at the Salisbury Meeting, 1857. 445. 



to be compared to them for workmanship. The driver was the only attendant 

 necessarily required. 



Dray's (Palmer's) machine reaped beautifully, laying the sheaves ready for 

 tying, and not requiring instant tying, as it delivered them on one side ; but 

 the price charged for it was by far too much for us to recommend to farmers ; 

 but we highly commended it. Two men attended tliis machine. 



Dray's (Hussey's) machine worked as it has done for two or three years 

 past, but the sheaves must be instantly tied to prepare the way for its return- 

 ing. Two men are requisite. 



We must here observe that the three machines to which we have awarded 

 prizes are caj^able of cutting all sorts of corn, while those of Messrs. Dray are 

 only strictly speaking " reaping machines ;" and while the present system, so 

 largely jjractised by farmers, of growing seeds with their barley crops conti- 

 nues, on those farms Messrs. Dray's machines are not of general utility ; but 

 we allow that where the reaping of wheat only is an object, and if cut Avhen 

 fit for immediate tying, Messrs. Draj^'s are excellent machines, and their 

 " Hussey " is cheap in comparison with all the others. 



On referring to the Report of the trials at Leigh Court, in 1855, we feel 

 ])erfectly justified in reversing the decision arrived at last year at Boxted 

 Lodge, where there was 'evidently a great fault in the construction of the 

 machine shown thereby Messrs. Burgess and Key (and which fault lost them 

 the First Prize), but which is now rectified by the addition of the spiral screw. 

 We quite agree with the distinction made at Boxted between mowing and 

 reaping machines. We wish therefore that the public should fully understand 

 that for general harvest purposes we most highly approve of those machines to 

 which we have now- given prizes, each having a side deliver^', and commend 

 the machines of Messrs. Dray for reaping only. 



We conclude by saying, that we think any further remarks needless ; for 

 to give every description of the above machines would be only to repeat the 

 excellent Report of the Judges who attended at Leigh Court. 



H. B. Caldwell. J. J. Rowley. 

 W. Owen. W, Chalcraft. 



F. King. C. S. Read. 



J. Druce. J. Clarke. 



Awards of Prizes. 



Messrs. Burgess and Key £lO 



Mr. Crosskill GOO 



Lord Kiiinainl 400 



Messrs. Dray (Palmer's) Highly commended. 



Messrs. Burgess and Key Highly commended. 



Messrs. Dray (^Hussey) Commended. 



Steam Cultivators. 



To enter upon this subject with any degree of sufficiency, or to write a 

 satisfactory account of the advance made by steam cultivators during the past 

 year, is quite impossible. 



At Salisbury we had four competitors, viz., Mr. Fowler, Mr. Boydell, Mr. 

 Collinson Hall, and Mr. J. A. WiUiams. The Judges decided that on the 

 •morning they were to begin working, they should give notice of being ready : 

 they were then to start from the yard as from the homestead of a farm, and 

 from that time notes were to be taken of all their proceedings. In only one 

 case was this carried out, and that was IMr. Boydell, who most triumphantly 

 ascended the hill to the ground laid out for ploughing, and fully proved his 

 power as a traction engine. He shortly conmienced ploughing, but this was 

 not satisfactory, for nothing could keep the ploughs in the ground. The work 



