The Sun.
London, England, 1858-07-22 00:00:00

MEETING AT CHESTER.

The present meeting bids fair to surpass all that
have preceded it, not only because the show of Jive
stock is unusually excellent and very numerous in
all the classes, the implement exhibition much
larger and more multitudinous than before, the yard
itself many acres greater in area, the trials seve-
ral days longer and more strictly conducted, the
competition closer, the five shilling visitors more
profitable than on prior occasions, but from the
fact that the district of the show has been thce
roughly canvassed by the active local committee,
no less than 5,000/. having been obtained and ap-
propriated by them in special prizes for horses,
dairy stock, cattle, and sheep of Wales, and the
other divisions of the "district," for cheese, but-
ter, and rewards to dairymaids and cheesemakers.
And undoubtedly the interest created by these
labours will bring out proportionate crowds of
visitors from the different counties by the network
of railways which connect Chester with a large
population on all sides.
Warm and bright weather has continued so far,
sprinkled at intervals with those heaiy drops to
which Cheshire farmers owe their luxuriant grass
and forward green crops. And festivities are not
forgotten amid the agricultural excitement ; there
is a flower-show on the Rhode° ; gay doings at
the Gray Friars, whence Mr. Coxwell launches,
skyward, in his balloon ;illuminations, fireworks, a
circus, with a horse taming genius ; promenade
concerts in the Linen-hs,ll, resounding with the
strains of the Coldstream Guards' band ; and,
lastly, a grand ball in the same building on Thurs-
d

