IMAGl EVALUATION
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Technical and Bibliographic Notes / Notes techniques et bibliographiques
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A FEW REMARKS
ON
PLOUGHING AND PULVERIZING
BY
STEAM POWER.
TO WHICH ARE ADDED TWO ESSAYS ON THE SAME SUBJECT. ^
#BY ^_-
C. W. HOSKYNS, B. A., LONDON,
MSMBER or THE ROTAL AORICITLTURAL SOCIKTT. J
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vation, is
tific worl
a numbe]
no great ]
principal]
mical wi
cultivatio
the farme
would bl
some tim
aiders wi
combinin
practicab
steam po
fromdifie
bjp^%hich
ment has
The fir
descripti(
Illustratet
** As yoi
Flongh of ]
be infonno
norel and <
of examinii
with his L(
your readei
centre of tb
Ob which a
whioh weit
theensine
hocaei^two
Bteiinpowi
<<Inth6
each end ol
are made d
field, 80 thi
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FEW REMARKS
On Ploughing and Pulverizing by Steam Power, To which are
added Two Essays on the same subjecty by C. W. Hoskynfy
London, Member of the Royal Agriculiural Society.
The ^cient application of steam power to purposes of culti-
vation, is a subject which has for some time occupied- the scien-
tific world. Several experiments have already been made, and
a number of patents taken out for original inventions, but as yet
no great measure of success has attended these attempts, owing
principally to tfa&failure of the inventors to combine the econo-
mical with the useM. Intent only on the oiie subject of steam
cultivation they appear to have foi^otten the circumstances of
the farmer, and the necessity for making such an instrument as
would be within the reach of all. The undersigned has for
some time been engaged ia perfecting a machine, which he con-
siders will prove more successful than any heretofore attempted,
combining as it does the advantages of cheapness with entire
practicability. Deeming it expedient to trace the progress of
steam power, as applied to purposes of cultivation, a few extracts
from different Agricultural and Scientific Journals are submitted,
b/^hich it will be seen, that as yet no really piacticable instru-
ment has been invei^nted. '
The first is " Lord Willoughby D'Eresby's steam plough," a
description of which is given in the following letter in the
Illustrated London News, Jme, 4, 1852.
** As you have already poblished (p^ 286, toI. XVI) a notice of the Steam
Flopgh of Lord Willoughby d'Eresby. it njay be interesting to your readen to
be infonned of the proeress which has been made in the adaptation of such a
norel and difficult application of steam power. Having had the opportuoity
of examiniuff the working of the Steam Plough at Grimsthorpe, I am enabled,
with his Lordship's permission, to lay the result cf my obserrations before
your readers. In the early trials a portable steam-engine was applied in the
centre of the field, and its motion conveyed to a capstan fixed on the ground,
Ob which a rope was eoUed. To each of this rope ploughr^ere' attached,
which Were drawn alternately towards the engine by steam power, and from
the eneine towards the hedge by horses. To dispense entirely with the
hoiSM^two capstans were next employed, one at each end of the field, and
the H^ were endless, so that the ploughs were moved in both directions by
ateim power.
** In the present improved
^ Jient two engines are employed, one at
each end of the field, the cwstans being attached to the engines. The plougha
ate made donblenended, and are drawn alternatively by eaon engine afongthe
field, 80 that, whilst the rope is being wound upon the capstan of one engine^
H '* ***''y JPyypP'yt yffjthe capst nH nf thw nthAi-^ ^nA rifM veraa. Baah engine^
M^ ia al^naJtely idle, Is moved along a temporary tramway, formed oi planks
laid along the side uf the hedge. To prevent the rope dragging in th^ rarrow
six wmJI wooden frames are dropped into the fuirow, andprovided with rol->
'len over whieh &e rope roos. Two ploughs aie arranged together, each
V
1,,.-
^'ip.t' -tSi ti*t..
^:
taming a trntm of ninei inches. With a field 180 yards long between the
engines, the ploughing of each furrow 18 inches wide occupies 2^ minutes,'
ttt« ploughs moving ^ rather less than 2| miles per hour. Allowing for the
time lost in shifting the plough, this giTes.,4 acres per day at the present slow
qpeed, which I see no difficulty in increasi'ilx to 4 miles per hour, when the
men, who are only agricultural labourers, sluQI have acquired greater dexterity
in managing the engines and ploughs.
