The Sun.
London, England, 1856-12-25 00:00:00

STEAM PLOUGH.

The following letter has been addressed to the Editor o
the Times :--

Sir,— Since the _Royal Agricultural Society's meeting at
Chelmsford I have quietly waited the issue of events, cul-
tivating my own farm with the application of steam power.
But now, the award of the society, other circumstances,
-and the publication of a letter in yours of yesterday signed
" J. A. C ," call upon me, I think, to speak once.
I deny entirely Mr. John.Fowler'3 claim to the first ea.
cient application of steam to the tillage of the soil, and, in
confirmation of this denial, I append the following notes
from my journal of daily occurrences, which can be sup-
ported by the letters at length :
"March 19,1853.—Date of my first patent for the trench-
ing and subsoiling plough applied to steam,
"June 26.—Tried the trenching plough, with horses, on
the clover ley.
"July 23.—Went to .Carlisle, where I met Mr. Allen
Raneome and Mr. John Fowler, who, treating my project
with some incredulity, nevertheless undertook—the former
to build rue a 7-horse power engine for 2151,, the latter to
inake nie the windlass and tackle which I described as ne-
canary, for. B`.l. each, aThiWirig 23 per cent. discount for
cash, and promising to deliver in Oc:ober.
"Oct. B.—Tackle not ready, Mr. Fowler thinking so
little of the project that he had only just been to Ipswich
to give the order to Messrs. Ransonm; he promises it in a
fortnight. _

" Opt. 13.2-Engine started from Ipswich.
" Oct. 23. Messrs. Rausorne'A receipt for the money ;
who, in answer to my inquiry about the tackle, say that
they are making some for Mr. Fowler, but do not acknow-
ledge me as giving any order.
" Nov. 7.—Mr Fowler hopes to start the tackle soon.
" Nov. 24.—Mr. Fowler states that the windlass had
been tried, but found `incomplete:
"Dec. 7.—Tackle not ready ; Mr. Fowler pleads that it
is not his fault ; promises to send a Than to assist me with
the tackle.
" Dec. 12.—Tackle sent from Messrs. Ransome's.
" Dec. 15 —Received the tackle, but no man came from
Mr. Fowler.

" Dec. 171- First trial of steam cultivation at Woolston.
Sent Hr. Fowler a cheek for 781. &Ness as a first trial
complete, though the anchors I had received from 111.. r.
Fowler were had, and required to bo substituted with
others differently constructed.
" Dec. ::B.—Mr. Fowler acknowledges the receipt of the
781., and proposes to send `a man with a steam gauge to
try a few experiments, and put me up to a few little
matters.'

" Jan. 8, 18,56.—Mr. Fowler patents his windlass for
steam ploughing.
"Jau. B.—Mr. Fowler's foreman comes down here. He
is of no service to me. My anchors had all been altered,
and the implement was in full working order, being only
obstructed by the frost. 1 allow him to make such trials
as be pleases._ _ .

"Jan. 9.—This day the modo of shifting and elevating
the plough by a pedestal moved by a screw, racket and
pinion, or other mechanism, was discussed 1.3, me and a
friend in the presence of Mr. Fowler's foreman.
"Jan. 11.—Patented the pedestal principle and turning
bow.

" Jan. 16.—Mr. Allen Ransoms came here to see me,
and rode across the land where the steam-engine and plough
had been at work, and where the engine and plough wore
now standing frost bound.
"Jan. 16.—Date of Mr. Fowler's patent for ploughs.

"Jan. 18.—Mr. Fowler's foreman. loaves.
"Jan. 21.—Mr. Fowler proposes to come down, but my
experiments had awed for a time.

"Jan. 30. —Visited the Society of Arts on the invita-
ion of ➢ir. Ransome and Mr. Fowler.

" Feb. 4.—Discovered that Mr. Fowler was taking out
patents for staam plougEs.
Feb. 19. Messrs. Ransome send me in a bill for the
tackle they had made to Mr. Fowler's ardor. See Oct. 23,
1855. They charged 1;11. 7s.
" Feb. 23.—Messrs. Ransoms, on receiving my refusal to
pay, will refer to Mr. Fowler,
" Feb.29.—Mr. Fowler sends an account amounting to
169/. ; acknowledges that he has received 781.; states that
ho is the rest out of pocket, and asks me to pay half this
deficiency.

