ingenuity 

 brought by him to bear on the all-important question of 

 turning the soil. In these circumstances, the judges recom- 

 mended, and the Society awarded, the premium of ;^200 to 

 Mr Fowler. A detailed report by the judges was published 

 in the eighth volume of third series of the Transactions. 



In 1866, it was suggested to the Society that as the 

 various systems of cultivating by steam were then to be 

 found in East-Lothian, a careful inspection of these, and a 

 report on their work by a committee, would secure a more 

 deliberate decision, and furnish the public with more com- 

 plete and accurate information than could be commanded 

 by a couple of days' competitive trial on prepared land. 

 With this view a committee was appointed, and various 

 inspections at different periods took place. In 1869, the 

 committee received the approval of the Directors for having 

 a discussion on the comparative advantages of steam and 

 horse power. The discussion took place on 24th March 

 1869 in the Society's hall, when the Marquis of Tweeddale, 

 who was chairman of the committee, and then President of 

 the Society, introduced the subject by reading a paper on 

 the advantages to be gained by the deeper cultivation of 

 the soil, and the comparative cost of doing so by steam or 

 horse power. The committee, in the earlier stage of this 

 inquiry, prepared sets of queries to be answered by the 

 manufacturers of steam ploughs, and also by farmers and 

 others using them, which were issued to various parties in 



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