Five Years Progress of Steam Cultivation. 413 
parativcly rare ; inclosurcs upon a hill-side have generally a top 
or bottom headland tolerably level, and the moveable engine is 
not afraid to travel and stand to work upon a moderate acclivity, 
Mr, Gill, of Beenham, steam-ploughs fields up and down a slope 
of 1 in 8, the engine and anchorage being invisible one from the 
other. Mr, Marjoribanks has fields varying in inclination of 
surface from 1 in 10 to 1 in 5 ; yet these are steam-ploughed by 
the moveable engine both up and down and across the slope, 
four furrows being driven at once when coming down, but only 
three furrows when going up. 
The advantage of two moveable engines (instead of an engine 
and anchorage) for despatch in work, and in removing from field 
to field, has been referred to in the account of Worcester trials. 
After discussing the relative merits of the stationary and 
moveable engine, perhaps I .shall be expected to take up the 
controversy between '■'■turnover ploughing'^ and '^ smashing up 
tcitlwut inversion." The subject demands a whole essay to itself, 
and all I can offer here will be one or two general observations. 
The evidence already given is sufficient to show that both on 
clays and lighter lands, turnover ploughing and grubbing by steam- 
power are alike successful, and preferable to either method of 
tillage when eflfected by horse-power. For cleansing ground of 
root-weeds either in autumn or spring, breaking up without 
turning over a furrow-slice has thoroughly established itself as 
superior to regular ploughing ; and on many strong soils (such 
as the calcareous clay of Woolston), a single " smashing-up " at 
the right season, or this followed by a " crossing " with the culti- 
vator, proves sufiicient for the destruction of the vegetable vermin. 
Nevertheless, there are other strong soils (such as the adhesive 
sand-clay of the Weald) which so quickly run together again 
after a deep stirring, that a single or double smashing is only the 
commencement of a process, and the weak couch with which 
the staple is infested has to be combed and combed out, and laid 
upon the surface, and probably collected and burned ; and 
without these repeated cultivations, the ground would not be 
« sufficiently aerated and fertilised. Again, there are lighter and 
moist loams and sands so filled with minute root-weeds, that 
paring and grubbing do but partially cleanse the upper half of 
the staple, and the plough is then indispensable to bury this and 
bring up the lower half for a similar eradicating ordeal. That 
better crops have followed from steam " smashing " (and more 
especially from using the combined cultivator and drill) than 
from horse ploughing, I could give plenty of evidence ; that 
steam " ploughing " has furnished like results is equally well 
supported by facts. But the superiority of a s^mm-sm ashed to 
a s^ea/n-ploughed seed-bed has not been so satisfactorily deter- 
