SECRETARY'S REPORT. 



139 



! I i 'I ' i^ 



JV>. A The plan of this hay press and 



the arrangement and operation of 

 the parts will be readily under- 

 stood by the annexed engraving, 

 in which B is the follower, J K 

 the main levers, F F the fulcrum 

 levers, and N the connection rods. 

 The power being applied at the 

 rope E, the levers and each end 

 of the follower must move simul- 

 taneously, a mechanical perfection 

 -5 which the patentee avers cannot 

 be attained by any other arrange- 

 ment ; and which is deemed necessary in order to obviate the friction 

 and consequent loss of power experienced in other presses. 



Mr. Dederick's prices are as follows : 



Bales from 



No. 1, (Stationary,) 375 to 425 lbs. 



" 2, (Portable,) 275 to 325 " 



" 3, (Hand Press,) 200 to 250 " 

 In my report for 1857, some pages were devoted to the prepara- 

 tion of lands for grass, methods of seeding, and to top-dressing and 

 other means of increasing the hay crop. Numerous statements were 

 also given from practical cultivators showing their modes of opera- 

 tion and success ; so that it is not deemed so necessary now to treat 

 these points at length as it otherwise might be. Since then, in- 

 creased observation and experience have but impressed me more 

 strongly with the importance and economical value of top-dressing. 

 If, as often is the case, barn-yard manure can with difficulty be 

 spared from hoed crops, or purchased for the purpose, it is recom- 

 mended that muck, sand, clay, ashes, seaweed, or whatever can be 

 procured, be applied, having a care to adapt the dressing to the 

 character of the meadow, (as putting sand upon clay, clay upon 

 sand, &c.) The best results have been by no means confined to the 

 application of barn-yard manure alone. Composts made by carting 

 muck, loam, sods, road and ditch scrapings, and the like, into the 

 barn-yard, yarding the cattle upon it, and afterwards mixing thor- 

 oughly once or twice and applied in autumn at the rate of five to 

 eight cords per acre, have produced a surprising degree of benefit. 



