214 
Application of Steam Power 
Labour per week as per Mr. Pike's estimate : — 
£. s. d. £. s. d. 
1 Engineman 0150 
1 Windlass 0 12 0 
2 Anchor men 1 0 0 
1 Ploughman 0 10 0 
1 Boy 0 6 0 
3 3 0 
Coal, 3 tons, and oil, &c 3 0 0 
Shifts, with horses, &c. 0 10 0 
Water-carting (from a long distance— about a mile) 1 10 0 
£ 8 3 0 
Wear and tear of tackle (not including the rope) and interest 
upon first cost, say 15 per cent, on 165/., reckoned on 20 weeks 
in the year, will be 1/. As. 9d. ; wear and tear, etc., of engine, 
which is employed say half its time for thrashing and other 
purposes, say 15 per cent, on 115/. (half the price of the engine) 
will be 17a-. 3d. ; making together 21. 2s. Mr. Pike considers 
from his present experience that 2s. per acre will pay for keeping 
the ropes in order, and purchasing new ones ; so we must add Si. 
per week for rope (when doing 30 acres in that time), — the total 
weekly expense thus amounting to 13/. 55. ; the wear and liabi- 
lities to damage costing considerably more than half as much as 
the working expenses. At 30 acres per week, the work will have 
cost altogether about 85. lOd. per acre.' The " crossing," at 50 
acres a week, will have cost about 5^. 3d. per acre. 
Now, whether or not a team of horses could pull the same imple- 
ments at a lower outlay, it is quite clear that the steam-power culti- 
vation is most profitable : and for these among other considerations. 
The work is far more valuable and efficient than horse- work 
could be, because of the rapid motion of the implement (which 
effects a better division of the soil, and shaking out and raising 
of weed to the surface), and the absence of an immense amount 
of trampling (which would again beat down much of the broken- 
up work). Work is enabled to be done in the dry baking autumn 
days, which, if horses were the sole power employed, would have 
to be left until winter and spring ; consequently involving much 
more expense in tillage and cleaning than the steam-culture at the 
right time would have cost. For this reason, that is, for the sake 
of having the work done at a period when its effect is more bene- 
ficial than twice or thrice the amount of tillage performed in the 
lonjr after-season of wetness and low temperature, farmers are 
williii;j to pay high prices for the work ; so that (as I am informed) 
Mr. Pike broke up in autumn 25 acres of foul rough wheat-land, 
almost as tough as prass sods, for a neighbour, — for which he 
received the sum of 25/. Take the case of the 20 acres of wheat- 
stubble, steam-grubbed, crossed and cleaned in autumn, and 
