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Colonist, Issue 54, 27 April 1858, Page 3

A new Steam Cultivator.—Mr. Bomaine's steam cultivator has- receive 1 ils first public trial in this- country. The power employed drives, a rotatory cultivator across the field, aiid at the same time works it as it goes, pulverising tihe land to any required depth. It attempts/to develope the principle first advocated by Mr. Hoskyns- of a rotating digger. It; was 'brought to thi3 country four years ago from Canada, when Mr. Mechi was to have.brought.it into notice. It .was afterwards shewn in Paris in .1855, and there attracted the attention of Mr. Crosskill, of Beverley, by^whom it has npw been brought into operation. It is stated by the Hull Advertiser to have made a very successful debut at : ;Beverley.•—•''.Th?; ;,rrap]ement... fipmh, .mence.d operations at one end of a field of strong clay, stubble, and traversed its entire length, transforming a breadth <if 6£ feet into a perfect seedbed, fully equal to what could have been produced;by twice ploughing and hajrowirig, or clod-crushing; On its arrival at the headland, it turne'l round in less' space than' would have been required by two horses with a common plough, and returned along the side, of the work already done. The cultivation of the field was thus proceeded .with, no vacant space; being .left, except the two small headlands, which, could be easily finished by the machine after.the. rest of the ground was done," It professes to cultivate from five to seven acres! a-day| at a total expense of from 355. to 40s! The Work inc'iules the thorough pulverisation, of the sail to a depth of seven or eight inches, at a cost somewhat less than that of ploughing;.

Trial of Potato-Diggtng ' Machines.-*-The trial of the potato-digging machines enfered for competition at the late Highland Society's Show took place on Mr. Drew's farm, at Carinyle, in presence of a large number of agriculturists. Five machines had been entered for coinperitio-i, but only four came forward. After a trial lasted' upwards of two hours, the judges -unanimously awarded the premium to the1 machine exhibited by Messrs. Smith Brothers; which is a Hwson's patent, made by the exhibitors, with improvements in raising and lowering, the front wheels. This machine performed the work in a very efficient manner, completely lifting the drill from the bottoms, with the incline-sock, whilst the revolving forks thoroughly separated the potatoes from tho earth by throwing.theni up in the air, when.they are caught /by a netted screen; and deposited compactly on the surface for the gatherers. The othier machines' also did their work very •satisfactorily, .shewing that by. this" tiew invention; labor an 5 expense -are much economised, In fabt, the drills wore opened' up and the potatoes thrown but as quick as the horses "could walk. --

.' v ifpw, to Prevent-G-rain. ."Heating , in' Sj^citSi-^^Wboct'has been long used a* the best " and cheapest mode for keeping the centre open, so 'as to admit a current of air to the interior, and various other plans have been adopted with varying d>grees'of success. Whenever there is any doubt of the keeping, of grain in the stack, the following is a simple, che:ip, and most effectual way of having ife safely housed— indeed, although there should be no doubt of its keeping, the plan now recommended tends greatly to improve the quality and brings it eaily into condition for sule:—Fill a bag full of straw well packed, and place.it o.i its bottom in the eentro of the stack; build the sheaves, crossing them round about it, and form the Bt;jck otherwise as usual. Introduce a few six or eight inch tile pipes to admit a proper current of air, and as the stack proceeds draw up the sack, which leaves a vacuum inthecuntre ; and if thought necessary, a few tiles may be placed in the stack when half way up. This will cause such a strong current of air as will greatly facilitate harvest operations. .The expense for | tiles will be a mere trifle, und they will last for i years. A Novel Freight —The ship Asia was to sail from San Francisco for Hongkong, on January 16. Her cargi and pas3engeis are thus described :—The ship /vaia will sail this afternoon for Hongkong. Near fifty Chinamen will return in hei'to their own country. A* n portion of her freight she has three Uundre<Li-»d twenty-one dead Chinamen." ■ | -