IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 IIM 12.5 P32 Hill o o '"^^ 2.2 .i iw 2.0 1.8 1.4 I 1.6 <9 Wm e. "?// ^ '''/ 'f m ^^ ^> ■m /; / O 7 M Photographic Sciences Corporation '\j <^ \ \ ;\ % V % 17 53 WEST MAIN STREET WEBST.R.N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 J^ ^" CP. .6' % i.or- tionatc share of the cost of mowers, reapers, threshing machines, stables, etc $800 00 To wages of one ])loiighman and the keep of one span of horses for say 365 days at an average cost of $2.25 per day 821 25 Total cost for lirst year $1,621 25 Assuming 3 teams are required to properly work 100 acres and 10 teams for the whole 64U acres, all under the i)lough, then $1621.25x11)== $30,803 75 I3y wheat, 30 bus. an acre at $1 .00, 61:0X30= 10,200 00 First year's deticieucy $11,603 75 By 2nd year's crop $19,200 00 Less wages and keep of horses 15,200 00 2nd year's profit $ 4,000 OO If the wheat, however, realized but 8uc. per bus. the deticieucy would be (1st year) $15,113 75 The second year would show a profit of only 160 00 Wear, tear and interest of capital are omitted for both systems of farming for tlie sake of brevity, but at the same time it is admitted by competent judges, that the interest, etc., for the horse-labor system would be much in excess of that of steam power. Whether the 610 aci'es be farmed by one, two or four pro- prietors, it is presumed that the 10 teams and men would be more or less employed during the winter in carting the crop to market. 3 STEAM POWER. To one of " Romaine's ^Modkrx Steam Faumers" complete to do all the work on a I''arm of 3 S(j[uare miles, or 1020 acres, viz. :— })realdng up . the prairie sod, harrowing, seeding, summer cultivatin3.75. The second year the steam worked farm would show a ])rotit of $16,000.00, while the profit from horse labor would be only $4,000.00, thatiscompnting wheat at 1.00, but computing wheat at 8(»c. the steam power would realize $10,579.00 and the horse hibor $160.00. I do not advise nor is it desirabU', that such a powerful apparatus with its 80-horse-power engines, should be employed on such a small acreage as 640 acres if more land could possibly be bad, but I have made the com])arison to show first, the large amount of capital recpiired to start and then work a Sfpiare mile of land with horse labor, {all to be under the plouglt) and secondly realizing sucli small returns and often positive loss. If the foregoiuir comparative statement can be relied upon, or if it even api)r(>aclies to near the real facts of the difficulties, intending farmers to the Western Prairies will have to contend against, then I respectfully submit that the question of horse labor on the farm w.t'sun steam power sliould be impartially examined and looked into, and if the latter system be at all practicable, which 1 firmly believe it is, then tliere can be no doubt as to its economy. It is now thirty years since I first l)egan my experience of steam cultivation in England, and after a large expenditure of ti!iie, labor and capital, succeeded in making, at one operation, in heavy clay wheat land 12 inches deep, with a revolving spading machine, a most perfect seed bed, the like of wliich was acknow- ledged in the newspapers at that time, 1856-7 to have never been performed before. But what did it amount to after all? The animal power had still to be retained, and so had all the manual labor on the fartn ; it had not deposited the seed, nor did it do any of the harvesting. So likewise did the late John Fowler, a few years later, along with a host of other inventors, succeed in f<' perfectly plor ,hing the land by steam power, throufi^h tlio means of wire ropes, ike. Vmt what uid all their efforts and e:i{)it;il amount to? They harnessed steam power as with horse hai-ness, and stuck to the plough and all its projenitors of traction imple- ments with a tenacity worthy of a better reward, involving five or six expensive and I'ound-about operations to make first an imperfect, and then secondly a well trodden down seed bed. In fact, the whole of us were on the wrong scent, and in our simplicity and ignorance were employing every effort and straining every nerve to adapt steam power to the crooked shaped fields and the numer- ous other exigencies of the farm, instead of putting forward the same amount of energy in inducing the farmer and landlord to enlarge and straighten his fields, to level some of the hedges and I fill up some of the deep ditches— in one word, to make the farm to suit and accommodate steam machinery, and not the steam machinery to the farm. But time is a great solvent, and some of the difficulties of applying steam power to the whole work of the farm are fast disappearing, and among the first of these was the want of large rectangular fields — we have them now in our great American and Canadian prairies; we have them also in the level heavy clay lands of older districts. No wonder, then, that steam on the farm luis not made more headway than it has these last 20 years ; there is but one answer — it did not do the whole work of cultivating, harvesting and carrying to the barn. I have been led to make these few digressive remarks to explain and show what I and others have done, and have been aiming at, long ago, in en- deavoring to bring steam power to bear on the whole work of the farm. These remarks will, therefore, elucidate and bring forth more clearly what my ideas and views are as regards the merits and claims of my invention. I have partially referred to my digging machine making a perfect seed bed at one operation in l85f>-7, which was then and up to 1801, exhibited at the Royal Agricultural Society's Meet- I ings in England. I have stated some of the reasons why it failed to come into general use then, and it is not even in use up to the present time, 1 now propose to mention some other and more w 6 important reasons and difficnUies I liad tlioii to contend against, but which now I have completely overcome. For instance in ISfJl, at the Meeting of tlie Royal Agricultural Society at LeedK, wlien competing with the Fowler Steam Plough for the £500 Sterling Prize, tlie judges after examining my day's work of eleven acres, twelve inclies deep, in heavy clay land, admitted