Steam Poioer and Thrashing Machines. 163 
of 20 per cent, for maintenance certainly seems a high one ; but 
as this is the sum stated as barely sufficient by those who have 
had mucli experience in the matter, it may be fairly adopted as 
a basis of calculation. Let us, then, put together the prime cost 
and the cost of maintenance of the fixed engine, and contrast that 
sum with the cost of the moveable machinery, so as to show at 
one glance the comparison between the two : — 
Fixed Machinery. Moveable Machinery. 
6 horse-power engine and Engine and machine, say . . £300 
machine, say £200 Cost of maintenance, at 20 per 
Cost of maiutv:nance, at 10 per cent 60 
cent 20 
£360 
£220 
According to this statement, the relative first cost of a fixed 
and moveable engine is as 2 to 3, and the relative cost of main- 
tenance as 1 to 3, which shows the great comparative economy 
of fixed over moveable engines where the one can be substituted 
for the other. Indeed so great is the difference, that the cost of 
thrashing on most farms would be more than doubled per year 
by using a moveable instead of a fixed engine. Those who let 
out machines for hire do not on an average make large profits, 
although the number of quarters of corn thrashed in a year neces- 
sarily much exceeds the produce of a single farm. This great 
amount of work, however, must cause a proportionately greater 
amount of tear and wear than would arise on any ordinary farm. 
I think, therefore, that such a calculation as 20 per cent, for 
repairs and depreciation of value must be too much if applied to 
the work on one farm, unless the engine was kept almost con- 
stantly at work in grinding and other tasks besides thrashing. 
On anv farm where as much as from 300 to 600 quarters of 
corn is grown, the erection of a fixed engine would be far more 
economical than hiring. My own farm produces generally from 
400 to 600 quarters annually : for several years I hired a 6 horse- 
power engine and machine to thrash at Is. per quarter. The 
owner of the machine found an engineer and feeder, who had to 
be boarded during the thrashing. The engine, which had to be 
brought an average distance of four miles, weighed with the 
machine tons, and required six horses to bring it out of fields 
and along indifferent roads. The machine sometimes thrashed 
40 quarters of reaped wheat a-day, but seldom more than 20 
quarters of strong bagged or mown wheat : of barley from 20 to 
30 quarters, and of oats from 30 to 50 quarters, per day. There 
were, however, days lost and, parts of days, which materially 
reduced the average of a day's thrashing throughout the season. 
So much was this the case, that reckoning every day when the 
fire was lighted, the average of corn of all kinds, taken together, 
M 2 
