622 Abstract Report of Agricultural Discussions. 
until the subsoil brouglit up to the surface liad been thoroughly 
aerated and chemically changed. But the day might come when 
some one else after him wovdd continue steam cultivation ; and then, 
after the land had been made comparatively flat, would arise the ques- 
tion whether, seeing there was a large amount of soil aerated to a great 
depth, the plough should not give place to the cultivator. Upon the 
land at the College of Cirencester, spoken of by Colonel Kingscote, 
there was a large body of clay, but the adjoining land was originally 
stonebrash, no doubt more or less blended with its neighbour. All 
beyond that, however, was stonebrash ; and as Mr. Bradshaw had 
remarked, although they could not go deep there, it was a great 
advantage to be able to take a large area with the machinery in the 
course of a day. The changes which took place in the course of 
cultivation were curious. Although he had been obliged, in the first 
instance, to supply himself with a large amount of steam power — say 
from 12 to 14-horse power, yet, after the heavy land had been gone 
over two or three times, the engine could be worked with less power, 
but a power that would still suffice for all other operations on the 
farm. One of the objections, indeed, to employing the large 14-horse 
power engine in thrashing and other operations in connection with 
the farmyard, was that they consumed more coal and used more power 
than they needed. After they had got their fields into deep ciiltiva- 
tion, therefore, a less powerful engine than they required at first 
would answer their purpose, and he himself was now working fields at 
a pressure of from 55 to 60 lbs. the square inch, whereas in the first 
instance he had worked at from 80 to 85 lbs. There is great 
economy in the employment of steam even now, and if in the course 
of time an engine such as can economically do the thrashing and 
other work in the farmyard becomes sufficient for cultivation also, the 
gain will be very great. Much good may result from the formation 
of Companies, because it M'as the want of money that has hitherto 
prevented steam power from being generally applied by the tenant 
fanners to the land. Mr. Euck had led the way — and as he said it 
was the habit of farmers to follow one another like sheep through a 
gap — he did not think they could have a better bell-wether than his 
fi'iend. He would only add, in repeating his thanks to Mr. Euck for 
his able lecture, that the Eoyal Agricultm-al Society was moving in 
the right direction when such a question as this was introduced by 
a tenant farmer, and followed by a discussion in which other tenant 
farmers Lad borne a part. 
Colonel Kingscote seconded the vote of thanks. 
Mr. Euck, in acknowledging the vote of thanks, remarked that the 
cost of steam culture with drag attached upon strong land was only 
6s. an acre, and that fact he wished to stick in the gizzards of the 
light-land Gloucester farmers. Ho owned he was siu-prised to hear 
the noble Chairman say that he coidd only do 2^ acres of digging per 
day. Now, the digging and the ploughing were of the same width ; 
and imless something very extraordinary took place, he could not see 
but that the noble lord had sufficient power to do six or eight acres 
upon any land. With regai'd to breakages, he could only say that his 
bailiff had that morning jjut an accoimt into his hand of 222 acres 
