The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-01-31 00:00:00

AGRICULTURE BY STEAM.

WHILE the powers of steam and the skill of the
mechanist have been applied with unceasing energy
and perseverance to the manufacture of textile
fabrics, producing a revolution in the industrial
activity of England, it is a singular fact that
nothing of the same kind has been done for agri-
culture, although a pursuit of infinitely more
importance to the welfare, and even to the exist-
ence of the community. By the application of
machinery to manufactures, from the rude hand-
loom to the complicated mechanism which now
turns out woven fabrics by the mile, many millions
have been added to our annual production ; and
yet the plough, which was known to remotest
antiquity, has received but trifling aid from the
vaunted scientific skill of the age. It is true that
occasionally a steam-plough has been announced,
and at agricultural meetings many ingeniss im-
plements have been exhibited, but few 'Tr the
purposes of tillage have proved of sufficient utility
to induce their being brought into use; and so
signal have been the failures of inventors, that it
has almost become a belief that agriculture is
beyond the reach of aid, either from the powers of
steam or mechanical skill. Much of the failure
which has been experienced is, however, no
doubt attributable to the adherence displayed to
the old form of the ploughshare ; and, therefore,
the success to which we are about to allude
may be considered owing, in a great measure,
to the inventor having introduced a new prin-
ciple in his mode of turning up the earth, so that
the whole process of ploughing, harrowing, sowing,
and rolling is performed at one operation.
The machine, which is the invention of Mr. Ro-
MAINE, of Peterborough, in Upper Canada, and for
which a patent has been granted in this country,
is, in appearance, something like a large cart drawn
by two horses abreast. In the body of the cart is
a steam engine of ten-horse power, with tubular
boiler, on the principle of the locomotive engine,
which turns a shaft through the naves of the cart
wheels, and connected, by crank and rods, with a
large cylinder suspended behind and supported on
two smaller wheels, so as to be independent of the
unequal motion of the horses. The cylinder, which
is six feet in length and about three feet in dia-
meter, is armed with projecting iron prongs with
blades at the points which form the diggers. In
each row they are a feot apart from each other ;
but, being arranged in a spiral form, they operate
successively about an inch asunder, so that the
whole of the ground is turned up and effectually
pulverised to any depth that may be required, ac-
cording as the machine is fixed by a screw. The
cylinder is partly enclosed at the back by a box
against which the earth is thrown, and on the top
is a seed roller, with tubes through which the seed
is deposited in rows, and a roller following after
leaves all smooth and complete. Several obvious dif-
ficulties are ingeniously surmounted. By the
cylinder hanging free of the motion of the cart it
is more completely under control from inequalities
in the ground ; the speed may be increased or
slackened without reference to the speed of the
horses, and the regulating screw is at the imme-
diate command of the engineer, who requires no
other assistant than a driver for the horses. The
weight of the machine, including the steam engine
boiler, and the whole apparatus, is not more than a
ton and a half, but as the motion partakes of a pro-
pulsive character, the horses have little more than
to guide the direction, which is a great advantage
in tilling hilly land. An important benefit from
the use of this machine is the large amount of work
which can be performed, and the rapidity with
which a field of grain can be sown in catching
weather, which often proves a serious drawback to
the labours of the husbandman. By the present
method little more than an acre of land can be
ploughed in a day by one team, and then the work
is but imperfectly performed, leaving the operations
of harrowing, sowing, and rolling still to be done.
By this machine, with the aid of two men, or a
man and a boy, ten acres may be begun and
finished in a day, so that in speed and economy
there is a very great gain.
At a time like the present, when labour is becom-
ing more valuable, and there is an increasing de-
mand for more abundant supplies of food, it is
almost impossible to over-estimate the importance
of the application of mechanical skill to agricultural
purposes, particularly in this country, where the
uncertainty of the weather often seriously hinders
the operations of sowing, and, in our Canadian colo-
nies, where the shortness of the season and the
rapidity of vegetation render speed in agriculture
of great consequence. The first cost may be appa-
rently great, but the steam engine may be applied
to thrashing and other farm purposes where power
is required, so that, in reality, it will considerably
lessen expenses, and we have no doubt that, when
its utility has become known, it will be extensively
patronised by our enterprising agriculturists.

LIVERPOOL EXCHANGE
BUILDINGS.

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD, AND 'GENERAL COMMERCIAL ADVERTISER.

The Rev.J.J. Butler :has been assiduous in the discharge
of his duties as chaplain during the past year, and it is
hoped that God's blessing has attended his zealous minis-
trations.

Mr. Hinman', the secretary, read the treasurer's annual
statement, which showed a balance of £399 against the
institution.

