LESTER’S OBSERVATIONS ON CUTTING HAY AND STKAW, &c. 707 
due-medium in size and condition is, 
_ without doubt, much more advantageous 
_ to both the grazier and consumer, and 
if with this the recurrence to oxen as beasts 
aL 
of labour, can be effected, Lord Somer- 
ville will have deserved well of his coun- 
try. : ; 
Aer. V.. Observations on the Utility of cutting Hay and Straw,.and bruising Corn for 
feeding of Animals, arranged and elucidated, not by Chemical Test, but Agricultural Prac- 
0 tice, with a full and particular Description of the best Machines for that Purpose; with ap- 
“9 
Sa 
“qi 
~ AFTER this curious advertisement it is 
Needless to say, that these pages area 
_ puff on Mr. Lester’s chaff engine. How- 
‘ever, it is the puff direct, and there is no 
quackery in the case; for Mr. Lester’s 
chaff engine, which cuts with a single 
knife, or a fly wheel, and which is capa- 
ble of cutting chaff to any given length, 
' as’received very ample testimony of its 
ority. 
oe Lester conceives that the most 
nutritious part of straw is the saccharine 
ibstance contained immediately above 
its joints. It will be found, says he, by 
examining the straw of corn, that the 
‘part of this substance is contained 
‘these cavities in the form of pith, 
which being scraped out’with a pen- 
_ knife; when the knots are cut longitudi- 
i faliy, and put upon the tongue, the 
h brobercare immediately pérceptible.’’ 
Mr. Lester’s “ new and valuable discovery, 
“the aitmost importance to the agricultural 
_ world,” of-separating the more from the 
| léss nutritious parts of straw, was thus 
i accidentally made ; 
PY + About eighteen months ago I was ap- 
" plied to by one of the managers of a very large 
Intended manufactaring concern, for the pur- 
a oe of making paper from straw, and offered 
Fge’sum of money if I could produce an 
engine, that would separate the knots from 
| Straw, as they then employed a considerable 
_humber of hands to cut them out with shears. 
This L.at that moment, conceived next -to 
_ impossible ; but from an accidental obserya- 
fion some months after, in cutting some strong 
PS} cussion of the knife, to a considerable 
' distance from the machine, beyond the parts 
that contained no knots. From this obser- 
} L concluded, that the object was dis- 
| covered that was so interesting to the paper- 
_ thaker. Having a winnowing machine stand- 
ne 
it straw, I found the knots to fly, by the 
“probationary Certificates annexed. Also a new and valuable Discovery, of the utmost Im- 
sa to the agricultural World, by which means every Farmer may gabe the moré 
nutritious Parts of his Straw for feeding Animals, from the Refuse, which 
Litter. By Wittsam Lester, Farmer and Engineer, Piccadilly. 8v0. pp. 34 
may be used for 
ing by the straw engine, I put the cut straw 
into it, and passed it through, when I found 
the knots, from their gravity, come through 
the sieves like corn, and the other blowing 
away as chaff. I now found the possibility 
of constructing an engine for the complete 
separation of the knots from cut straw, 
and immediately went to the paper manufac- 
tory, intending to make a contract for the en- 
gine they so much desired; but to my utter 
isappointment the works were stopped ; for 
what reason I know not. Had it been for 
the want of an engine to take away the knots, 
I am confident I could have set them to work 
again; but I candidly confess, it was this 
application, and this disappointment, that 
drew my attention to the process for agricul- 
tural purposes, the importance and propriety 
of which, practice alone will’ demonstrate. 
The mode is simple, and the expence trifling, 
within the reach of every farmer; it is only 
to cut his straw, and either heave it down 
before a wind, or throw it with a’shovel, 
which will always separate the heavy sub- 
stance from the light, in exactly the same 
way a8 dressing of corn. The separation will 
be complete if the straw is cut an inch long.” 
Mr. Lester has ‘given a list of various 
agricultural machines which ‘he makes, 
and their respective prices. © By somé 
accident Mr. Lester has omitted to in- 
form his readers of a new’ discovery, 
which he might fairly have claimed ;, if 
a tradesman has an. assortment of new 
articles for sale, he puts his advertise- 
ment into the newspaper, and pays his 
five shillings for it. By advertising his 
wares in the shape of a pamphlet, on 
wove paper, and with descriptive en- 
grayings, Mr. Lester has discovered the 
art not only.of saving his own five shil- 
lings, but of transferring a great mary 
such sumsfrom otherpeople’spocketsinto 
hisown. This is the age for discovery! 
