THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



than any other machine ; and the horses were not 

 required to travel faster, or to exert greater power 

 than would be necessary in ploughing in land of 

 medium strength. The superiority in cutting in 

 this machine appeared to be the result of a larger 

 stroke in the knife, equal to 5^^ in.; and the reduc- 

 tion m draught and speed, the consequence of a 

 more correct calculation and distribution of power. 

 The iudges had no hesitation in awarding to this 

 machine the Society's first prize of £30; and they 

 feel assured that all who witnessed the trials will 

 concur in that decision." 



This award was confirmed in 1857 at Salisbury, 

 when the judges said " that the ease and accuracy 

 with which Messrs, Burgess and Key's machine 

 worked, fully entitled them to the First Prize." 



From the latter period the success of the reaper 

 might be considered as established ; and there are 

 now more than two thousand of them at work in 

 different parts of the globe. In fact, the value 

 of the implement has been almost as generally 

 acknowledged in other countries as in this. 

 It was exhibited at Vienna, before the Emperor of 

 Austria; also at Pesth, in the presence of hislmperial 

 Royal Highness Archduke Albrecht, governor of 

 Hungary, where it obtained the first-class diploma, 

 being declared to be superior to every other ma- 

 chine. It is now in general use in Hungary, In 

 the province of Grosseto (Tuscany), in the presence 

 of the Commissioners ajjpointed by the Agrarian 

 Association, it also obtained a first-class diploma ; 

 and several machines are now in use in that dis- 

 trict. In the neighbourhood of Milan it had some 

 further success. At Haine St. Pierre, in Belgium, 

 during a trial of three successive days, it was ac- 

 knowledged to have worked in a most satisfactory 

 manner. Since the Salisbury meeting the Reaper 

 has obtained the first prize at Louth, where Dray's 

 machine was also exhibited. At Hexham, where 

 five other machines were exhibited, the judges 

 unanimously awarded the first prize to this one ; 

 and in Scotland, oh Lord Kinnaird's estate, it again 

 obtained the first prize of the Highland Society's 

 medal, the other competitors being Dray's Hussey, 

 Bell's original, and two machines of Lord Kin- 

 naird's, Crosskill's Bell being withdrawn. At 

 Osborne this machine was exhibited in successful 

 operation in the presence of the Queen, the Prince 

 Consort, and the Emperor and Empress of the 

 French ; and on this 'occasion, to mark their ap- 

 proval, both the Emperor and the Prince Consort 

 ordered machines for their own use. It has long 

 been in practical use in all parts of England, Ire- 

 land, and Scotland, and the most satisfactory evi- 

 dence is given of its complete success in New Zea- 

 land, Austraha, and in all parts of Europe. The 

 average quantity cut by the machine is about 15 

 acres per day, by one man and a pair of horses. 

 Last year no less than seven first prizes were 

 awarded to Burgess and Key for their reaper, in- 

 cluding the first prize of a thousand francs, with 

 the gold medal, and another great gold medal of 

 honour for the best machine of the whole, when 

 exhibited before the Emperor of the French in 

 Paris, 



The deservedly favourable reception accorded' to 



this reaper induced Burgess and Key to turn their 

 attention to a companion implement, and last 

 season a mower was launched under their auspices. 

 This also is of Transatlantic production, while it 

 required equal care and study to adapt it to the 

 uses of the English farmer. Immense improve- 

 ment has been eflfected since last year, when it was 

 even then sufficiently good to carry off the special 

 prize oflFered for mowing machines at the Royal 

 Agricultural Society's meeting at Warwick, as well 

 as many other premiums at more local gatherings. 

 This season the chief public trials of the mower 

 have hitherto been in France, and at Caen the 

 award of a gold medal for the invention was 

 ordered. Much more recently a silver medal with 

 five hundred francs was received for its perform- 

 ance on the Emperor's farm at Vincennes, when 

 the only surprise was that Burgess and Key's ma- 

 chine did not take the higher premium. There is 

 no doubt that the decision arrived at was a mistake. 

 In the same week another of these mowers received 

 the prize for some very good work at Norwich, 

 under the countenance of the Norfolk Agricultural 

 Society. A report of this meeting, as well as of 

 that in Paris, will show how public opinion now 

 estimates this implement. 



The firm of Burgess and Key has also been in- 

 strumental in introducing Parkes' steel digging 

 forks, for which a number of prizes have been 

 awarded by the Royal and other Agricultural So- 

 cieties, The Works, however, at Brentwood are 

 now entirely devoted to the manufactory of reapers 

 and mowers. A very large number of hands are 

 employed here, while the machinery in use for 

 planing and boring is considered by mechanicians 

 as of a very superior character. Upwards of a thou- 

 sand implements are turned out annually, but the 

 demand is still far above the supply, and extensive 

 additions are being made to the factory, so that 

 something like three times the number may be in- 

 cluded in the year's business. 



Mr. Burgess, we believe, was brought up as a 

 solicitor, but be has evinced a great aptitude for 

 mechanics, as the success of the implements 

 selected and the improvements determined on alike 

 tend to show. Sir Kingsmill Key— for the second 

 partner in the firm is a baronet — is a son of the 

 late Alderman Sir John Key, whom he succeeded 

 in 1858. In the print Sir Kingsmill Key sits in 

 profile, while Mr. Burgess faces the photographer. 

 The two bear alike very high characters as men of 

 business, which it is their pride to conduct in the 

 most straight-forward and honourable manner. 

 Certainly, so far, nothing^of an inferior or even of 

 second-rate order has been identified with their 

 firm, and, as a consequence, if they have risen 

 rapidly, it has been, jyari passu, with a trade and a 

 name now thoroughly established. 



A print of Burgess and Key's Reaper was given 

 in the "Farmer's Magazine" for May, 1856, and 

 we here associate with the house, as a companion 

 plate, the Mowing Machine, that is just at present 

 perhaps the more in call of the two. 



