THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



377 



REAPING MACHINERY. 



By Mr. Alfred Crosskill. 



A Paper read at a Meeting of the British Association at Leeds, on Tuesday, Sept. 28th, 1853. 



The paper on Reaping Machinery which I read before this 

 Section in the year 1853, at the meeting of the British Asso- 

 ciation iu Hull, contained a general history of all the early 

 inventions for reaping on record, none of which excited any 

 interest, or were generally known to the public, prior to the 

 Great Exhibition of 1851, when the introduction there of two 

 reaping machines from America drew general attention to the 

 subject. Mr. Garrett, Messrs. Rausomea (of Ipswich), Mr. 

 Samuelson, and the father of the writer (Mr. William Cross- 

 kill) immediately took a prominent part in introducing 

 reaping machinery into the harvest-fields of this country, 

 (which are much more difficult to operate iu than those of 

 America, owing to the crops being much heavier) ; and Mr. 

 Crosskill succeeded in bringing into general notice, and sub- 

 sequently into practical operation, a reaper which had been in 

 existence iu Scotland, and worked there by its owner, for 

 nearly twenty years, but which, for want of practical know- 

 ledge in perfecting its mechanical construction, had scarcely 

 been heard of during that time beyond the limits of the dis- 

 trict in which it was originally put together. 



The two American reapers, known respectively as Hussey'a 

 and M'Cormick's, and the Scotch machine, called " Bell's," 

 after its originator, who was a minister in Fifeshire, were in 

 1853 the only implements capable of doing any practical work 

 in the harvest fields ; and though they have during the succeed- 

 ing five years been greatly improved, modified, and re-con- 

 structed as experience has shown to be necessary to meet the 

 varied requirements of English agriculture, they still retain 

 their distinctive peculiarities sufficiently to divide these reaping 

 machines into three separate classes or varieties, and all the 

 schemes and novelties which have been brought forward since 

 the year 1852 have either failed and been laid aside, or have 

 resolved themselves into variations of one of the three 

 machines first established. 



Before describing the fundamental differences in the con- 

 struction of these three reapers, and briefly indicating the im- 

 portant improvements that have been made in them since 

 their introduction, it is desirable briefly to point out the work 

 which has to be accomplished by an efficient machine for reap- 

 ing. Most investors or mechanics who for the first time turn 

 their attention to this subject occupy themselves almost ex- 

 clusively with the cutting apparatus, apparently overlooking 

 that the convenient disposal or delivery of the cut corn is a 

 very important part of the functions of reaping machines, and 

 has, in fact, been the real difficulty in bringing them into prac- 

 tical use. The cutting parts of all the reapers have for a length 

 of time been sufficiently perfect to encounter successfully every 

 crop that they can reasonably be required to cut ; but to ob- 

 tain an efficient means of delivery has taxed to the utmost the 

 patience, perseverance, and ingenuity of all who have been en- 

 gaged with the subject, and considerable difficulty has been 

 experienced in perfecting an arrangement that will satisfac- 

 torily deliver all descriptions of grain. 



The only efficient cutting apparatus hitherto brougl.t into 

 practical use consiits of a series of V-shaped knives fixed side 

 by side on a light moveable bar extending across the whole 



width of the front part of the reapers, and connected by 

 means of gearing and a crank to the main wheels which carry 

 them, so that as they travel forwards a rapid reciprocating 

 motion is communicated to the knives. They pass between 

 and cut against fixed guards or fingers, which support the 

 straw and prevent it from yielding sideways, and serve also to 

 protect the knives from injury on rough and stony ground. 



The shape of the knives varies in the different machines ; in 

 Hussey's they form a very acute angle with the guards, are 

 plain-edged, sharp, and chop off the straw by means of their 

 rapid motion through the fingers. Mr. Cormick's knife has a 

 serrated edge with an obtuse angle, and requires the aid of a 

 fan or reel to hold the corn in order to cut clean, but it is 

 much more easily worked, more durable, and less liable to choke 

 than Hussey's, and by those who have tried both is generally 

 preferied. Bell's original machine cut by means of shears 

 resembling large scissors ; but though very efficient in opera- 

 tion they were found difficult to keep in order, and a serrated 

 knife something like McCormick's was substituted for the 

 shears in the year 1854, and has been successfully used since 

 that time. An inspection of the models will enable anyone to 

 understand the general action of the cutters and guards, and 

 the special difference between each variety of knife is shown 

 by the specimens on the table. 



It is worthy of remark in connection with the cutting appa- 

 ratus, that numerous endeavours have from time to time been 

 made to supersede the necessity of giving a reciprocating motion 

 to the knives, as the reverse action is a source of considerable 

 loss of power, "and the tremulous vibration it produces in the 

 machines is a great cause of their wear and tear. All attempts 

 have, however, hitherto failed iu producing an efficient cutter 

 having a continuous motion, and in the opinion of the wiiter 

 there is little probability of their success, as actual experience 

 in the harvest-field seems to prove that the reverse or recipro- 

 cating motion of the bar and knives is necessary to shake out 

 from the guards pieces of short straw, grass, weeds, and other 

 substances which constantly collect there, and if not quickly 

 removed soon choke them up pnd stop the action of the 

 cutters. 



The different methods of delivering the cut corn will be best 

 understood from a brief description of how it is disposed of by 

 each machine, beginning with Hussey's, which is the simplest, 

 and may be termed the elementary reaper. In this implement 

 the corn falls, as it is cut, upon a platform behind the knives ; 

 a man rides on the box, which covers the wheels and other 

 gearing, and forma a seat for him ; and as soon as a sufficient 

 quantity has collected to form a sheaf, he pushes it off the 

 platform by means of a rake with which he is provided. When 

 this operation is performed by a skilful workman on a mode- 

 rately light crop, which can be managed without too much exer- 

 tion, it has a particularly neat and tidy appearance, the corn is 

 left in sheaves, ready for binding immediately; and the result 

 is attained by the simplest possible means, as there is no 

 o-eariiig required except that for driving the cutters ; and the 

 simplicity of the inip'cn:ieat contrasts strikingly with others 

 which have machinery necessarily more or less complicated for 



