548 



THE FARMER'S iMAGAZINE. 



be worthy of such notice, the measure of the value that the judges 

 may consider as fairly attaching to each, as macldnery the 

 most praciically suited for the pitrchise and use of the farmer. 



This we believe will be best obtained by adopting the prin- 

 ciple of making the judges' records upon a tabulated system of 

 the various points considered essential, and marking by a 

 higher or lower figure under each head the degree of excellence 

 to which in each case the eugine or machine before them may 

 have attained. This mode of determining the comparative 

 merit is not new, aud has not unfrequeutly been adopted by 

 the judges in their tes's of some classes of implements ; and 

 in some instances, these tabulated statements of points have 

 been published six mouths afterwards in the Societj's Journal 

 reports. But we submit that very great advantage would accrue, 

 if immediately upon the judges having determiuel their award 

 of prizes, eacii exhibitor should be furnished with the tabu- 

 lated statement tilled up, which relates to his onn implement. 

 By this, the exhibitor would at once see the points in which 

 his implement is held to be defective, and his attention be 

 promptly turned to improvement. 



With the exception of those which are selected for prizes or 

 commendations (which would naturally le published in the 

 judges' report), it might be optional with the others whether 

 the reports indicating inferiority should b." made public; but 

 at all events, if it should be found that in some respects the 

 machine of any maker involved some point of liigh excellence, 

 although reduced below the point of gaining a prize, by a ba- 

 lance of defects on other j oint?, its comparative value might 

 he fairly seen, aud the exhibitor take the benefit of the know- 

 ledge. 



We note the remark of the chairman of the Implement 

 Committee of the Koyal Agricultural Society of Englacd, as 

 published in your report of the Council Meeting, that the sug- 

 gestions of the exhibitors were very similar to the present 

 practice of the Society. The difference lies mainly in this, that 

 the system of adjudicating by a scale of points, now adopted for 

 one or two classes of implements should be the invariable 

 practice for all classes, and that instead of a publication of 

 these at a remote periort, every impieniei.t exliibitor competing 

 at the trials shoul I be lurnished with the results as affecting 

 his own impleuient as early as the judges are prepared with 

 their awards. Tliis would involve but a small amount of labour 

 or time, as the tabulated forms may be printed beforehand, 

 and would only require the insertion of the figures, unless the 

 judges should desire to make any remark by way of note. 



Trusting we have not drawn too largely on your space, we 

 remain, respectfully, Kansomes & Sims. 



Ipswich nth Mo. 13, 1857. 



GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS. 



1st. Ad.iudic.\tion bv Poi.nts. — That the s3-stem of 

 establishing t'e excellence of any machine or implement by 

 summing-up the number of points it obtains in reference 

 to certain qualifications clearh' defined before commence- 

 ment of the trial, as is at present exemplified in the trials 

 of steam thrashing machines, should bo extended as far as 

 possible to other machines. 



2nd. Publication of thesk Records. — That the 

 results thus arrived at should be tabulated and given in 

 printing or writing to each exhibitor who competes for a 

 trial, so that he may be .able to append them to his 

 machines which have been tried on the iir.st public-day of 

 the exhibition. 



3rd. Speed of Drums, &c— Exhibitors should be 

 informed, at least one month before the trials take place, 

 iif the exact diameters and speeds of tlie various fly-wheels 

 and other driving drums, by which the various machines are 

 to be driven when under trial, whether power or hand 

 machines. 



Speed. — All machines to ba used by hand-power should 

 111 limited to some certain speed — say, fifty revolutions per 

 minute. 



The Society'.s Conditions in Full. — These should 

 be made known to each exhibitor much earlier in the year 

 than they arc at present. This would bo more likely to 

 ensure improved machines being brought for competition. 



Points op Merit.— We think that the points on which 

 the judgments are based should be as follows : — 



Cl.4ss I.— Steam Engines. 

 I.ST. Division: Portable. — The tabular reports should 

 contain all the particulars it does at present, viz. — 

 Name 

 Stand 



Article Number 

 Price 



Horse-power 



Fuel, aud time raising steam ; 

 and also 



Coals burnt to do the whole work 

 Time running 

 Coals burnt per hour 

 Coals burnt per horse-power per hour 

 Water evaporated. 

 And the points for adjudication should be 



Represented by Points. 



1st. Durability 20 



2nd. Simplicity of construction and facility 



of repair 20 



3rd. Excellence of material and workmanship 20 

 4th. Duty done with reference to coal burnt 20 



5th. Portability 10 



Gth. Price per horse-power 10 



AND WE WOULD FURTHER RECOMMEND — 



1st. That no restrictions be placed upon the exhibitors, 

 as to the dimensions or construction of the engines and 

 boilers with which they compete, except that they shall 

 not work at any higher pressure than that determined by 

 tho Society and published on the condition sheet. 



2nd. That every compjting engine should be tried to its 

 utmost capatiti" at the maximum pressure allowed by the 

 Society, no matter at what nominal power it may be 

 entered. 



3id. That the trials take place under a shed covering tlie 

 engine and also the dynamometer. 



4th. That the cral u-ed in the trials should be an aver- 

 age qua'ity of bituminous coal, and not anthracite. 



5th. That the coal be well broken, and the rubbish 

 picked out before weighing any of it out for the trials. 



2nd Division: Fi.xed Engines. — That the above 

 plan of trial should be carried out subject to the alterations 

 necessitated by the difference between the two classes of 

 engines ; for instance, the omission of portability as a point 

 of merit. 



Clas8 II. — Thrashing Machines. 



The Quality of Grain. — That care should be taken 

 to have the sheaves served out to different machines as uni- 

 formly dry as possible, and of uniform quality and bulk. 



Length of Trial — That every machine should be tried 

 for at least half-aii-hour. 



(This is about the total time they would be tried in three 

 years, if the old plan of annual trials was coutiuued.) 



Points of Merit. — These shou d be continued aa they 

 were at the Society's last trial. 



Class III. — Mills of Different Descriptions. 

 Quality of Work Done. — Care should be taken to 

 equalize the produce of the different competitors' mills as 

 much as possible ; and with that view the plan adopted 

 by the Society at Lincoln should be henceforth renewed, viz.: 

 Let the judges cause any one of the mills in the c'ass under 

 tria', whether it is a competing mill or not, to crush or grind a 

 standard sample, and let each competitor have ample time to 

 get his mill adjusted to produce a sample equal to the 

 standard. When the mill is so adjusted, let the trial proceed, 

 and the points for adjudication be as under: — 



Represented by Points. 

 lat. Duty done in reference to power .... 25 



2nd. Quality of work done 25 



3rd. Durability and facility of repair 20 



4th. Simplicity of construction 15 



5th. Materials and workmanship 10 



6th. Price 5 



Class IV.— Chaff Cutters. 

 Quality op Work.— Every machine entered for compe- 

 tion, or selected by the judges for trial, shou'd, during: the 

 trial, cut the same length, which should be announced in the 



