gS TiMEHRI. 



the work done with the weather, that much field work was gone through 

 at unsuitable times. It got behind and had to be done, with a result 

 that has produced disastrous consequences." 



This brings me to the chief part of my paper. The 

 meaning of the above quoted paragraph may be briefly 

 stated to be this. The tile drained and steam tilled 

 fields of the Messrs. EwiNG, which for a considerable 

 time had given satisfa6lory results, and profits commen- 

 surate with the magnitude of the undertaking, namely 

 the introduaion of steam tillage and tile drainage, no 

 longer continued to do so, and at last, after two abnor- 

 mally heavy seasons, I was asked in a friendly way by 

 Mr. Crum EwiXG to take a ride round his East Coast 

 property and say what I thought of the cultivation. 

 This I did — and found that existing conditions were 

 capable of improvement. I subsequently took charge 

 of this East Coast property, and I propose now 

 very briefly to tell you in what manner it is proposed 

 gradually to try and combine steam husbandry with 

 open drains, tiles not having come up to expeftations, 

 or rather not continued to do so in all the fields of the 

 estate. For the enlightenment of those who are unac- 

 quainted with the appearance of a tile drained field on 

 Messrs. Ewing's estates, I may say that they are per- 

 fe6lly flat or nearly so, with, as far as the eye can see no 

 drainage at all, at least no open drainage. The tiles 

 were laid originally in the old drains^ and then covered 

 in with earth from the surface of the half of the bed on 

 each side of the drain. 



Last year, in fields where it was quite evident the tiles 

 were either choked, or the earth over them too close to 

 admit percolation, open drains i to 2 feet deep were dug 



