Steam Culture. 
421 
trations of hand-power, it is bv no means common to see the 
preceding illustration put in practice, accordinjB; to vvliich "three 
men will lilt 100 cubic yards of farm yard -dung, and fill it into 
carts in ten hours' time. The 33 cubic yards vvliich fall to eacli 
man's share, at about 14 cwt. a-piece, weigh 50,000 lbs., and 
tliis is lifted over the edge of the cart, or 4 feet high, ec[ual 
to 200,000 lbs. lifted daily one foot high, or 330 lbs. in a 
minute." 
So long ago as in 1843, Mr. Pusey pointed out in the Journal, 
vol. iv. p. 315, that " whereas a labourer commonly filled eight 
or nine loads per day, measuring If cubic 3ards apiece, he 
might very well fill ten such loads by two or three o'clock ;" and 
yet farmers generally keep on at the old jog-trot pace ; and 
why ? Because it is the work of leisure-time and off-hands, and, 
as far as expense goes, it is a matter of indifference ; either way 
the cubic yard will cost the farmer about a penny for filling, and 
he does not want to hurry over his work when he has time before 
him, and perhaps each cart requires an extra horse, from the 
wintry state of the roads. 
I have ventured to introduce this illustration of my meaning, 
taken from man rather than from horse-power, because it is the 
most precise which offered itself : we have what might be done, 
and what was done, both distinctly stated on good authority. I 
venture to affirm that no general change has taken place since 
1843, and so we have men day after day filling about 15 or 16 
cubic yards, when they might fill 33, and consequently working 
half-strength at the slack season. 
This equalization of labour is, indeed, a principal point in the 
economical management of land, without which neither skill in 
producing good crops and stock, or vigilance in seeing that work 
is properly done, suffice to produce a good balance-sheet. It is a 
key which may explain to outsiders why shrewd practical men 
are often slow to adopt a hint which is good in itself. Such men 
wait to think what effect the new device would have on their 
general scheme, and if it causes general derangement, or calls 
lor labour at a busy time, they instinctively reject it, without 
exactly defining the higher rate of charge for extra cultivation, 
which ought to stand on the debtor side of the account, to the 
probable disturbance of the balance of profit and loss. Hence 
also farming operations are often not performed at the veyy best 
moment in the abstract, and that wittingly ; because prudent 
farming, like statesmanship, contains much of the element of 
compromise. 
In the case of the horse, attention to this principle is en- 
forced by palpable self-interest. The market-price fluctuates 
so sensitively, that it is at least as cheap to hold, as to sell in 
