210 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



of the preceding. The delivery is very good ; and since 

 last year a very important improvement has been made, 

 namely, instead of the divider-board, a conical screw- 

 roller projects into and separates the portion of corn to 

 be cut from the upstandii)g or lodged crop. The ma- 

 chine is very broad, and of large dimensions, and a little 

 scheming is required to take it through an ordinary 

 gateway. The price is ^'40. 



The "Eagle" American reaper, invented by Mr. Cai-yl, 

 of Ohio, and exhibited by Mr. H. Clayton, of Atlas 

 Works, Dorset-square, London, is the best we ever saw for 

 mowing grass crops, and as a corn -reaping machine re- 

 quires alterations in its construction before it can cope 

 successfully with our heavy and tangled crops. It is 

 small, compact, and lighter than any good machine ever 

 seen before, in proportion to the amount of work done, 

 that is, having a five-feet cut, and delivering the cut 

 corn in bundles by an automatic rake. The draught is 

 directly upon the axle of the main carriage-wheel, 

 leaving the frame carrying the cutters free to conform to 

 any unevenness of surface ; and this frame is balanced, 

 so that the driver can instantly raise the knives over an 

 obstacle by depressing the back with his foot, yet the 

 cutters may be only an inch above the ground. Instead 

 of having spurwheels, pinions, and cranks to work the 

 cutters, the main cast-iron travelling-wheel (of 3 feet 7 

 inches diameter and 1 1 inches broad) has a zig-zag 

 curved slot through its periphery, the angles of which 

 act as cams to give a vibratory motion to a roller con- 

 nected with the cutter-bar. The knives are acute, not 

 serrated, and slide above fixed sharp fingers, having 

 thus a clipping or shearing action ; they are kept close 

 and free from clogging by a spring pressure-bar, and 

 each individual knife may be unscrewed off and renewed 

 at pleasure. The length of the vibration is only 2 in , 

 and the motion comparatively slow. When used as a 

 mower, there is not a cog-wheel in the machine, and 

 only 27 bolts. A curved platform is added for reaping, 

 und a radial arm sweeps (by an ingenious spring-box 

 and toothed-quadrant arrangement) backward and for- 

 ward over the platform, alternately lifting and letting 

 fall a rake, which delivers a bundle of corn at every SJ 

 feet, or allows more to accumulate at a time upon the 

 platform, at the will of the attendant. The price is £'35. 

 For the sake of comparing the working parts of this 

 with other machines, we counted on Burgess and Key's 

 reaper 2 travelling-wheels, 6 cog-wheels, 10 riggers, 6 

 endless bands, 3 brass and 18 other bearings, 4 rollers, 

 and the reel and knife-bar ; on Crosskill's,! travelling- 

 wheels, 7 cog-wheels, 4 riggers, 3 endless bands, 12 

 brass and and 4 other bearings, 2 rollers and the 

 reel and knife bar ; on the " Eagle" 2 travel- 

 ling-wheels, 1 pinion, a toothed quadrant, spring- 

 box and ratchets, 2 small riggers, chains and slides, 3 

 riggers, 1 endless band, no roller, no brass, but 15 other 

 bearings, and the reel and knife-bar, Burgess and Key's 

 is 10 feet wide, weighing about 11 cwt. ; Crosskill's is 

 8 feet wide, weighing about 17| cwt. ; and the " Eagle" 

 is 8 feet 3 inches wide, weighing about 7 cwt. 961bs., or 

 as a mowing machine 6 cwt. 781bs. 



We are informed that a machine is in progress which 

 is intended to gather and tie the sheaves after the Ameri- 

 can reaoer. Whether or not this may come to anything, 

 at any rate the employment of reaping machines has re- 

 ceived a great impetus by the introduction of great sim- 

 plicity into the mechanism, and its adaptation to pick up 

 laid and storm-broken crops ; and the introduction of 

 the reapers without platforms, to mow our natural and 

 artificial grasses, leaving them scattered as though tossed 

 by the hay-tedder, is an advance that may be expected 

 to gladden the heart of the large meadow-land occupier, 

 and free him from dependence on the slow and slovenly 

 scythe. 



IMPLEMENTS FOR SOWING. 



Messrs. Hornsby and Sons exhibited six drills of 

 various kinds. They received three prizes and two 

 high commendations. The general purpose drill, which 

 obtained the first prize, is a very perfect implement, fit 

 for drilling all sorts of corn or seeds with or without 

 manure, at all distances and in all quantities. The 

 vulcanized India-rubber tubes are a great improvement 

 upon the old tin cups ; but we hear some complaints 

 about their non- durability. One of the greatest improve - 

 raents in the drill is this : the seed-box is balanced on 

 its centre, and by means of a screw and levers at one 

 end, under the command of the drillman, can be lowered 

 endways as the drill travels, so that the box is kept as 

 level on the hill side as upon the flat, and the deli- 

 very of seed is perfectly regular. We have also to notice 

 that the manure and seed coulter act independently. 

 Upon the main coulter bar, and behind the manure de- 

 livery tin, is attached a supplemental coulter bar, with 

 independent leverage ; both coulters being pressed into 

 the ground with separate weights, there is no difficulty 

 in depositing corn, seeds, and manure regularly, at any 

 depth, one below the other. Between the two coulters 

 there is a convex rake, which introduces a fine mould- 

 bed between the manure and the seed. The price is 

 £bl complete. 



There was a small occupation drill, for which a prize 

 of £2 was given ; and a two-row ridge drill, with the 

 first prize of £5. In this latter the delivery of both 

 seed and manure is very regular. The manure coulters 

 are placed before concave rollers, by means of which 

 the ridges are brought into their proper form, and the 

 seed is deposited and followed by second rollers, leaving 

 the work completed in one operation. The price of the 

 one is £19 5s., of the other £29. 



Messrs. Garrett competed with eight implements, and 

 were awarded six money prizes (four first and two 

 second), and one high commendation. For the patent 

 combined general purpose drill and broadcast manure 

 distributor, invented by Mr. Chambers, they obtained 

 the first prize of £3. We note here the same im- 

 provement as in Hornsby's, the seed and manure 

 coulters working on independent levers, and both follow- 

 ing in the same track. In order to obtain a regular 

 supply of manure from the box, the drillman is enabled, 

 by pulling down an iron lever at the near side of the 

 drill, to move backwards and forwards a large wooden 

 valve, so disturbing the manure and bringing it down to 

 the depositing barrel. There is also a sliding bottom to 

 the manure box, by which the quantity may be regu- 

 lated from 6 to 150 bushels per acre without stopping 

 the drill. The price of this drill is £51 10s. On the 

 same stand we observed a patent combined seed and 

 liquid manure drop drill, the joint invention of Mr. 

 Spooner, of Ealing, and Mr. T. Chambers, junr. This 

 spasmodic deposit of liquid manure is obtained by a 

 revolving wheel fixed on the lever of a water drill 

 directly behind the coulter, into which the water manure 

 and seed are deposited at regular intervals. Those who 

 have been turnip growers this year will be well inclined to 

 value this implement. In some districts no plants of 

 turnips could have been obtained without these liquid 

 manure drills. Whatever may be our opinion respecting 

 them, taking an average of seasons, there can be no 

 doubt about the advantage all have received from their 

 use during the past season. It seems that the seed does 

 receive sufficient moisture to cause it to vegetate when 

 the soil is in the driest state. But the benefit of this 

 implement is that it is so arranged as to act as an ordi- 

 nary drill, depositing dry manures in a continuous 

 stream without liquid. A first prize of £4 was awarded 

 to this drilL Its price is €33 10s. 