" To produce this resolt, there are required two men to drire engines, four
to shift plooghs and engines, one to hold plough, and three boys at trupks,
and 7) owt. of cokie. Taking the wages of men and boys at 128. per day,an4
the coke at 88. or -total 208. .the cost per acre will be 58. which is about one-
half Uie cost of ploughing by horse-power, with the advantage of doing it in
half the time. In estimating, however, the pecuniary advantages of steam-
ploncning, it most be viewed in connexion with a general system of farm
inarininety.f*
It requires but little penetration to see that this plan can never
become general. The^jgpreat cost of such a machine, combining
two locomotives, and several ploughs, its cumbersom character,
and the nimiber of persons required to attend it, put it effectually
beyond the reach, at leiSi^t of the American or Canadian farmer.
The next inv^tioQ is " Usher's Rotary Steam Plough," a
drawing and description of which we find in the Scientific
American of the 5th Jiine, 1852. In this machine there are five
acting ploughs. Each plough, to act continuously.^ has three
mould boards and coulters on its axis, the one taking kito the
soil as the preceding one is rising out. The whole five pidughs
are on one strong rotary shaft. On the carriage is placed
locomotive boiler with its cylinders ; the power of the engine
is applied through rods to the crank shaft, which is supported in
standards. On the shaft, there is a spur pinion ; this pinion, by
taking into the teeth of the wheel which is mounted on a shaft,
gives motion to the pinion on the same shaft. This pinion takes
into the cog Wheel, and gives action to the wheels of the carriage,
thus moving the plough by a rotary progressive motion. The
pinion ifS)Xiado#o as to be thrown out of gear with the driving
wheel. Another pinion which is on' the shaft which is set in
bearings to the moveable firame, is driven by a large c6g wheel.
On the shaft, are secured a series of plates, which are formed in
such a maimer as to have affixed several ploughs to them. Each
i« formed with a strong hop at the centre, by which it is securely
fixed to the shaft. Each pJate has three projectors, which termi-
nate radially. Upon the plates and projections, thus shown, the
tilling pents are secured. The mould-boards for turning the fur-
rows are secured by screw bolts to the projectoA of the plates.
Plough points or shails are attached by bolts to the extremities
of the mould boards. ,A coulter is also set before each plough
point, which are moved in a rotary direction.
=3%^Mbwing as^ thft remarks of the 1SditOTcrf*4he S dm t^ fic
1
American upon this plough : —
** This rotary steam plow shows at once the sreat difference between the
farmen in Britain and our agriculturists. This plow weighs five tons, and the
\€
engines ai
three, or t^
of three fe(
earth ; it n
hour, plow
It requires
be introduc
our farmer
subservien
good bints
extensivel;
oiallyinth
be thrown
belt, to dri
Anothi
applying
secured t
and Agri
machine,
appendec
» Anoth<
b^ which
efiibient ap
refer to the
yention wh
it Afran
pver the su
lonj
way,
and, not to
^ongh. T
than anjrth
Magazine,!
framework-
chine, the o
equidistant!
row. Thes
tionofthei
form, whid
selves forwi
fineness tha
nios'Masa:
work, wiUi I
of 8 inches i
The reason
is that the i
of their pase
each side ol
varieties, in
ing spindles
the nature o
completely «
fra« passage
bottom (tfUu
/'
mg between tho
[>ies 2^ minutes,'
\llowing for the
the present slow
hour, when the
greater dexterity
ire engines, four
a boys at tnu:ks,
128. per dayian4
ich is about one-
tfi of doing it in
itages of steam-
1 system of farm
Ian can never
le, combining
om character,
t it effectually
adian farmer.
