G02 Implement Show at Bury St. Edmund's. 



willing to undergo great outlay, and submit to great incon- 

 venience, it behoves our Society to be careful that the trials 

 are conducted in such a thoroughly conclusive manner that 

 no one can fairly complain, but all, whether beaten or suc- 

 cessful, must acknowledge the fairness and completeness of 

 the ordeal. Now, the first requisite is time ; nothing can be 

 well done if done in a hurry ; and when judges have to deal 

 with such an array of implements as at Bury, and have only Z^ 

 days as the given time, one of two consequences is inevitable, 

 either the trials are hurried over, and the risk of error greatly 

 increased, or else, as in the present case, the awards are not pub" 

 lished until the show is half over, and the successful exhibitor 

 forfeits all the advantages he would derive from publicity. The 

 implement awards should be lodged with the Secretary on the 

 Saturday night, and according to the entry, which is known in 

 May, the time allowed for judging should be determined. We 

 dwell on this point, remembering the facts relating to the New- 

 castle trials of steam cultivators. Work commenced on the 

 Tuesday, weather fine throughout ; yet, notwithstanding great 

 exertions on all hands, the awards were not made public until 

 the Tuesday afternoon in the show week. It is possible that the 

 entries at Leicester next year may exceed those at Newcastle, and 

 just in that proportion should the date of the trials be put 

 forward. The second point to which we would direct attention, 

 is the importance of securing uniform conditions during the trial 

 of a class of machines in competition for the same prize. The 

 weather at Bury was splendid until noon on Saturday, the 13th, 

 when a sudden and very heavy thunderstorm caught the corn in 

 rick and in the waggons; consequently, when the judges again 

 got to work, a protest was raised on account of the condition of 

 the corn, and it was with difficulty that some comparatively dry 

 sheaves were picked out; but some of them were slightly damp ; 

 and it is evident that the trials after such rain could not take 

 place under exactly similar conditions. Moreover, very serious 

 delay occurred from rain. The risk of such delay might be 

 easily remedied by extending the machine shed, say 12 feet on 

 each side, filling these spaces with well-tied sheaves previous to 

 the commencement of the trials. The next spaces to receive 

 the machines should be i) feet wide, whilst a clear space of 

 15 or 18 feet in the centre of the shed would divide the two 

 machines, and allow of ample space for collecting the products 

 of the experiments, winnowing the samples, &c. At Bury the 

 shed-room was only sufficient to hold two machines, the corn 

 being brought on carts as required. The cost of the extra 

 roofing would be more than repaid in the saving of labour in 

 carting the sheaves from the stack to the machines ; uniformity 

 of conditions would be secured, whilst the risk of serious 



