at the Northampton Meeting, 1847. 343 



Mr. Busby's was a two-v/heeled plough, invented, improved, 

 and manufactured by himself, adapted for all descriptions of soil, 

 with a moveable nose-piece, upon which the shares are placed, 

 which can be set more or less to land, with more or less pitch : 

 this has been found an advantage where cast-iron shares are used, 

 for, as they wear down, the plough will still retain the same hold 

 or inclination towards the soil. 



Scarifiers. — In the construction of these implements consider- 

 able improvement has taken place. Seventeen were selected for 

 trial ; and as the prize was specifically offered for the best scari- 

 fier, the Judges did not think it necessary to put these implements 

 to any other test than that of scarifying : they are, however, of 

 opinion that henceforward the word grubber should be combined 

 with scarifier in the specification for the future prizes, as scari- 

 fying appears to be comparatively unimportant when compared 

 with the subworking of the soil.* The state of the ground was 

 very much against the operation of scarifying, being so exceed- 

 ingly hard that very few of the implements would work the depth 

 required by the Judges, some going too deep, others not entering 

 the ground at all. 



An implement invented by Arthur Biddell, and manufactured 

 by Ransomes and May, working with seven tines, was considered 

 by the Judges to make the best work. It was kept the depth 

 required, and without any visible variation during the time it was 

 under their inspection. 



The next best was the Uley cultivator, manufactured and ex- 

 hibited by Mr. Grant, of Stamford. The remainder, though well 

 calculated for grubbing, were inferior to the above in scarifying. 



The patent scarifier to which the prize was assigned covered 

 4 feet 8 inches ; from its improved construction the tines can be 

 shifted to different distances apart, and thus be readily adapted to 

 various modes of tillage ; it is made principally of wrought iron. 

 Price 18Z. I85. ; delivered in London, 19/. 155. 



The implement exhibited by Mr. Grant was the wrought-iron 

 five-tined Uley cultivator. Price \Vl. 11 5. 



Harroics. — The prize was awarded to Sanders, Williams, and 

 Taylor, of Bedford. There was nothing new amongst these im- 

 plements, nor has the slightest improvement been effected for the 

 last four years. They do their work as seed-harrows for finishing 

 after the drill very well ; but the Judges consider the tines work 

 too near to each other to move the ground deep enough for the 



* The Stewards perfectly agree in the justness of this last observation ; 

 but, instead of hereafter combining- the word ' grubber ' with ' scarifier,' 

 would recommend the Council to offer a distinct prize for cultivators or 

 grubbers, to which the greater part of the money allotted to this class of 

 implements should be given. 



