Steam Culture. 
415 
20/. ; of drum, at 15 per cent., 15/. ; if to this we add 15/. for 
interest, we get a total of 80/., or more than 25 per cent., for 
repairs, depreciation, and interest on a pair of machines which 
were hired for about IGO days and used at home 40 more. In 
this case the cost of straps is considerable, and analogous to that 
of the rope in steam culture ; it is also capricious, because good 
straps have been sold at different prices in different quarters. 
Let us now consider in detail the component elements of the 
most complete of steam-cultivators. Fowler's 12-horse engine, with 
tackle to match. The outlay may be thus classed : — 
£. 5. d. 
For engine 420 0 0 
For rope, 800 yards 90 0 0 
Windlass, anchors, rope-porters, &c., &c 189 0 0 
Plougb, 4 furrow £81) -^q-^ q q 
Extras for cultivating or subsoiling .. 20) 
£800 0 0 
For an agricultural engine in full work, I have hazarded the 
opinion that 10 per cent, will be required for repairs, 10 per 
cent, for depreciation, and 5 for interest, which on 420/. amounts 
to 105/. in all. Not anticipating that for cultivation the engine 
will be used more than lOO days in the year, but that the work 
will be severe when in hand, I would charge the steam-engine 
with two-thirds of this sum, or 70/. 
The rope is the next point, and a difficult one. This item 
will be more costly on clay-capped chalks, where the presence of 
flint-stones must increase the wear and tear, than on homogeneous 
clays. When the plough is travelling at nearly 4 miles an 
hour a good deal of vigilance will be required to have the rope- 
porters properly looked to ; if the farmer fails to do this, the 
implement maker ought not to be blamed for the result. Perhaps 
the wages of an extra lad will be money well spent. 
On these chalky loams, where 6J to 7 acres is a good day's 
work, the cultivation of 800 or 900 acres at first went very far 
towards wearing out a rope ; these were probably of inferior 
quality, and it would not be fair to assume that a 90/. rope 
would now be used up by that amount of work. There are 
however, instances where the rope has cost Is. 9c?. per acre, or 
nearly 12s. per day ; but such improvements in its manufacture 
and mode of attachment have been made that I propose to esti- 
mate the average daily cost at 8s. per day, or 40/. on a season of 
100 working days, calculating that the rope will plough hence- 
forth between 1100 and 1200 acres of the stiffest clay. This 40/. 
is only 51. in excess of Mr. Fowler's own estimate of 35/., besides 
a sum for contingencies. 
Coming next to the gearing, windlasses, anchors, rope-porters, 