1 Plough," a
the Scientific
there are five
ily, has three
Lkihg into the
s five plbu^s
is placed tm
of the engine
J supported in
his pmion, by
ed on a shaft,
s pinion takes
f the carriage,
motion. The
th the driving
hich is set in
ge cdg wheel,
are formed in
them. Each
. it is securely
which termi-
us shown, the
iming the fur>
of the plates,
le extremities
each plough
'^^Scieatific
tice between the
five tons, and the
f
engmes are nominally ten horse-power; it can be worked with five. four,
three, or two plows. When worked with four plows, it turned over a breadth '
ot three feet at once, and stirred the ground so as to make it resemble spaded
earth ; »t moves at a good pace, being no less a velocity than 2,560 yards per
hour, plowmg about six acred in one'day. The price of it was £400, or $1 465
It requires an engineer and two laborers to attend it. Such a plow will not
be introduced into America; it is too large and expensive, but it will show
our tanners what is domg in sdme other parts of the world to make steam power
aubseryient to man m tUling the earth. It will, nd doubt, also afford many
good hmts to some of pur inventors, for steam power will y^t be employed more
iSu^'^'iF ^^*«"«"ltg«J Pafposes in our country than it is at present, espe-
cially mthe West and South-W'^st regions. This plow, when not tilling, Sm
be thrown out of gear with the engine, which can then beinade, bypuUeyand
oelt, to drive a threshmg machine and many other machines."
Another invention has been perfected by Mr. D. S. Brown for
applying steam to the purposes of cultivation, and a patent was
scOTred to him on the 3rd April, 1852. The Gardner's Chronicle
and Agrtculturcd (Gazette of London, gives a description of this
machine, whicb, with the reit»arks of the Editor, is hereto
--"^nded:— ^.
Cfardener^a Chronicle, London, May 1, 1852.
V '*! ^^^ competitor has appeared for the prize, for so it will undoubtedly
bwjyhich 1* to be the lot of him who shall first succeed in the cheap and
efficient applicauon of steam-power to culti^tion. We shall at present merely
refer to the fact that a patent has been taken 8ut, and shorUy describe the in-
vention which IS thus secured to Mr. D. S. Brown, whose ingenuity has designed
It A framework, carrying a S-horse power steam-engine is drawn by horses
over Ae surface of theland to be tilled ; it is about 10 feet wide, and perhaps
ZWMt long: the weight of ^e whole wjll not exceed atons, to draw which
torn fiOWHM will be amply sufficient, especially as the stean* power outsits ovra
way, and tha^orses have only to draw the weight of the machine and engine,
and, not toforc>theoutter8 through the earth as they ^o the coulter of the
^^ JX^^ cuttStMEpear to be more like large bbring or drilling tools
tBan anything else. In^lhe drawings given with t^e description m the .
Magazme, there are two sets repMMnted as placed across the length of tUjti
framework--across the direction of i^MiQn : one set in/the front part of the tnWm -
chine, the other across the hinder part of^e framework. They are placed f
eqmdistanUy, and the tools of the hinder setl>«ttk in the intervals of the front
?"'• ,^"ese tools Me spindles, inclmeddownwiids, but pointing in the direc-
tion of the machine's motion and being armed wi& ^bits," of any desired
form, which, revolving, and at the same time, we imakine, screwing them-
selves forward, efleclually overtum the soil and comminiite it to any deeree of
fineness that may be deeined, desirable. The correspondpnt of the " JJecha-
nics'Magaane^ says, "The width of soil which the reVolving cutters can
work, with S-horse power enffine, will be 10 feet at the time ; for 15 cutters
of 8 mohes m diameter and 15 cutters of 6 inches in diai^ter equal 10 feet.
• ^ fwwn .why the forward cutters are made smaller than\the hinder cuttera
IS that the forwaid ones enter and cut the earth with solid isarth on each side
u I/""??®'. "* ^ •'*°***' ®™* *^* ^® '^^^^ •»"*» with W loose earth on
eacft side of their Mth, and consequentiy they can work easilsr. Cutters of aU
yanetie^ m pomt of shape and size, can be fitted into the sdcketsof the revolv-
ing spmdles. The work done will necessarily vary with thelort of power and
tte nature of the soil, Mxt js HnportantloiibBervethat whate^r Ud^ is doie ^=
Btoncf^BO second plonghin^r any harrowing Is needed, fer the earth is
completely cut up and pulverised by the cutters, so as to admiUt once of the
w JI?!?S? 1 •"' "»^ «»«»' Ae» Ming no hardened robrtratuA, left at the
oottom M the limow, as m ordinary ploughing, to hold the water." |t appears
6
to m that thU maoWne will not leave the land in so perfectly fit a state for the
seed aa this extract asserts. The first row of cutters would dnU out circular
grooves or funows in the hard lands throwing the comminuted soil on the
mtervals of hard land ; the second row would nndermme these : but eten
sanposinir that ito tools so overlapped the former row as to entirely disintegrate
the whole soil to the desired depth, it would, we conceiye, leave the now
thoroughly comminuted soil in ridge and furrow corresponding in width to tbe
intervS* between the tools— a very desirable state no doubt for some oiope,
but undesirable for others."
