b'during WWI ploughing contractors were made busy in an all out drive for greater food production.One drawback was that steam ploughing was not a practical solution in small fields. The strips upon which the engines stood plus the length of the plough while at rest were up to thirty foot wide.But there was resistance to steam ploughing. All change is resisted. Some farmers were reluctant to give up horse ploughing. There was much debate about its cost effectiveness and comparisons were the 1930s, but was still in use in 1960. made between the costs of both.The most popular system of of all, adopted by most major manufacturers until the demise of steamSteam Ploughing Depthsploughing, was the twin engine single cable system.Flat ploughing 6 to 8 inchesAn engine was placed at either end of the field and theDeep ploughing 12 to 14 inches plough was pulled to and fro by means of the winding drum underneath the engine. Cultivating 10 inchesThe makers recommended that the crew of a setBy comparison a horse team could plough to a of ploughing tackle should consist of a foreman, whodepth of 4 inches.could drive an engine or steer the implement, two engine drivers, one ploughman, and if a living van wasSome injury to the cause of steam ploughing being used, one man who acted as cook, relieved onepossibly resulted from indiscriminate use of deep of the other men when required, and was responsibleploughing. Manufacturers regarded with concern for getting up steam before daylight. If the men camethe problem of willy- nilly ploughing by farmers who back to the van for their meals in relays the tacklewere not accustomed to mechanisation and the large could be kept working continuously from dawn untilhorsepowers which suddenly became available to dusk. them. This resulted in cultivation too deep with the Steam ploughing was effective. There was no otherresult that subsoil reverted to the top and crops were method of obtaining such a depth of work coupledaccordingly not up to the required standard.with high speed giving efficient pulverisation andThe Aftermathaeration of the soil with complete absence of packing and formation of hard pan. Much injury was doneUnfortunately history does not reveal what the by horses hooves compacting the soil. Particularlyoutcome was of Quarton Wilkinson raising the issue of the effectiveness of steam ploughing with Sir Tatton Sykes although the historical context suggests that the resistance was probably short-lived and that the practice continued. Anyway, it cant have harmed Quartons standing as subsequent letters show that he continued to liaise between Bishop Wiltons tenant farmers and the Sledmere Estate. Above: From left to right, this shows the living van, one of the pair of steam engines and the drag (a heavy duty, wheeled cultivator which is pulled through the soil after harvest and prior to ploughing).Left: This view under the engine shows the cable winding mechanism and the drag being pulled with a man on boardBULLETIN 8 115'