Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 1.djvu/342

Rh 316 AGRICULTURE [MACHINES AND which they warp themselves forward and keep abreast as the work progresses. Power is communicated from the engine to these windlasses by means of a light hemp rope, travelling at the speed of the fly-wheel, which is carried all round the field, and takes a double turn round a grooved pulley on each windlass. A set of anchor pulleys on wheels carry this rope round the comers of the field ; another set of pulleys, on stakes driven into the ground at suitable points, carry it off the ground; and a tension anchor mounted on four wheels, and having, like the windlasses, an apparatus by which it warps itself forward, and keeps the hemp-rope taut as the length out varies with the progress of the work. The windlasses have each a self-acting clutch, which stops the implement when any obstruction is encountered, and by which the attendants stop it at the turnings, or when otherwise necessary, with out in any case requiring to stop the engine. By these arrangements the engine-driver does not require to have the implement in sight, his duty being merely to drive his engine at a uniform speed, as neither stopping nor revers ing are required. The advantages claimed for Fisken s tackle are those which it has in common with the other Roundabout systems, and, in addition, the use of a light hemp rope to convey power from engine to implement with less friction and cost than in other systems; great adapta bility to fields of any size, or shape, or inequality of surface ; and a capacity in certain circumstances of being worked by a fixed steam-engine or water power. The Royal Agricultural Society of England has from the first devoted much attention and large funds to the promo tion of steam cultivation, by the prizes offered at its annual shows, and by the reports published in its Journal from year to year. In the prolonged trial of steam-ploughs which took place at Leeds in July 1861 under its auspices, the competi tion was mainly betwixt Fowler s and the modification, by Howard, of what is popularly known as Smith s system. The award of the judges was as follows: &quot; The 100 prize offered for the most economical application of steam power to the cultivation of the soil, was awarded to Mr Fowler for his 12-horse power engine, moving anchor age, and plough; and of the 100 offered for the most economical application of the ordinary thrashing-engine of the farm to steam cultivation, 75 was given to Mr Fowler, and 25 to Mr Howard. Besides these a silver medal is given to Mr Hayes, for his clever windlass for the same purpose ; and the same to Mr Roby for his combined engine and windlass.&quot; During the summer and autumn of 1861, Mr ,T. C. Morton, editor of the Agricultural Gazette, personally in spected the farms of many of these parties, and published from time to time in that paper detailed accounts of his own observations and of the information supplied to him in regard to each case. In his New Farmer s Almanac for 1862, he condensed these reports, and from it we give the following extracts : &quot; Little Woodcote Farm lies a tract of open country and light calcareous soil of various depth upon the chalk, about a mile from the Carshalton station on the London and Epsom railway. Mr Arnot has had Fowler s 10-horse power steam-engine and ploughing apparatus since the harvest of 1859. His apparatus, rope,and enginecost700. He works a three-furrow plough. The work done each year by the steam-plough on his 400 acre farm has thus been 393 acres in 1859-60, and 389 acres in 1860-61. It has been done at the rate of six or seven acres a day for ordinary ploughing, and three acres a day (one acre per furrow) when at the 10 and 12 -inch deep work. It may average on the whole five acres a day, including all stoppages and removals, and has thue taken close upon eighty days for its accomplishment. Besides this, however, 150 acres have been ploughed during the time for neighbours at a charge, including everything, of 12s. an acre. The engine is also used for thrashing purposes, and 220 acres at home and 250 acres elsewhere are thus thrashed out for hire. &quot; The cost of repairs has been uncommonly small in cluding a new cog-wheel, repacking cylinders, and athorough overhaul and cleaning of the whole apparatus at the end of two years besides the replacement of shares and sharpening of coulters for the plough, and the gradual wearing of the rope-porters. In all it has not nearly reached 10 a year, at which, nevertheless, we put it. The tear and wear of rope is reported as follows : A new 400-yard rope, lately bought, costing 35, has made the stock stronger and better than it was at the beginning. This charge may therefore be put against more than two years work, and is equal to about 1 5 a year. The weekly cost of labour when at work is as follows : Engineer, 18s. ; ploughman, 14s. ; anchor lad, 9s. ; two porter lads, 6s. each ; horse and water cart, about 24s. weekly in all, 3, 17s. weekly, or as nearly as possible 12s. a day. The cost for oil is Is. a day, and for fuel, at nine or ten cwt. a day, it may be put at 10s. daily. The charge for depreciation at 10 per cent is 70 a year, and for interest of capital 35 a year. The whole annual cost may thus be estimated : Labour, 80 days .... .48 Fuel and oil .... 44 Repairs and rope ... 25 Depreciation and interest of capital. 10? Total 222 &quot;But 500 acres of thrashing, and 70 or 80 acres perannum of steam ploughing for hire, equal in all to at least forty days work per annum, are also done by this engine. And the profits of this work should be deducted from this sum before Mr Arnot s experience of his investment can be accurately described. The sum of 222, at which, if there had been no other use for engine and apparatus, his cost must have been estimated, is equal to 11s. per acre over the work accomplished, much of which, however, was 1 2 inches deep. But if the proper share of the interest and depreciation of capital be charged upon its work elsewhere for hire, the cost of steam ploughing will not exceed 190, or 10s. 6d. an acre. But Mr Arnot would contend that the engine is not 30 worse than when he purchased it two years ago ; and one-half of this, with interest of capital, will amount to 50, two-thirds only of which should be charged against the plough-work ; aud 1 50- would thus appear to be the annual cost of ploughing 400 acres, or 7s. 6d. an acre. In fact, he might very well claim that this sum should be still further reduced by all the profit of his hire elsewhere, which can hardly be put at less than 20s. a day, and this on forty days per annum will amount to 40 or more ; so that the net cost to him of his machinery has not been more than 110 a year, or 5s. 6d. an acre over his ploughing. &quot; What did it use to cost him when he worked thirteen horses on his farm 1 He now works six horses. His horses get 2 J Inishels of oats, and 2| trusses of hay weekly each, during seven months : 30 veelcs at lls. amount to. 1610 22 weeks on clover, &c., at 5s. . 5100 The annual food per horse costs 22 &quot; The annual charge for depreciation, farrier, blacksmith, saddler, and implements, is at least 5 per horse, and for interest of capital in horse and implements at least 2 more. This makes the annual cost of each horse 29. The wages paid, in cash and cottage, to ploughmen is at least 32 per pair, or 16 per horse, and the whole cost is thus equal to 45 per horse per annum ; which over seven horses amounts to 315 per annum one-half more than the expenditure, even on the highest estimate, upon tho