The old saying that good things come in small packages still
holds true.
We have been reading five booklets from Shires Publication Ltd.,
a British publishing firm.
Two were written by Harold Bonnett, one of which is entitled
‘Farming With Steam’ and the other ‘Discovering
Traction Engines.’
Two are the work of John Vince. These deal with ‘Vintage
Farm Machines’, and ‘Old Farm Tools.’
The fifth booklet is by T. E. Crowley and is called ‘Beam
Engines.’
‘Discovering Traction Engines’ tells of the origin of
the engine, its historical background, and the challenges of
preservation. There are chapters on the general purpose engine, the
steam roller, the showman’s engine, and the steam plow engine.
It also discusses the light steam tractor and the road
locomotive.
Of real interest to the expert or engineer is a chapter on the
mechanical features of a traction engine, such as the boiler, the
gears, the springs, and the brakes.
The booklet lists traction engine clubs, and museums and other
collections. There are 16 pages of illustrations.
In ‘Farming With Steam ‘Bonnett explains the role of the
steam engine in agriculture from the pumping engines which drained
the Fenland swamps in the early 1800s, to the plow and threshing
machines of the 20th century.
Bonnett tells of James Watt’s improvement of the beam
engines and how this helped change England’s soggy Fenland into
good farm land. He relates Fowler’s pioneer work with the steam
plow and describes some of the work of early steam threshermen.
Bonnett has a first-hand knowledge of his subject, having helped to
thresh back in 1922 and 1923. He includes a chapter on boiler
explosions and one on country fairs and village feasts.
Bonnett packs a lot of information into a few pages. He has a
way of explaining things which should appeal to both steam
‘amateurs’ and experts.
‘Farming With Steam’ is full of photographs and captions
which capture the flavor of the days of steam down on the farm.
The introduction to ‘Vintage Farm Machines’ describes
the work as a ‘short pictorial guide’ to technical
masterpieces of Victorian and Edwardian engineering. The booklet
shows machines used for hoeing, sowing, haymaking, digging,
plowing, and harvesting.
Author, John Vince, has written many books and is a recognized
authority on British country life. His ‘Old Farm Tools’
pictures and describes hand tools which farmers used before the
advent of machine power. Some of these ingenious tools remained in
use in some places long after the age of mechanization began,
mostly because of economic reasons but also because they were, in
fact, well adapted to their particular use.
Some of the tools illustrated are a dock lifter, a drainage
spade, an eel spear, and a wooden spade for digging clay.
T. E. Crowley informs us about the development and use of
‘Beam Engines.’ He tells how Thomas Newcomen’s genius
helped make the Industrial Revolution possible and the vital role
played by the beam engine in business development. If you are
interested in the history of the beam engine this booklet affords
an opportunity to learn, as author Crowley shares some of his
experience and knowledge. The book contains pictures of surviving
beam engines.
In all five of these booklets from Shires Publications the
illustrations are integral parts of the material and are not just
thrown in for window dressing.