In all th<fte inventions, it will be observed that the idea of the
Plough is retained ; this appears to have been the rock upon
which iif^entors have been heretofore wrecked. As will be seen
by the following articles, this idea must be relinquished before
success can be attained. It is well remarked that the idea is
*i fundamentally erroneous to attempt to combine steam Machme-
ly with the Plough," and the similes of " retaining the form of
the hand flail in the threshing Machine, or that of the oar in thd
Steam Ship, or of putting the piston rod to work at the lever
end of the pump handle " are not more than the circumstan^s
of the case warrant, and are not in the least offerdrawn. The
Machine which is now submitted at once throws aside all idea
of the Plough. It' is a cylinder with spades or picks fastened to
it, revolving at almost any speed that may be deemed neces-
sary, and^ven by a Steam Engine, the whole being drawn
along by Horses. This has been thought more convenient, than
attempting to make the Instrument propel itself. Every farmer
is obliged to keep Horses on his farm, and it therefore becomes
a matter of no extra expense to employ them in drawing over the
ground, the Steam Pulverizer ; whereas to have dispensed with
the Horses, the Machine would necessarily have been much more
expensive, as the power employed must needs have been greater
and the Instrument itself would have been much more compli-
cated. A Machine for Sowing is attaphed to the Instrument, by
which means the seed is deposited in the earth at the same ope-
ration, and is covered in by a sectional Cylinder or Roller fastened*
behind.
The Machine will perform the work heretofore performed by
the Plough, Subsoil Plough, Harrow and Sowing Machine atone
operation and in m^ich less time than is occupied at present
By a very moderate calculation it will prepare the ground and sow
the seed in six acres of land per day, while according to the old
process it would take a day and a half for a single acre and the
work imperfectly done: thus the proposed Instrument will do
nine acres in the time that is now occupied in doing one. Another
great advantage to be obtwned by the introduction of this Machine,
will be the avoiding of the well known prejudicial effects of the
^.^Plon^shdie^wthe subsoiL JMr. Hqs^bb well jre marks that the
Plough has « the sentence of death written upon it, for its tyran-
ny to the bubsoil which bears the whole buiden and injury of its
laboiious blnnderinig path."
Late for the
lat oircnlar
soil on the
; but eten
lurintegrate
■e the now
ridth to the
Kuneoiop*,,
lea of the
3ck upon
11 be seen
id before
e idea is
Machine-
e fonn of
)ar in thd
the lever
imstanceg
wn. The
e all idea
istened to
ed neces-
ig drawn
ienj, than
ly farmer
becomes
g over the
nsed with
luch more
en greater
e 6ompli-
ument, by
Bsone ope-
tr fastened'
brmed by
line at one
.t present.
1 and sow
to the old
te and the
nt will do
Another
3 Machine,
ects of the
ks that the
ritstjjTran-
ajury of its
le«. expenwTand with less troubli STaT^reMnf '^ ^
flT '^"'mT'*' ™"''' «■'<'«' he difference sTmliiater as^e
ea«h would be more tton^ghljt comminuted by TC'b? Z
Hoakym «, much desires, ftflXtor flatie JSfi^'f J*'"
many new inventioiahd apphWs W ^^3^T "
ROBERT ROMAINE.
