Reply #47: actually you still see those today, if you live in a tobacco growing area

[yellowdogintexas]

they steam the plant beds with them to jump start the seeds .(incidentally, the early turnip greens, mustard greens, radishes, lettuces, spinach and tomatoes often are steamed in the plant beds along with the tobacco seeds.) This is normally done in late February in Kentucky, when it is still cold.

The beds are framed with railroad ties, muslin is nailed across the top of the beds and the steam engine drives up the outside of the bed and the steam shoots out of the bottom of the engine into the ground and warms it up. The width of the bed is designed to be just about 2 inches narrower than the distance between those two humongeous wheels on the back of the engine. The plants grow under the muslin, which protects from late frost until they are ready to set in the field or garden.

I used to love watching the farmers steam the plant beds.