4 ! 8 Repfy to the Letter of A, G. on Thrajhing Machines. Nov; 



and that ^hey might be advantageoufly ufed, not only to dry po- 

 tatoes, but pale malt, and every fpecies of grain. 



I am, &:c. 

 May \.\tk, 1804. Projector. 



TO THE CONDUCTOR OF THE FARMER S MAGAZINE. 



Jieplyrtfi the Letter of A. G. on the ZuhjeH of Thraflmig Machines.^ 



Sir, 



As you feem to think that fome notice fliould be taken of the 

 letter figned A. G., inferted p. 302, Lift Number, I fhall, without 

 ceremony, prefent a few remarks thereupon. The thrafhing ma- 

 chine is undoubtedly the moil important implement poiTefled by 

 the corn huibandman \ confequently a few minutes of a rainy 

 harveil day cannot be better employed than in examining what 

 is faid by Mr A. G. concerning the invention. 



In my two former letters, Vol. IV. p. 128 and 499, I com- 

 mented upon Mr A. G.'s communication, Vol. III. p. 428, and 

 gave a concife hiftory of the thraftiing machine, which is not 

 controverted by him in any material particular. He appears, 

 however, to view the hiilory as incomplete, becaufe it is chiefly 

 reftricted to an account of the endeavours ufed by Mr Meikle 

 to bring it to perfe6tion. Now, allow me to fay, that as almoil 

 every thrafhing machine in ufe, fo far as my knowledge reaches, 

 is conflrucfed agreeably to the principles of the one originally 

 devifed by Mr Meikle, I humbly prefume that a detail of the 

 meafurcs ufed by him mufl be held by every impartial perfon as 

 conveving a fatisfaclory hiftory of the invention. I mentioned 

 Mr Meikle's firit attempt to thrafli by a number of flails, which 

 confefTedly was unfiiccefsful. I pointed out the caufes which 

 led him to think that thrafhing might be accompliflied by fixing 

 ftrong beaters on a large cylinder or drum, inftead of having 

 loofe and naked Ikutchers, as had been attempted by others i 

 and defcribed the fcene or pl^ce where the operation was origi- 

 nally executed, and carried fuccefsfuily into effect. If I am 

 right in thefe thin^rs, and the contrary is not direClly maintained 

 by your correfpbndent, I would gravely afk him, what he wanr.> 

 to be at ? Docs he want a hiftory of the conftruClion and erec- 

 tion of every individual machine now ufed in Britain ? If he 

 does, then to be furc my account muft be viewed as defective ; 

 for a book bigger even than Rapin's Hiftory would not be of fuf- 

 ficient fize to contain one half of what, under this circumftance, 



would 



