Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 1.djvu/353

Rh IMPLEMENTS.] AGRICULTURE 327 Sect ion 25. Tu rn p-Pulpers. An opinion now obtains, and is on the increase, that it is advantageous to rasp roots into minute fragments and mix them with chaff before giving them to cattle, as this not only facilitates mastication, but in wintry weather prevents the chilling effects of a bellyful of such watery food as turnips are when eaten alone. This system is peculiarly appropriate when it is desired to give a few roots to store cattle which are being fed mainly upon straw or coarse hay. When a few turnips or mangolds are put down in their natural state there is a scramble for the better food, in which the stronger cattle get more than their share, and the weaker are knocked about. But by pulping the roots and mixing them with a full allowance of chaff, every animal gets its fill, and there is nothing to quarrel about. At the Carlisle meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society a premium was offered for machines to perform this kind of work, under the somewhat inappropriate designation of &quot;pulping-machines.&quot; The prize was awarded to Mr Philips for his machine, which reduces roots to minute fragments by means of a series of circular saws. We learn from parties who have made trial of most of the machines of this class yet brought out, that they give the preference to that made by Bentall of Maldon in Sussex. Section 26. Steaming Apparatus for Cooking Cattle Food. We have several times alluded to the cooking of food for cattle. This is performed either by boiling in a common pot, by steaming in a close vessel, or by infusion in boiling water. Varieties of apparatus are in use for these purposes. A convenient one is a close boiler, with a cistern over it, from which it supplies itself with cold water by a self- acting stop-cock. This is alike suitable for cooking either by steaming or infusing. Section 27. Weighing-Machines. It is of course indispensable for every farm to be provided with beam and scales, or other apparatus, for ascertaining the weight of grain, wool, and other com modities, in quantities varying from 1 Ib. to 3 cwt. But, besides this, it is very desirable to have a machine by which not only turnips, hay, manures, &c., can be weighed in cart-loads, but by which also the live weight of pigs, sheep, and bullocks can be ascertained. Such a machine, conveniently placed in the homestead, enables the farmer to check the weighing of purchased manure, linseed-cake, coal, and similar commodities, with great facility. It affords the means of conducting various experiments for ascertaining the comparative productiveness of crops, the quantities of food consumed by cattle, and their periodic progress, with readiness and precision. To persons unable to estimate the weight of cattle by the eye readily and accurately, such a machine is invaluable. Section 28. Concluding Remarks on Implements. We have thus enumerated, and briefly described, those machines and implements of agriculture which may be held to be indispensable, if the soil is to be cultivated to the best advantage. The list does not profess to be complete ; but enough is given to indicate the progress which has recently taken place in this department. We have already referred to this department of the proceedings of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, and would earnestly recommend to all engaged in agriculture the careful study of the reports on implements contained in the ninth and subsequent volumes of their Journal. The care with which they have selected their judges, and the skilful manner in which those entrusted with the difficult and responsible office have discharged their duties, are truly admirable. A few extracts from these reports will serve to show the extent and value of this department of the Society s labours. In the report for 1849, Mr Thomson of Moat-Hall says &quot; The Society s early shows of implements must be viewed chiefly in the light of bazaars or expositions. Neithei stewards nor judges had yet acquired the experience requisite for the adequate discharge of their office, so that such men as Messrs Garrett, Hornsby, Ransome, and a few others, would have laughed in their sleeves had they been told that they could learn anything in the Society s show- yard. In spite, however, of a creditable display on the part of a few leading firms, the majority of the implements exhibited at these early shows were of inferior construction and workmanship, and the general appearance of the exhibitions meagre and unsatisfactory. &quot; The attention of some of the leading members of the Society (especially of the late lamented Mr Handley) was earnestly directed to the improvement of this department, and they soon perceived that little was gained by collecting implements in a show-yard for people to gaze at, unless an adequate trial could be made of their respective merits. To attain this end great exertions were made, and every improvement in the mode of trial was followed by so marked an increase in the number and merit of the imple ments brought forward at subseqxient shows, as to prove the strongest incentive to further effort. &quot; At the Cambridge and Liverpool meetings, when these trials were in their infancy, their main attraction consisted of ploughing-matches on a large scale, which gratified sight seers, but gave no results that could be depended upon, and therefore disappointed all practical men. It would occupy time unnecessarily to trace the gradual changes which have led to the discontinuance of these showy exhi bitions, and the substitution in their place of quiet, business-like trials, in the presence of stewards and judges alone. Suffice it to say, that what they have lost in dis play, they have gained in efficiency, and consequently in favour with those classes for whose benefit they were de signed. At the York meeting, the improved mode of trying the thrashing-machines supplied a deficiency which, until that time, had been much felt, viz., the absence of any means of ascertaining the amount of power expended in working the machines under trial ; and it may now be asserted, with some confidence, that, with the exception of an occasional error or accident, the best implements are uniformly selected for prizes. &quot; It now remains to answer the question proposed for consideration, viz., to what extent the great improvement made of late in agricultural implements is due to the exertions of this Society ; and with this view a tabular statement is subjoined, which shows the relative extent and importance of the Society s two first and two last shows of implements : No. of Awards. Exhibitors. Money. Medals. 1830 Oxford 23 5 4 1840 Cambridge .36 7 1848 York. .146 230 21 1849 Norwich. . 145 364 13 &quot; From this it will be seen that at Cambridge, where the trial of implements was confined to one day, and was, in other respects, so immature as to be of little practical value, the number of exhibitors was only thirty-six, and the judges, in whom a certain discretionary power was vested, awarded no money and but seven medals, in consequence of the scarcity of objects deserving of reward ; whilst at York, eight years after, when trials lasted several days, and had attained a considerable degree of perfection, the number of exhibitors had increased four-fold. The additional amount offered in prizes at the later meetings has undoubtedly assisted in creating this great increase of competition, but it cannot be considered the principal cause, since the impl^ 1 -