Mr. THINE, in moving the adoption of the report and
statement of accounts (for this and other resolutions see
advertisement), spoke in terms of gratulation of the satis-
factory state of the institution. Since its formation in
1815 it had continued to increase in usefulness, and was
more appreciated by the seamen frequenting the port.
There was one matter, however, to which the attention
of the public ought especially to be drawn. He did not
think the school for giving youths a knowledge of mer-
cantile marine, and which was calculated to be of immense
usefulness to the port, was sufficiently known. (Hear,
hear.) Whether the fault lay with the shipowners or the
shipmasters he could not tell ; but he was astonished that
comparatively so few boys availed themselves of the great
advantages afforded by the school: (Hear, hear.) It was
conducted by a master of the highest qualifications, and
there could not be two opinions as to the benefits it would
confer upon those who sought them.
The adoption of the report having been seconded by
Mr. MA.NN, and unanimously adopted, Mr. BOOKER pro-
posed, and Mr. TomLINsoN seconded, the next resolution,
which was also passed.
On the proposition of Mr. Re.witner, a vote of thanks
was accorded to the chairman, Mr. Aildn, and to the other
officers of the institution, to which Mr. Anrui responded.
Mr. COTESWORTH, in proposing a vote of thanks to
Captain Ainley, and the other officers of the institution,
including Mr. Harman, the secretary, spoke highly of the
zeal and industry with which they had discharged their
duties. He also coupled with his motion the name of Mr.
Boardman, who, though not now connected with the
Sailors' Home, was entitled to their thanks for the satis
factory manner in which he had conducted the Savings'
Bank, and his system of cashing notes. The proposition
was unanimously adopted.
On the proposition of Mr. TYRER, seconded by Mr.
CROSBY, a vote of thanks to Mr. Aikin, for his conduct in
the chair, terminated the proceedings.

TEE annual meeting of the company of proprietors of
the Liverpool Exchange was held at noon yesterday, in
the Cotton Sale-Room. Mr. James Bateson in the
chair.

The CHAIRMAN read, as follows, the statement of ac-
counts :

" The proprietors of the Liverpool Exchange in account
' current with John H. Younghusband, their treasurer,
from the Ist of January to the 31st of Dember, 1853, both
inclusive. By rental of the building, from 31st December,
1852, to the 31st December, 1853, £6,836 17s. 6d ; dividend
on amount charged in 1848, £5O; bank interest, £llB 3s. ld.
.By amount of subscriptions to News-room, &c., annual,
2,499 at £3 35., £7,871 17s. ; quarterly, £292 19s. ' • sale
of newspapers, &c., £348 3s. 7d. Total, £15,518 Os.
2d; by balance brought down, £7,498 Bs. 5d ; de-
duct amount to be transferred to the contingent
fund, £lBB Bs. sd. ; disposable balance, £7,310. -
To amount paid on account of building, viz.,
joiners' work and iron work, £7l 3s. 10d. ; masons',
slaters', and brick work, £lO6 9s. 3d. ; plumbers', glaziers',
and painters' work, £l4l is. 10d. ; insurance from fire,
taxes, and law charges, £430 18s. 9d. ; property tax,
£254 13s. 6d. ; salaries and incidental expenses, £416 15s.
10d. To disbursements on account of news-room, viz.,
newspapers and other publications, £2,273 14s. 4d. ; tele-
graphic intelligence, £300; coals and gas, £lOO 17s. ld. ;
rates and taxes, £257 16s. Bd. ; salaries and contingent
disbursements, £1,146 Os. Bd. To amount paid in lieu of
the right of nomination to the news-room for 1853, on
800 shares, at £3 3s. per share, £2,520 ; to balance,
£7,498 Bs. sd. Total, £15,518 Os. 2d.- Contingent fund
invested in the new 3i per cents, £3,724155. 10d.

Mr. THOMAS BOLTON asked what the balance was as
compared with the previous year.
The CHAIRMAN said last year it was £7304. The
great increase of expenditure was in telegraphic commu-
nications, which had cost £3OO, and in renewal of leases
about £95. The whole of the expenses were less, but the
receipts were more than in the previous year. The Con.
tingent Fund,which last year was £3,400, was now £3,724.
He might remark that the committee had found the
system of paying dividends by the treasurer a little in-
convenient to many proprietors, who had to call at the
office for their dividends; and the committee had there-
fore adopted a system of paying them by a warrant, which
they hoped would be satisfactory to the proprietors.
Mr. ZWILCHENBART observed that the rent of the land
on which their buildings stood had increased within a few
years £l5 or £2O the square yard, and it appeared to him
that in proportion the rents should be raised.

The ditiramAN said their rents were upon a lease of
seven years, and they had increased them ten or fifteen
per cent. eight years ago. They thought, by the advice
of their surveyor, that the rents were high enough, and
they had since renewed the leases for another seven years.
Mr. ZWILCHENBART said, if one gentleman was an ori-
ginal shareholder at £lOO, and he had had to come in at
£3OO, their position was quite different: so if the land in
thatrt of Liverpool from £lO was now worth £4O a
yard (apand he believed that had been paid), the revenue
should be four times as much as in former times. If all
their property was let, he thought they should have some
previous understanding that when their offices were to let
again there should be a higher rent got for them than
before.