and acknowledged the work to be a most perfect seed bed and equal to any spade husbandry ever performed in the world, but still a majority of them conld not see their way clear to award me the prize, not because it was so thoroughly pulverized and left in a ])roper condition to be exposed to the action of the atmosphere, which they all admired, but because no human being nor animal, could for months after walk on the land, for the purposes of harrow- ing, seeding, harvesting and carting, without sinking some five or six inches into the soil, and leaving big holes to the manifest ii! jury of the sncceeding crop. Even my competitor, Mr. Fowler himself, admitted the work had never before been ecpialled, but defied me to walk over my own work without spoiling it. At that time I and others prosecuting steam cultivation came to the con- clusion that it was impossible to overcome the difficulty mentioned. Having explained fully the difficulties I met with in prosecuting my invention of the Rotary Digging Machine, I will now as briefly as possible explain how I have overcome these difficulties. Ist. By the laying out and adapting of an arrangement of per- manent paths on a farm, without the necessity of resorting to the very expensive employment of any iron rails, wooden sleepers, &Q., which would cost at least ten times the price of the best farin in the country. 2nd By adapting an unerring line mark indented on the said paths for the purposes of steering. 3rd By the design and application of so locating and placing the motive power, and then attaching the cultivating implements to an Angle Steel Lattice Girder Bridge, with the ends overhanging, so as to obtain a clear and unobstructed deck or flooring of 50 feet long by 15 feet wide, to accommodate the several implements and machines to be employed for the purposes of accomplishing the work of the farm, such as cultivating, seeding, harvesting and ( . i f. i . carryiiii; tlio crop olT the land. 4th By the use and application of an PJndloHcS I>elt Ilaihvay. If ever steam is to be employed to aid the farmer in getting through hh heavy work — why not api'ly it to do all the WORK — not one-third as the Steam Traction Plough at present in use is only doing ? ROBERT KOMAIXE, II0U6K OF Common."^. Otiawa, September, 1882. // /.v / ( /» ' #«. {.- A-./.. / / romaine's Modern Steam Farmer LETTERS OF REFERENCE. McGiLL Colli, k, MoNTRFAj,, September 20th, 1882. I have examined the drawings an ' spe ificatir.-; of the Romainc Modern Steam Farmci, and have pleasure in .,iating that I see no r ,; ' mical reason why it should not acct/rn; !ish the work for which it has been designed. C. H. McLEOI), Prof, of A pp. Sc, and Lecturer on Mechaui:nl Evoineering, Montreal Rolllng Mills Company, Montreal, 25th Sept., 1882. R. RoMAiNE, Esq. Having examined the drawings of your Steam Farmer, I do not see any mechanical difficulties in the way of its perfect success. Yours respectfully, JOHN ROBERTSON, Manager Montreal Rolling Mills Cdy, Tube and Lead Works. Grand Trunk Railway of Canada, office of the mechanical superintendent, Montreal, Sept. 25th, 1882. Robert Romaine, Esq., Dear Sir, — I have not yet had time to read over the specification of your Modern Steam Farmer, but have seen enough in the drawings you exhibited to me the other day, which, with your explanations, con- vince me that you have given an amount of attention to the subject, which will, sooner or later, be rewarded with the success it deserves. The general mechanical arrangements of your various devices are quite practicable, and from your remarks I doubt not farmers will ulti- mately find it to their interest to adopt your principle— if they are not compelled to do so from the difficulty of obtaining a sufficient number of horses. The farms in this country, from their size and shape, are admirably adapted for steam cultivation, and the wear and tear of the machinery will not be excessive, provided the tracks or road beds, on which the cultivators run, are level and well made at the outset, and reasonable efforts are made to adapt the farms to the new system. Yours truly, HERBERT WALLIS, Mechanical Superintendent. Dear Sir, McGill College, Montreal, 28th Sept., 1882. After a careful examination of your " Modern Farmer," I am con- vinced that there are no practical difficulties connected with its construction. I can say nothing as to its probable efficiency, from an agricultural point of view ; but it seems to embrace in a compact form all the implements required for farm operations. It is generally admitted that the proper development and cultivation of our lands must be aided by more improved machinery, and the shape of our farms will certainly facilitate the manipulation of such a machine as yours. I am, yours very truly, HENRY T. BOVEY. Prof, of Engineering and Applied Mechanics. R. Romaine, Esq. Department of Railways and Canals, Canada. Canadian Government Railways, Office of the Chief Engineer, Ottawa, ist Dec'r, 1882. To all 7i)hom it may concern : This is to testify that I have examined the drawings of the Romaine Modern Steam Farmer, which appears to me to be a very ingenious piece of machinery, especially adapted for the use ot exten- sive agriculturists, or for clubs of small farmers, and vveH-suited for prairie farming in the North-West. So far as I am able to judge there is no good reason to doubt but that the machine will do its work well. COLLINGWOOI) SCHRIEBER, Chief Engineer and Gen' I Manager Govt. Railways. The following gentlemen have carefully examined the Modern Steam Farmer, and have expressed themselves highly satisfied with the mechanical details of the invention, and feel assured that it will accomplish all it is designed to do. Sandfurd Fleming, Esq., C.E. John Kennedy, Esq., Chief Engineer Montreal Harbor Lindsay Rus.^ell, Esq., Deputy Minister of the Interior. P. A. Peterson, Esq., Chief Engineer, Atlantic and N. IV. R'y T. Trudeau, Esq., Deputy Minister A'ailrcays and Canals. G. F. BaillargI;, Deputy Minister of Public Works. Alexander Fleck, Esq., Mechanical Engineer. Edward Haycock, Esq., Iron and Steel Manufacturer. E. E. Gilbert, Esq., Mechanical Engineer, Montreal. Andrew Rlssell, liL^(\., Department of the Interior.