Mb. HosKTirs says :
JwMn ™.^.j wjui m^ piow. And 1
in the application of steam to tSrSK .ffiP^l® P?**™" ''^ be made
Baid bel^*e, that plo^nS" a mire coKS?*^'*- i^-'^'^** ''^a* ' ^a^o
Horse worlf is horizonSl" tthintte'dS?. """^ " P^'PendicoIar.
thSrSiSpjJ'tL^TSetM^^ ';??^ "^ ^« ^«>d aul « Ae
i«l to wSrk at t Aver end of a p^^hln^S "fe V t^"^ *^« P'»»««
attempts weft, aU madein 5iS dSKvLnlt^y^^^ ^"^
m turn that ^'^^ wver^i loventDn had come to see
" ' Tis good to be 0/ trdft tt« oH toiw
wfore ye beon^yirtfefrfagy^ Mt . , .
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s
8
dreimU- He i. • r««il«IK»»«l,. •» '^^„"3,°JL"„, „„ th< Mil into • ••f')^'
oenfury shall have P^^ "^^^h be oJt up iift6 fine tilth a« on. operftm,
Aould not a rtrip, or lair, dfearth be^out ^P '" j^^,, „^ ent. •. P^^ak mto
rand sown and covered in, too,) aa e"'*? •■ j_,„ te wind up a rone,
" Srdrr, A. to employing a rteainen|beto^inj a dre^ J ^
S drag a plow, to turn up ^^'^ZAhmoJ!, iufflenj rollers/and clod
• LwLeSt to' all the a°f ^V^^ wXriXvatioS, it remind, oneof
T^-v--. *^An mtmlementally the reai^^onm *»u ,^ . j^_
« the bouae that Jack built." ,J;*»«^",rat a task so utterly atvanance with,
pectable bjleH^i"SSf^i^S^'o^Len' ^ ^ ^^*
raEiStT^Xcsofth..teaniengi« ^ ^
^ «I 2 I may he forgiven for - ^^J .^^.l^'^^^^e] even if
of one useful shilling ^'''iJ^'^J''jTi^it!^,>Bfi> do%orse work ma
sncci^ul, of harnessing •^»°' ,r^A J^^^ed work it is i«t tq^om-
hnni^wav : the implement itself, ^°?",r^"^„ ^non it. (be it as ancient
tialbiW^' y? •* '' S, ^StfS-d^ to the -uhspil, whi^
StMiB tainted ^TJ "th„ .ff SWkaSST w^ tEe we.ght.of sort
STbmised and hardened by the "^'^^JT^ cleavage, fmd the weight of
^ UlSirfat that of the force required *» effect tneciea^^^ than thi», ^
■ « Why flien should we rtmggle for ^^^^^^^SL^ "pffifS^get
^^ThB tnie object is ^toperpemate ^^^^ J^the clod, to
ridSit. Why poke an '^^'^K^^'^SJ SSrumenU to of « »9«»»i todmg
tear it up in a lump by main fo'^*/"."^'"?: J^eroui attempts at cnltivaUon
e^n^ revolutions. Wkmd ^h^^J^X^laH a hilf wide, throwing
;S^ into X semioucnlar t«f«^ *J?;l^^the feet of* dog ■oratohing
SSkAe pulverised soU (just as ^^^^^i^SJ^^ing forward on.tlw ha^
ground with adow and eq™*!* Jf JJJ^'^n Aie wfee, or ^id •«'fl«^
KSpoi-t^Cc^ ^r^^l^cFS^&eti^^Si"^^^^^
SmStS ftudtiaoes, and capable "S/^^Sy granulated andpreciaefy
^Sg" ways/onwrd '«dle»'^*'^^SS S^t inches deep., nej^
KSS, hl& "^^IT^'C^SJ Sa^iijtSS except Ae^dnll^fiio^
iJ^&ScrSSiffilSUSdwiihalightbn^
^» ^ e ed^^ 4^^-^ -.. _x.^Jbairfa<car 1 Be caaflft^ittJKilf^
l<K. •
•r
A
9
m beUef , U
ntoperaiionf
aphnkint*
ad'op * ***?•»
e for »n altar
Brs.'^and ol«)d
iminds one of
t)s of any rer-
variance with,
le eoonomioSf
■qrryto think
aible, even it
,ne work in a
patt%;fCoom-
te it as anpient
tie bniden and
■ — ^
dtivation; bnt
subaoil, wWon
B weigbt of loil
d the weight of
t than'this, this
I, that the plow
tub-toiler iBtL
new dynasty of
poosible, to got
Oder the olod, to
ift vpon. toiling
Hb at cultivation
svolving-tootllod
^e, of CroaskiU's
rftoR in the moat
,) performing *»-"
downbyauriaoe'
tf wide, throwing
a dog scratching
ward on the hard-
Ivor behind, wMi
or land side of the
neorfineenmng,
itedandpraoisely
Qohesdeq?,**"^
edriU, which had
Bhhawowtoo<Kw
^^ecsBaei&h<|h^
jg during the back
Sal,butnottothi»
1 applied to tiUth*
Ik*
earth, it wiU antiguftte every inrtuiment that aUtivatet btf frqdum, because
traction 18 not onl/.urmecessary to (jultivation, buM* inherently mischievous
on othejr grounds, apart from the clumsinesa, inaccuracy, and incohipleieness
of the work i( tiifms out. ' *^ .