Wednesday being the day appointed for the pub-
lic trial of the steam cultivators, a large concourse
of spect.:tore assembled is the fields near Blacon
chosen for the display ; partly, indeed, to witness
the working of the new reaping machines which
were tryng their capabilities on an adjacent piece
of rye. Two new steam ploughs had appeared since
the first series of experiments' were made—viz.,
Eddington'a windlass with a portable engine placed
on the top of it, 1 auling Fowler's balance plough
by' means of wire ropes and a self-shifting anchor-
age, the engine and windlass moving slowly along
the end of the work required ; and a wonderfully
neat arrangement of a windlass attached to 'any
ordinary engine, just invented by Mr. Fowler, and
manufactured by Messrs. Ransome and Sims,
Two grooved drums on upright axes are hung in a
frame constructed of angle iron, which unites great
strength with lightness, a space being provided be
tween the drums to receive the fire-box of the
engine boiler, one drum thus revolving under the
boiler, and the other at one end of it. A strap
from the flywheel drives the 'very simple wheel-
work connected with the drums for winding up the
wire rope, and the slow- advancing motion and the
steerage are very simply effected. Such a light
and compact machiae, with few wheels, andre-
quiring but a comparatively small outlay, is just
what the farmer has been wishing for, a seven
or eight horse engine, to which it is adapted,
being powerful , enough to work a two-
furrow plough or bieali up stubbles with
a scarifier'. Mr. Howard's apparatus consists
of a Clayton and • Shuttleworth's eight-horse
double-cylincler engine driving by strap the
rigger of a stationary windlass of two drums for
coiling the wire rope. The rope is passed nearly
round tie plot to be cultivated, the anchored
pulleys at the ends of the work lying very easily
fastened to the ground and removed as required. i
The peculiarity of the system is in turning the m;
pletnent at the ends by Smith's patent "tur.nbow;
hence there is so much difficulty in ploughing. fur-
rows all laid one way that the operation no`•
attempted ; grubbing or scarifying is the prieprincip
is
al.proce-is, and the only approach to real p!otigi!ing
the throwing up the ground in " baulks" or ridges,
with a double-mouldboard plough. These ridges,
about 30 inches wide, with ti.e bottom of the fur-
rows broken up by subsoiling tines attached behind
the implement, expose a very large extent c f sur-
face to atmospheric fertilisation, and, thoe.e.h the
ground covered up by the slices is unstirred, •yet
the noxious vegetation ceases to grow, and after a
time a s-::c-ind oper-stun completes the tillage of
the whole surface. The largest b e:idth of work
done was with the three-tin d cultivator on the
heavy land at Blacon, at the
.rate of ab iut seven
acres a day, and a cost (including wear and interest)
of 7s. per acre. The spade-shaped cutters, pointing
downward, rise up the bard and foul greund into
large and small pieces, without turning them over,
so that the greater part of the rough and thistley
sward remained visible upon the surface ; and the
second operation of ciossing this work with a wider
scalier, takin.4 five feet breadth (at the rate of ten
acres a-day), b:oke the pieces into smaller clods, but
Still with grasS and rubbish unburied, ready
f-r perishing under the blaze of a summer sun, or
for easy extractiou by harrows and rollers in the
usual manner. Indeed, though the cost of the
two processes is about 125., farmers declare
theta to be well worth 1/. per acre. Howard's
machinery, therefore, while able to trench up and
subsoil heavy laud for a winter fallow, or to ridge
in manure fur sprinz cropping, is pre-eminenlly
adapted and intended for cleaning s ut bics in
alibi nn, and by thus eradicating root weeds when
just al:0.)a to shoot vigorously, saves most of the
laborious tillage in ploughing, cross ploughing,
dragging, Are., which are incurred by the practice
of waiting until spring. Farmers everywhere
would b gal to autumn-till more of their fields
had they but tractive force en,ugh on elfeie firma
to accomplish it ; and Ills advent Aga and rich pro-
mise of the steam cultivator are its turnishing power
enough to work the land by great lyeadths at a
time, just at the best season, without involving
any
.counterb slancieg expense in feeding and main-
ta mug until wanted again. Again, as the stca.w.
engineaants for strength, and n7.t forwearinesa, its
working-day hours are (July limited by the dawn
and even twilight ; and, with relays of men, it can
cultivate nine to twelve acres, instead of five to
'seven, for many weeks afterharvest. No wonder,
therefore, that cultivetien by steam-power is being
widely adoptel by age iculturists who only expi ct
it to acc.Anpliill a pat of their tillage, end thae
they should be largely purchasing the particularly
compact and clnvenient low-priced machinery
exhibited on the present occasion by Mr. Howard.
- There are many, however, who look will further,
and, seeing the immense advantage of being able
to plough lea ground for wheat in an effieient
meaner, e.t.d to do this on moist soils without the
injurious treading of hard hoofs, prefer Fowier's
mixhine—some:lung more expensive is the first-
outlay, but cheaper in working-I.y which they
can either pleugh furrows, or tt-ench double
depth, or draw a scarifier with as good
effect as the oiler apparetuscau. Yesterday, both
I the -erulibieg and combined baulk-ploughing and
subsoiling were shewn, the latter proving itself to
be a very excellent operation. Fowler's pleugh,
dile lee! fur furrows at once,- made -beautiful work
in a piece of light land grass, at the rate of one
acre per hour ; though the time lost at- the ends
was merea ell by the pressure and ieterruption of
I e asaanblecl visttore. Boydell's traction engine
Iwas dragging a frame- cf ploughs, taking, six fur-
-1 rows at crece Manystoppages, however, occur d
iu c nsequerc,) of the implements choking with
grass. Rickett's rotary cultivator was also digging
in ano her piece.
Ire
j in
r good, tolerably upstanding, but
green
field, three reaping mt-
cas
and rake)
i
carries attracted a great deal of attention. The
E(ibeaya meansavy o
leArm e
of a
tingled.
ian w
manranunable
s where he
t o
(`f'ood's)
deliver ,
)th.e
cropcut
1
4. me r;can
machine, with angular knives vibrated. through
slots in finge re by means of a crank movement, aciddnetcut
waenld; ; rand
reaperhe:fguci-
i a men t
ller,jioi,io rake off, d
niwastha
that Burgess
I with the screw platform would have doneyhe
work in every respt:c,, delivering in a continuous'
swath without any aid, had it been
brought out of
the yard. It seems, tiler:lore,- that, tliialeh tor-
surpass, el mowers for hay atid artificial gessoes,
1 the e American machines have not yet edapted
themselves fer coping with the pettplexities of au
E glib gnarl crop. A c-udely contrived machine,
with two revolving horizontal sickle-edged disc's-,
was tried, but would not work at all.
By an improvement in the eatThgue_n,,,,,ly, a
Map of the city and plan of the yard, with reference
t ) each stand—you can at (nee find the locality of
any stand or mr:chine-shed, the cattle, pool ry,
seed-, cheese, and butter, tlr3refreshment stalls, or
tle various offices of the secretary, directors, and
i,t,:tyard?. The) entrances and exit doors are, unfor-
tunately, so close together, and the approach
.by
the Water-ga,`e ereh so rest i ted, that we antici-
pate considerable inconvenience during the meat
thton;inf; dey ; but every arrangement within the
yard is edniii able, including the ez,tablislenent of a
useful tele!.rapli oflico. Walking through the en-
tire long, h of the trial ground, before coming to the
regular rows of shedding, we find here the show ol
machinery in raetien, it eluding a great number cf
steam-engines working thresbing-machince, among
which are toespictscus Flayai's steew elevator,
carrying, straw for tie marehiae some 25ft. high ; ,
OroB3Ell'i imniensely lowerfnlbon -mill; But ne's
singular bone rasp:. ; Chamberlain's-rotary brick-
making machine ; Sperkes's saw table ; Clayton
and Shrittlee-orth's fixed threshing machine ;
Elerrisby's, Garrett's, and Barre t and Exall's
fired barn- works ; and (a walked feature in the
,xlilbition) uvula, two or threi-ehorse power Lortable
engine,—as Haywood's., Nicholscn's, Smith and
A..!hle) 's,
Williamsob'6—driving their respective
nrei
inomt
ut ls
eltssr:cabol
rutiens
uetuc
re
sta,ed&li esforlsvfeoelr smallf-ilp(r,t fa
op notice
self-propulsion
j taiellei
otvnag: