The Trials of Ploughs at Wafwich. 
321 
outweigh any little delay or inconvenience in turning as com- 
pared with making such tests with horses. 
I would here wish to acknowledge the assistance given by 
Mr. Canning, of Sherborne, from whom the engines were hired, 
not only in getting everything in readiness each day up to time 
and in hai/ing all instructions as to the working of the engines 
promptly carried out, but also for the willing aid rendered 
whenever opportunity offered. 
The trials of the Light Land Classes I., III., IV., V., VI., 
VIII., were all made in the same field, where sufficient plots 
were arranged, to all intents and purposes practically similar ; 
indeed, it would have been impossible to have selected a more 
favourable site. There was a very slight rise across the field, 
but this was uniform throughout this portion of it ; so it in no 
way affected one competitor more than another. T’hus a useful 
comparison of draught in the different classes may be made, 
which could not be done had they been tried in different fields. 
The plots were set out about 120 yards long, in which a 
measured length of 100 yards was staked out for the dyna- 
mometer records. The competitors opened up their work in 
most cases, to save time, with horses, and so soon as they could 
get to their proper depth of furrow the dynamometer was at- 
tached, and a preliminary run up and down the field was allowed 
in order to give the ploughman an opportunity to make his 
final adjustments and to accustom him to the altered conditions 
of draught. After this, two runs up and down the field were 
taken, thus giving a 400 yards’ I’egister of the dynamometer. 
This distance is considerably in excess of that of former trials. 
The work done by the ploughs in the dynamometer trials 
was similar as to depth and width to the work done in the first 
trials, and the quality of work in these trials was also considered 
when allotting the several points. 
As must be the case in trials of all machinery, the results 
obtained to a considerable extent depend upon the ability and 
discretion of the man working it, so in the present instance 
some ploughs were set to work and, once started in a furrow 
attached to the dynamometer, required no^handling, whereas in 
one or two instances the struggle which was going on between the 
ploughman and his plough not only resulted in producing 
slovenly work, but militated materially against his record for 
draught either by inci’easing it or making it irregular. In no 
class was this moi'e noticeable than in Class V., for three-furrow 
ploughs. Although it was fully recognised throughout the 
whole trials that they were not to be treated as a “ ploughing 
match,” and that, as far as possible, the judgment was to be 