«* But the sloiies! There is much fear expressed for the teeth of the circu-
lar cuttinK implement I have described, when they come in contact with
atones. Ihe obiebtion would have bcten equally valid, at first sighk asainst
the use of the pfqw or the scuffler. Let me see the instrument in uae where
there ore tto «ton^»— (and there are plenty of broad acres in England of this
ola«8>-and i|/will not be long before it get^ npon^ the others, ff it cost five
pounds an^rfelo clear them out, it must be done, and would in such case '
well pay to do it. But the truth is, thatvthe i^islrumeht itself suggests the kind
of rnachme, which, with a little adaptation, (greater power and slowed motion,)
might perform this .preliminary serviceat the least expense. If land is to be
like a garden in one respect^' I see nd good reason why it should not in alL I "
do not think stonea will /stand long in the va* of steam, nor be readily pte--
ferred to bread ; it^herethere happen >o m^ume, a steam-driven cultivator
can be brodgfit to bfear,,^ich, after the simple and beautiful example of the
mole^ sliall play out the lonff comedy of oar present field cultivation in o emgU
act, present a finely granulated seed bed by 4 siiigle process, almost at the
Hour required, and trammel up the long summer fallow into the labor of a day.
with an accuracy as perfect as thrfluming of a lathe, and an aeraUon, rand
consequent oxygenation,) of the soil as diffusive and minute as that of a soS-
terred nuKle heap, or the dust flying from a steam-saw bfinch.
"Implement makers and mechanicians would not be long in understanding
^lUiis, if ttey were not under the supposition, received at second handby
them, and therefore the more diflicult to eradicate; that plowing is a'necessarv
foraa of cultivation fo be kept in view. Once let them be m^e fully to per-
ceive that plowing is merelv the first of a long jbries of meana towards the ao-
oomplisbment of a particular end, that end being the production of a seedbed
of Buitoble depth and texture, and with the soil as nearly as possible inverted
in Its bed— and I do not think Aey will be long setting Oie steam engine .
about Its proper task, m the proper way. Jut their atMon is distracted at
present, fromJthe end to the means. They are taught to think-that thedlow
wasmequa non— that steam cultivation of necessity implies steam plowinir
and they are led to give up the task in despair, because" they ai» at fl^t upwJ
a false scent • ^ ■ — ^ *^
« We have many roHiny inoplembnts employed in' the field, but we have
only one of a revolving uniflement. The clod crusher and the Norwegian
barrow rotf, the hay-tedding machine, (oha of the best instruments ever in-
vented,) revolves: ^l use the words arbitrarily, but the difference I allude to is
very important; The first are liable to the evU of cfogging ; because they
derive their axis motion from ihe$oa aa they pass over and press upon it.
