Report on the Trials of Implements at Wolverhampton. 517 
bottom not quite level ; and the digging by tlic same imjilcmcnt was good 
work at a deptli of 6i inches. At Statt'ord, on Tlot 8, the ])lough made 
good work 5:^ inches deep in an eight-ycars-old turf, tlie soil a strong red 
loam upon a pebbly bottom. The digging was also fair work at 6i inches 
depth, but with a very uneven bottom. The cultivating at 6i inches depth 
was very inferior. 
The Judges awarded the first prize of 50?. to Messrs. J. Fowler and Co. for 
their set of steam-cultivating apparatus (Ncs. 6486, 6493, 6510) ; and the second 
jirize of 25/. to Messrs. J. and F. Howard, for their set of steam-cultivating 
apparatus (Nos. 1170, 1174, 1182, 1185). 
Lord Vernon's Prize, 
For " the best combination of machinery for the cultivation of the soil by 
steam-power, the cost of which shall not exceed 700/., the engine to be loco- 
motive, and adapted for threshing and other farm purjxises," there were four 
sets in competition; of which two were on the stationary engine and windlass 
system, one worked with a stationary engine high-speed rope and moving 
windlasses, and one had a movable engine and anchorage. 
Plot D in Field No. XIV. Messrs. Amies and Barford's 10- Borse-jpowei- 
Detached- Windlass Set ; consisting of a Tuxford and Son's 10-horse-power 
single-cylinder self-moving engine, price 390/. ; a Tuxford and Son's windlass 
with adjustable, expanding friction couplings, and automatic friction brakes, 
1600 yards of f-iuch best steel-wire rope, two self-moving " Campaiu " 
anchors, one double snatch-block, six single snatch-blocks, six claw-anchors, 
dead-anchors, twenty-six rope-porters, set of levers, &c. ; 7-tine combined 
cultivator and broadsharer, and 3-furrow semi-balance combined plough and 
digger (Catalogue No., 2663), price .SIO/. ; with the engine, 700/. The engine 
has a single cylinder of 9 inches diameter and 12 inches stroke, and part of 
the exhaust steam is sent into the water-tank which surrounds the smoke-box. 
Under the barrel of the boiler is a lever frame carrying the axle of the main 
road wheels and the intermediate motion which is driven by a pitch-chain 
from a pinion on the crank-shaft ; and as tliis Wer frame is supported by a 
fulcrum or joints at the fire-box end, and by indiarubber springs at the other 
end, the effect is to save the engine from shocks in travelling. The steering- 
wheels at the foot-plate end are supported by iipright stems which have a 
vertical movement within boxes holding volute springs, so that the engine is 
entirely carried upon springs ; and as the steering-wheels turn or lock inde- 
pendently upon their stems as upon swivels or castors, their angular direction 
is altered much more easily and quickly than if they were attached to a front 
axle for locking in the ordinary manner, — the arrangement combining to a 
considerable extent the facilities of a single steering-wheel with the stability 
and other advantages of a pair. The weight of the engine when empty is 8 tons. 
At the trial on June 29th, four men and two boys, with the assistance of 
four horses, set down the apparatus ready for work in 52 minutes. The hands 
employed during the trial were one engine-man, one windlass-man, one 
ploughman, and two porter-boys. The cultivator, with seven 6-inch wide 
shares, and taking a width of 4i feet, made good work at 6^ inches depth, the 
ground being well broken up and the bottom level. The implement was turned 
at the ends in from 15 to 20 seconds. The ploughing at 7 inches depth was fair 
work, but the furrows were not turned well owing to the parts being imperfectly 
set. The average time of the plough at the ends of the field \\'as 30 seconds. 
It does not appear that the regulation of the anchors by the porter-boys occa- 
sions any delay. The whole time occupied in the trial was 3 hours 9 5 
minutes ; but deducting the frequent stoppages occasioned by boulders, the 
performance was as follows. An area of 2 acres and 32 perches was culti- 
^■ated in 1 hour 52 minutes ; which is at the rate of 11 acres, 3 roods, 5 
