From the beginning of the 19th century--the great age of steam, to the end of World War II, this book traces the history and development of agricultural steam power use, considers how it was actually used. It demonstrates how steam power was used in agriculture for threshing, ploughing and land drainage. The development is considered of all the different types of steam engines and equipment, including stationary and portable engines, traction engines, rotary cultivators, and steam diggers. This guide also pays attention to the people who operated the new machines, and to the activities of the contractors who undertook most of the work involving steam engines on the farm, while tracing the decline of agricultural steam power from the beginning of the 20th century onwards. Written by an acknowledged expert and beautifully illustrated, this is the first book in more than 30 years to present such a comprehensive view of the development of steam power in British farming.