Mr. JACQUES MYERS said it should be borne in mind
that from 1801 to 1816, the old shareholders never got a
shilling dividend, so-he did not think that the old share-
holders were in such an enviable position as Mr. Zwilchen-
bart seemed to think. He believed that MAO was
taken out of the original proprietors before a single divi-
dend was paid. (A. voice "no,000.") .Well, £30,000
was a great deal.
The CHAIRMAN—But under the advice of our surveyor,
we consider the present rents about what they should be.
Mr. BOLTON thought, in connexion with that subject,
it would be well to look a little ahead. There had been an
experiment by which some of the buildings around hail
been altered or re-built, and that being successfully com-
pleted, he hoped they would go on making them more fit
for counting-houses than at present. Mr. Zwilchenbart
had given the market price of their land, and he did hope
that in a few years, when the warehouses were gutted and
remodelled, they would bring in a larger income to the
proprietors.
Mr. JACQUES MYERS agreed with what Mr. Bolton had
said, and he thought it would be desirable to offer pre-
miums for plans. (Applause.) Even this year they might
entertain it, although the leases had four years to run.
Mr. HARMOOD BANNER said, the subject had already
been fully taken into consideration. Before the renewal
of the present leases, the committee had the advice of their
surveyor, and went fully into the question of the improve-
ment of the offices and buildings altogether. It was then
found that, from their original construction, it would be
impossible to convert them into those convenient offices
which were surrounding them in all other direetions,with-
out going to such an enormous outlay that they could not
possibly accomplish it without an act of parliament.
Therefore they had thought it advisable, under the excel-
lent counsel of Mr. Stewart, to re-let their offices at a
similar rent to that which had existed before, on a lease of
seven years, being at as little expense as possible, in tact
at no expense in regard to them, which the committee had
considered most advantageous, Their original construction
was defective. They were built for warehouses as well as
offices, and now the warehouses had to be converted into
offices. They could only be converted at an enormous
expense, many thousands of pounds, and they could not
accomplish it without going to Parliament. Therefore,
he thought the proprietors would see that they were doing
well, and, without going to much expense, deriving a
handsome income. As to the value of the shares, what
they were worth before, and what they were now, he was
afraid that Mr. Zwilchenbart did not look at the relative
value of the property. Originally, the £lOO share, as Mr.
Myers had stated, had received nothing. All that time,
at compound interest, it would have come to £200; and
from that time not only had the rents advanced, but the
subscriptions to the rooms. Their property was thus in-
creased in value, and Lhe who paid £3OO for a share now
was getting it cheaper than those who got them
at £lOO or £2OO. It was his impression that the buildings
were doing exceedingly well, and, he was sure, they should
be much obliged to the directors for bringing so nice an
account. (Applause.) He thought what they should do
with regard to the costruction of the buildings was to adopt
the old and sensible maxim of " letting well alone."
Mr. JAQUEs MYERS said, he could hardly agree with
Mr. Banner, as to not altering the offices. They had cer-
tainly had the talents of Mr. Stewart, and, he believed, he
was adverse to the alteration which had led to the present
Stock Exchange.
Mr. BANNER.—At our expense, but not as they wished
it, nor as it was done, at their's.
Mr. MYERS said they had made those warehouses into
as good offices as could be for £1760. Now, if they could at
that outlay make such an improvement, he thought they
(the proprietors) should try with one part of the buildings.
(A voice : "Do it by deoTees.") The difficulty could not
be got over, Mr. Stewart had said, because there was the
fan-light above the doors ; but he (Mr. Myers) thought
that the judicious way in which the Stock Exchange had
altered their offices showed that it could be got over.

Mr. BANNER said Mr. Myers appeared to have left out
of his calculation that the work had not been done by the
propriellors of the Exchange Buildings, but had been done
by otheis, and yet they still got the same rent. He
thought they could not get much more rent from their
property than at present, for they must bear in mind the
immense competition.
Mr.MYERS thought that they would increase their rent
materially, and that they would be serving the interest
of the proprietary, if they could get from various archi-
tects plans for alterations, and go on by degrees. He
thought that if they started with the West End, next to
Mr.' Horsfall's, the rent would not be doubled, but it
might be made one-third more, (hear, hear,) and the out-
lay to achieve that could not exceed £2,000. He thought
it was worth the committee's while to turn their serious
attention to those buildings, and he was sure that with
the present talent amongst architects, no difficulty would
exist whatever. He would ask Mr. Carson, the solicitor,
if it would be necessary to go to Parliament to raise the
necessary sum, because they had a reserved fund now of,
in round numbers, nearly £4.0.00.

Mr. BANNEU said that fund was sacred. It was obliged
to be put by, by the act of parliament, for repairs.
The CHAIRMAN.—You will be obliged to go to parlia-
ment for alterations.

Mr. MYERS.—Then why not let off a portion to a party
who would alter them. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. BANNER said that was another thing.
Mr. MYERS thought that parties would offer.
Mr. JOHN MYERS said he believed that the Stock Ex-
change sat rent free. _ _

Mt:: JAQUES MYERS said yes, the Magnetic Telegraph
Company would have paid them £l,OOO a-year rather than
miss their office.

Mr.Boraoxihought there would be found a way if there
was a will. They might take a couple of offices at once,
to alter, and if they .eould not use the reserve fund, they
could get the work done by borrowing money. The only
inconvenienee would be a temporary deficiency of dividend
to the proprietors, but taking part of a stack at a time
they might go round the budding without any fear of a