72 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



he wishes to have it work to his mind, for he will find that it is not 

 only more subject to clog, but the draught is nearly one-third more 

 when the grass is wet than when dry. 



" Then let him follow the directions of the maker strictly. Here is 

 where most persons fail. Be careful in driving to keep the standing 

 grass on the rihgt, and see that you cut the ground all over so as not 

 to leave standing grass between the swaths ; if this is the case, it is 

 owing to the carelessness of the driver, and nothing else. 



" Oil the bearings often to prevent friction, keep every nut drawn 

 tight so as to prevent wearing, and there is no trouble. Any man 

 that has fifteen acres of smooth surface, can aff'ord, if he keeps a 

 team, to own a machine ; if not alone, he should join with his neigh- 

 bors, and thus secure his crops in their season, and in good weather, 

 and at a much less cost." 



The same conclusion with regard to the economy of the use 

 of the machine is arrived at by nearly all the writers of letters 

 received on this subject ; and the following, from Levi Stock- 

 bridge, Esq., an enterprising farmer, of North Hadley, is only a 

 fair specimen of the whole. He says : — 



" I consider it good economy to mow with a machine rather than 

 with a scythe, on all farms that are not so wet or rocky that it maybe 

 difficult to use a machine. Taking labor at its cost in this vicinity, 

 grass, on an average, cannot be cut at less than one dollar per acre 

 with the scythe, and it will cost one shilling per acre to spread the 

 swaths. With a good machine, taking into the account the wear, 

 breakage, &c., it can be cut for fifty cents per acre, and the grass 

 spread better than it is possible to do it by hand ; saving, as you see, 

 sixty-seven cents per acre by it. 



" Question third it is not easy to answer definitely, as there is 

 so much diff"erence in the ability of horses of the same weight, and in 

 the ease with which diff"erent machines are worked ; on an average, I 

 think a pair, to work a double machine, should weigh twenty hundred. 



" I should choose to have my horses work on the machine in the 

 month of July, rather than on a plough in stubble land, at the same 

 time of year. 



"As to the number of hours which the team could work per day, it 

 will depend much on circumstances ; but I should think from seven to 

 ten hours, at a speed of one acre an hour. 



" I think any intelligent man, Avho has been accustomed to use a 

 machine, might point out some faults and suggest some real improve- 



