Report of Society's Meetings. 411 



and the result of statistics, &c.. it is accepted that these i6 horses cost 

 yearly per team, for food, keeping hire of servant, interest on pur- 

 chase money and wear and tear of harness and implements of husban- 

 dry, and depreciation, /650 ; ploughing then according to the above 

 calculation, of five heftares daily or 500 annually, costs /5,200. Thus 

 the plough work of the horses amounts to /10.40 per heftare against 

 /' i.S6,/io.82 and/10.85 respeftively by the different systems of Steam- 

 Ploughing. From this it appears the work of horses is somewhat 

 cheaper than Steam Ploughing — it will appear later that this difference 

 is very great. 



The introduftion of the Steam Plough into the Wilhelmina Polder 

 was not altogether a question of expense, but the recommendation was 

 based on some benefits likely to accrue from the better cultivation 

 obtained by steam than by horses. These advantages were the 

 consideration estimated to result from the introduftion of Steam 

 Ploughing into the Polder, and were as follows: — 



The steam plough works quicker and better than horses ; better above 

 everything else from the faft that the ground is not trodden, which, 

 especially in a wet season in the autumn, is a great advantage to the 

 land. Again, with the larger steam implement a more powerful agent 

 is available to plough with advantage to greater depths than are other- 

 wise attainable, and also to plough in summer even if the land should 

 be caked so hard by drought as to make its working impossible by 

 horses. Further, the steam horse is never tired; we possess an appa- 

 ratus that requires no rest, and can be fed while working; thus the 

 working day can be lengthened by a fourth or more, and the ploughing 

 of a hundred days be done in seventy five. For example, if the time is 

 too short to work the field properly after the crop and before the winter 

 sowing, then the benefit derived from the work being done with greater 

 speed and in less time is great enough to be appreciated. Not only 

 docs I he wurk i.iku longer when done by horses, but by sudden showers 

 the best time for working is often lost. Then, with Steam Ploiighing, 

 especially under the " Double System," we require fewer h;iiids and 

 have therefore less to do with all sorts of servants and labourers. Along 

 the track of the engines we can also draw heavy loads of man- 

 gles, sugar beets, potatoes and earth from the field, when, for ex- 

 ample, after a long drought it is not possible to do so otherwise 

 without injury to the soil. In such cases the steam appliances are 

 put on the tracks and waggons, made by Fowler for the purpose 