"Marsh s.—Second visit to the Society of Arts, where
I heard Mr. RrttiB3ll3o assert, in the presence of Prince
Albert, that the honour of effecting the first stage in the
desirable object of steam tillage was due to the inventorof
the steam till-draining machine."
I might abridge this, but I prefer sending it complete.
Now, I ask, on this evidence, what claim has Mr. John
Fowler to the Royal Agricultural Society's prize ? It is
true he may he supported in the council by the presence of
Mr. Allen Ransotne ; but what delicacy of feeling does Mr.
Allen hansoms show in being present at all at a meetinfr of
the society to decide a matter in which he is known to be
a person so completely interested? Just about the same as
when he stated (at the Society of Arts on the sth-March,
1836) what he kriew to be false, that the honour of effecting
the first stage in the desiralile object of steam tillage was
due to the inventor of the steam tile-draining machine
(Mr. John Fowler). At this very time he knew that Fow-
let's plough was untried, for it was not made, and he had
seen mine frost bound, and ho had seen it work.
But enough of this. I assert distinctly that I do "tarn
over" ;he soil iu such a way as to produce 40 bushels of
wheat to the acre, oa an average, on the poorest cold clay
land ; and this at a much less cost than I can an average
crop with the common plough. lam not confined even to
tolerably level lands. I can cultivate hilly, uneven, irregu
larly ahapol fields; in fact, ail sorts and kinds of fields
whatever.

I further assert that Mr. John Fowler (in conjunction
with Mr. Allen Ransonie) has supplanted me in the matter.
I know that he in July, 1855, at Carlisle, treated my no-
tion with incredulity; but how, in Jan. 1856, could Mr.
John Fowler, in common honesty, with the evident inten-
tion of patenting an invention to supplant me, under the
pretext of putting me up to a few little matters, abuse my
hospitality and confidence by sending down his foreman to
be on my premises for ten days, to watch my operations,
and report results to him, and then come in as my main
opponent at the Royal Agricultural Society'3 meeting for
the prize at Chelmsford ? I do not boast of my hospitality,
but I do claim that, such as it is, it ought not to be abused
in such a style as this. For, without the invention discussed
at my table on the 9th Jan., and patented on the 11th, his
plough cannot go at all ; the Royal Agricultural Society
have received notice of this infringement. I may say here
that as to previous inventions I had seen none, and I had
heard of none but what had been decided failures.
Ido not wish to enter upon the general question as to
whether my implement does or does not comply with the
conditions as to turning over the soil ; but I do maintain,
from the most indisputable evidence, that my poor cold
()lay land does at a less cost on my system of mixing and
pulverising the soil, without any extraordinary applica-
tion of artificial manure, produce at least eight bushels of
corn per acre more than it would under the old system
every year. Ido not say one word as to the how, and
when, or the where, but such is the result. I maintain
that we in this country want to produce a quarter of corn
to the acre more than we have done, and that my system
and the steam implements therewith connected show the
way to do it. I should have been glad if the time of the
officers of the Royal Agricultural Society could have
allowed a little more than 30 minutes at the most to have
inves'igated they merits of my implements; but, as it is, I
am willing to allow the experiments of a small farmer to
abide their decision.

And now, sir, in order to test the sincerity of my argu-
ments and assertions, I am ready with the implements ex-
hibited by me at Chelmsford to farm cold clay lands, hilly
and uneven, for four years, against any steam-cultivating
implements exhibited at Chelmsford for a prize, or, if
necessary, for a wager of 509/., the conditions to be these :
—the land to be hilly, clayey, and uneven ; no manure
whatever to be used ; the horse-power not to exceed the
ordinary seven-horse engine manufactured by Ransorne's ;
and that the total produce, cost, and condition of the
land at the end decide the result.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
WILLIAM SMITH.
Woolston, Bletobley Station, Dec.l9.

August
claesdt:so long
MURDER.—Mr. Blackburn, the Leeds borough coroner,
ago as the mcdedthaenminoncitnhesotfnrau
inquiry related to the death of John Burns, aged 30, a
labourer from the county of Mayo, Ireland. The dec.th
o n iViondaylat lastter rearmed
of Burns took plane at the Mendacity-office, Leeds, on
the night of the 25th of August last, from the effects of
a blow inflicted by another Irishman, named James
Riley. It appears that the deceased and his brother came
over to Leeds for the hay harvest, and went to ledge
with a woman named Bridget Allan, Rik„' York-
street. On Sunday, the 20th of July, they had been out
together, and in returning home they had to pass through
a number of Irishmen who were indulgieg in an Ins:
row in the street. They did so with, m molestation, but
a few minutes after they had got to their lodgings Jarne
Riley rushed into the house,provoca-
tion struck the deceased ovee the head
With
a broken
wooden stool he had with him. The
and Without any
stool
_tvawsas
seri-
in two by the blow, and the deceased's skull was
house,
ougly fractured. Riley
--u immediately left
floor, weltering in
leaving the deceased senseless on the
3e
blood. The deceased was conveyed to
him. ile
office, where Mr. Radcliff,, surgeon,_art:
weeks,
and then
lay in a state of unconsciousneslrr I°
Ratcliffe and other
Mendicity-
expired. From the evidence
witnesses there was no doubt that
Riley having abgcended
_ .. stool was the cause of death
from time to time, in order
the blow from the
the inquest was adjournede
hisapprehension. Hitherto.
to aff ,rd an opportunity
fns
the coroner, not deeming a
he has elu.'ed detect: -
P'
as:Ary, the inquiry was closed
further adjournment
avec:diet was returned of "Wilful
, .
Murder against James Riley."on IVlOnday, when n- ,:i