Exhibition and Trials of Implements at Hull. 523 
special prize should be given this year at Hull for Combined 
Stacking-Machines." 
Considerable anxiety was caused as regards the trials of 
ploughs and other implements, from the fact that in the week 
before their commencement the land had become so exceedingly 
<lry that it was feared they would not work. A heavy rain on 
the Thursday was therefore most welcome, as the ground thus 
became sufficiently soaked ; and by 12 o'clock on Monday the 
preliminaries were settled, and the Judges commenced in earnest. 
The chief interest among the classes of ploughs was centred in 
those which contained the double-furrowed ones ; and naturally 
so, for as ploughing is very slow and very expensive work, any 
change which renders it less so is hailed with satisfaction. The 
substitution of wheels for sole-shoes must reduce friction ; and the 
successful exhibitors, Messrs. Murray and Snowden, with others 
who were not far behind them in the race, cannot fail to have 
plenty of orders for these now fashionable and valuable imple- 
ments. But it appears to me that the plough, of whatever make, 
lias now many rivals : formerly it was the chief implement, and 
the drag and the harrow were its adjuncts ; but when we see 
the broadshares, cultivators, and scarifiers, the chisel-pointed 
and duck-footed drags and harrows, we naturally enquire for 
what purpose were all these articles invented ? And the trial- 
fields at Hull suggested to me the answer, namely, that some com- 
bination of thern will, in many cases, be made to supersede the 
use of the plough in preparing land for the barley and root crops. 
The Ravensthorpe Engineering Company were so good as to 
place at the disposal of the Society their steam machinery (with 
the Manilla rope) as the motive power for testing the draught of 
the ploughs and other implements with the dynamometer. It 
answered the purpose remarkably well, and the thanks of the 
Society are due to them, as well as to Messrs. Aveling and Porter, 
for the aid given by their road-engine. 
As the potato crop was not sufficiently forward to allow of a 
satisfactory trial with the potato-raisers, the Stewards considered 
it right to postpone it until a later period. Mr. Penny was 
instructed to take charge of those which the Exhibitors might 
leave with him, and three are accordingly in his hands. The 
trial, through the courtesy of Mr. J. Wells, of Booth Ferrv, 
will take place on his farm ; and Mr. T. C. Booth has kindly 
undertaken to be the acting Steward on the occasion. 
A new feature on the show-ground this year was the parade 
of prize implements down the centre avenue, by which intend- 
ing purchasers could see and compare them without having the 
trouble of visiting the different stands, and the arrangement 
appeared to give universal satisfaction. 
