Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II. CHANGES AND PROGRESS OF AGRICULTURE IN RECENT YEARS. BEFORE entering on a more detailed description The most striking of the principles which regulate the agriculture features of - " ' recent and general management of landed property in agricultural pro- this country, it may be useful shortly to notice sress- its more recent progress, and those changes of practice which science or art, or the circumstances of his position in regard to competition or labour, have forced on the British farmer. With a few exceptions the change will be found rather in the more general diffusion of a knowledge of good principles and practice than in any con- siderable advance upon either. The most striking feature of agricultural The reaping and progress within the last twenty years has been mowing machines. the general introduction of reaping-machines, one of which can do the work of ten men. This has multiplied the effect of human labour tenfold, and that at the most critical season, the harvest, when the entire crop ripens within a fortnight, and must with all possible expedition be saved without loss of time. For hay-making, a similar machine is in the same proportion available. It would be difficult to reckon the vast saving which the introduction of this most important invention has made at these most critical periods, haytime and harvest. The steam- Next to it is the steam-plough, which, on plough. heavy land and in large fields, especially where coal is moderate in cost, and water easily available, is both economical and expeditious. A steam-plough, capable of ploughing ten acres a day, will do the labour of ten men and twenty horses, and, where deep culture is advantageous, will execute the work much more effectively, and with no injurious t...