Ihis action must not be confounded with that of a machine which hat Ui
caute of revolution imthm itself, independent, and acting upon the soil as a
circular saw acts upon a board, or the paddle wheel ^f a steamer, upon the «
water. The teeth of a saw clear themselves, . by the dentrifugal motion they
oommuiucale to the particles they have detached from the substance they act
upon. A circular cultivator, steam driven, will do the same, for I havrf'proved
ir. It does so more effectually according to the speed, (of revolution,) and the
state of moisture of the soil. This last incident is as it should be ; for it is not
desirable that a cla^ 8(h1 should bo deah with when in an improper stalfrfor
cumvation ; and one great advantage of sud^ an instrument as I point to would
be thatjjt would so greatly enlarge the choice of a suitable period, by its com-
pendious accomphAment of the whole work of. culture^-A Ckirdeiur*s
f^htomde, London, .hnuary,185l. - ^ w.«»»i«r.
I -«y^' ^ *°"i? ^^^I? .^»7> and by some pen not yet dot of straight strokes
and pothooks, there shall be written, for the edification of tiie^cultnral
pubUc, an historical sketch of the ' Rise and Progress of Stbam CvuitatioV
v^
ffif
10 ■
It U to be f^tfed Uiat aomo of the refleotions will not be of the mort ^I^
mentary kind to the genius or the faith of the generation that witneB»d the
Great Exhibition of 1861,— that embraced nearly in one experience the
development of Steam Navigation, of the BaUroad ayBtem, the Electric
Telegraph, and other kindred appUances in the many-path field of pracUcal
science.'
*It was strange,* we may suppose our ibture annalist to write, ' that amidst
the blaze ot surrounding discovery in the arts that eooriomlze the labour and
advance the condition of man, an application of steaim-power that muM^surely
have pressed' with such powerlhl motive and exigency on a period when an
extensive change of oommeroial policy seemed especially to evoke the
mechanical resources of the kingdom, by way of sett-off to its often urged dis-
advantaces in climate and in fiscal burthens,— should have been long regarded
rather with the apathy evinced towards the cobweb speculaUons ol dreaming
enthhsiasm, than dealt with as fi practical question by practical minds.
While zealous agrioolturists were eloquently excited once a year over the
weiffht of an ox, or the twist of an improved mould-board, 'Scienctf, was
satined, and ' Practice 'seemed to tread on the heels of perfeetion. Under
such patronage, * Improvemepts' in the established implemente of tillage, ,
were of course as numerous as the moiety of 20 acres of ground could con-
veniently accommodate for annual Exhibition. A revolution impending over
T^iaae ttaelf was of course the last thing d teamt of i It is ever so. True, a few
black funnels might be seen smoking in the show yard, and the whirring drum
of the steam-driven Threshing-machine had, thanks to the previoua invenUon
of a certain Scotch lawyer, made the agrestial mind forget to expect, or its
prizes to stimulate, unprovpments in the Flail. But the principal and tune-
Lnouredactof agricdtuie proper, ofcutt«tw<toiritself--<till laboured under
its ancient tribs ^horw-adapted implements. The Plouah and the Harrow
werestiU in the ascendant; the instruments of equipe-tillage were sUU re-
ceived as its essential agents; and people who would have smiled at the
mechanical curiosity of a Sieam-FlaU, gnivel/ anticipated the day when
some such combination would be triumphanUy achieved for the darling tool
whose Heaven-invoked 'speed* had long supplied the toast and figure-head of
Agricultural Prosperity^
< Yet it can hardly be wondered at,* onr aggravating Critic will continue,
« that man should have slowly and with such diffioulty eradicated from their
minds a mode of tiUaget so long compelled by the very natnre and necessity
of animal-power; every child that has wept and smiled over the « Death of
Cock-tobin * koowe when be hears
"Who'll toll the belli
< 1' says the Bull,
< 'Because I can ptM,"* ' ,
that Mr. Btdl w«i goUty of a pun; that the *puU» of a quadruped is only
horiKOtOal; that his strength can be applied in no other way; and that when
vou employ a four-footed beast to culuvate the soil you have no choice leftbut
horizonUd traction, from one end of the field to the other; a mode of action
. which oommenoed when the spade wa» abandoned in field-culture for the
plough, and ^^ch was to continue so long as hoise-power tillage conunued;
, andno longer: since it formed (as the spade had already shown) no necessary
element « cultivation, «»d had no relevance whatever with the acuon or
capabilities of the Steam-engine.
