590 



Report to H.R.H, the President 



should be said, behaved exceedingly well under all disadvantages, 

 and were no doubt better suited than ours for their respec- 

 tive localities. 



Ploughing itself is certainly a singular instance of great skill 

 acquired by a body of men who scarcely, as was remarked by 

 Lord Ashburton, receive the credit due to that skill. A good 

 ploughman will set up a pole a quarter of a mile distant or more, 

 and keeping this mark, almost invisible, steadily in his view, will. 



Busby's Two-Horse Plough. 



on land perfectly smooth, trace up to that goal, until his horses 

 knock it down as they pass on each side, a furrow so true that 

 no eye can detect any divergence from absolute straightness. If 

 one saw for the first time a field of short green clover converted 

 in a few hours into a surface of clean brown soil in regular ribs, 

 it would be regarded as a triumph of art. I mention this, the 

 rather because in speculative writing the plough is sometimes de- 

 preciated and the spade is extolled, though this very operation of 

 preparing our wheat land could scarcely be executed at all by the 

 spade, since it is necessary that the existing sward should be per- 

 fectly buried. The caution seems more necessary, because, as we 

 have seen in the Exhibition building, ingenious attempts are 

 being made at steam digging, as well as steam ploughing. 



The result of the trial of ploughs will be found in the following 

 report of Mr. Shelley, 



RESULT OF TRIAL OF PLOUGHS AT PUSEY. 



By William Miles, Esq., M.P., and John V. Shelley, Esq. ; 

 assisted by Mr. T. P. Outhwaite. 



The English and Scotch ploughs, eighteen in number, were put to work 

 in the first instance at a depth not exceeding 5 inches — the land a young 

 clover-ley, in excellent condition for the trial of light-land ploughs. The 

 ploughs consisted of nine 2-vv'heel, three 1-wheel, and six swing-ploughs. 

 The work of the 2-wheel ploughs was generally good ; for the first test, 

 not exceeding 5 inches, we found the following most deserving of com- 

 mendation in the order in which they are placed : — 



No. 1. Ball's. 



No. 2. Howard's, marked XX. 

 No. 3. Howard's, marked XXX. 



