li'ciir and Tear of Agricultural Steam- Engines. 337 
Threshing ly Fixed Machine, Eiglit-Horsc-Power. 
£. s. d. 
Depreciation and repair of engine supposing 1 071 
it to be used once a week / 
Do. Do. Machine, 30 days a year .'. 0 'J 4 
Oil and 8 cwt. of coal " .. .. 090 
Interest on building (iivoportion ol' £'J) .. 0 3 7 
llo. on elevation and sliaftin;j;, £;',() .. .. 0 3 0 
Labour (as previously detailed) 1 I) 6 
£3 1 G 
The last item includes eight horses to cart the crop from the 
stack, and eleven men and boys. The straw is carried into the 
straw-rick by elevators consisting of an endless web, which may 
be put up at the expense of from 10/. to 20/., according to length. 
On farms where much straw is used for feeding, the expensive 
process of cutting it into c haff may with very great economy be 
carried on at the time of threshing. Ten tons of chaff may be 
cut in a day, and supposing from 12 to 15 tons of straw to be 
threshed, the remainder is stored elsewhere. The cost of chaff- 
cutting by steam power has been recently estimated in the 
Journal at &s. per ton, which we consider a fair average price ; 
but in this case it is cut at only the cost of the extra coal, and of 
the two men to " yelm " the straw and feed the machine, the straw 
being brought to it by the Aveb, and the chaff either falling into 
the store-room or being taken there by the exhaust tube. To 
enable a smaller engine to do this double work the threshing- 
machine may be fed slower than usual with economy. It takes 
four or five horse-power to work the chaff-machine, but the so- 
called eight or ten horse-power engines give at least half as 
much power again as their name implies. 
Mr. Jonas's practice, when both cutting chaff and threshing, 
is to apply the power to a strong extra shaft fitted to the front of 
the threshing-machine ; from two pulleys affixed to this shaft both 
the drum and the chaff-machine are driven ; in this manner no 
extra strain is put upon the drum-shaft. By these means the 
whole of the cost of stacking, and afterwards bringing the straw 
to the chaff-engine, is saved. It is thus cut and stored at very 
little more expense than the cost of a few extra cwts. of coal for 
the engine. The credit of these really practical and economical 
arrangements is due to Mr. Maynard of Whittlesford. Mr. Jonas 
showed us a barn in which he was in the habit of storing the 
produce of nearly 100 acres of straw cut into chaff, and well 
trodden ; and since the chaff, when well salted and trodden in a 
dry place, heats slightly and improves with keeping, this method 
of storing may be recommended as a means of getting rid of the 
VOL. xxiri. z 