« Steam-powet having however been hitherto chiefly employed in Manufac-
taret. sad Its versatile modes of application being unfamiliar to the agricnl-
. / i_i :--j *k.» even those lew who gavea _ B eriQ.ui
thbngit to the subject, looked upon the Steam-engine rather as a piece of
oonMUtrated horse-power to be faameseed as best it might to the existing
horse-worked imi^ents, than as a New Agent, whose entiy on the scene of
aotioD enabled Urn to iwwnsfaier the whole phihMophy of Titiage, to analys*
.J
AiifiJi*.^. . - J / <? , i
.b:
■■'■>,■■
e most oompU*
: witnea^ the
Bxperisnce the
I, the Eleotrio
eld of practical
a, ' that antidst
I the labour and
hat mufit Buiely
[wriod when an
to evoke the
often urged dis-
nlong regarded
ms ot dreaming
ractical minds,
a year over the
•Science', was
feetioD. Under
lents of tillage, ,
lund could con*
impending over
r8o,Thie, a few
e whirring drum
evimu invention
to expect, or its
icipal and time-
lapoured under
and' the Harrow
re were still re-
e smiled at the
1 the day when
the darling tool
id figure-head of
ie will oonlinue,
sated fVom their
re and necessity
ir the * Death of
oadrnped is only
''; and that when
no choice lefibut
I mode of action
d-culture for the
illage continued;
wa) no necessary
ith the action or
)yed in Mannfac-
ar to the agricul-
ho gaye a serious^
ler as a piece of
t to the existing
ij on the scene of
illage, to aoalyse
the man: 4nd to shaki* hJm \.a '>®«'on»8 reversed} the auadmned w«- 25L
its inventiopX siX„e 17S± tt^'V ^^^^^r
ffio^veS rc"ui?''r ^^^'»^ -5^^^^^^^^^
that modes of tillage aJi««X «.!?!? "^'*'***'^<*° "»■ Point, when w««S!«;
action from all ho^-woAeJiSi? f "^^J «»'* -AficiSydiflSS^
more ancient cong^errhJHo2^fc°&,'" ^hose ^f^ "SlpadS^iS
Uve action of these manu J tooljL^iSo^i ^® ''?7'*''*«^ Md^ve^^^^
draught might have diSj suSted S^m '"l*^" farm-impleSurrf
j;l^^*^» « different from aff^e^ ,ffit'^ discovery of o<;&rmSn.'S
one who had ever seen a nutme? ^^ ^^^ •^®" ^ra™ e^h other. Anv
armed surface of a meater T^fL^J^ "^^J" '^to fine atoms amin.. iSI^
teeth of a circular sS^r^VJoSdtd r^™t'°*'*'^P« Ca tim"Cby fij
contemplaUdn of IbiamedumS ni^ni^"!," ^ imaginative faculty for ^
depth, might surely (one shouM n!^^ °^ commumted soil a few inSS^
generation by som^ Z^to^nT^u^?%^^''i "*'«» the «edit o?lS
Bv Steam-power, than attemStoWnfe"'" ^°' ^ effectuating of tillaS
Ploughs and Ha^rowB, ItoK a„d "^ ffl '^'^ ^"'^ VP'entiee-Wpin wS
figure as^he rude teiiia of th- ri ^®™' °' e^en the Spade wii^JTM
im!J^*heSouftMnCoua tr wa ^-yin, A„ ^--." ^
V.
^^•:^.
i *,
• •^, —
' ^ Mk
/< ^
'P i
l»
ghfbans'tm
Ak^^ and
lookJugout'Oiw^Jl^
and » •twtttt' «*— *w
and dwn "
ofooini^
aaondv*
r "^ 1
^£'i^.::s^:t^^,
».
k ^ M
V
M
» 'f-'
^luHres'on
rbe •OCOJB-
BTiUMe no
next centory,
loh apbint as
lliar wfth the
Iromafrteam-
i» the«wtiM*
SblemllaflWe
^^ We bave
■ /■ -
•..^t^M^^
•-' x
V f5
•V
^^
rf<rf.\ l,«-Li^;KS««liiS«S». 1
S,^-M^->»-'^_
i-, -.(A*--
..^