REAPING MA CHINE. 



Reaping manner thirty yards in length, was evidently shown 

 Machine, the practicability of making a machine to cut a much 

 "* V-*' greater extent, as also free from all the defects here 

 mentioned. 



The next trial of the machine was discouraging to 

 those that could make no allowance for the slenderness 

 of the bottom frame, which ought to have been thrice 

 the strength that it was made of. 



The piece of ground that the second trial was made 

 on, was much more uneven than we were aware of; 

 for the unrotten rushy sward was found to be nearly as 

 the plough had left it, the horse having only moved 

 forward for a short way, when the roller wheels sunk 

 into a deep unobserved hollow, and the exertions of the 

 horse made the bottom part of the frame bend so much 

 up, as caused the cutters to act against the cover plate 

 with such force, that one of the cutters cut an inch and 

 a quarter into it, another at the same time three-fourths 

 of an inch, and a third nearly half an inch, which was 

 a sufficient proof of the power of the machine, but, at 

 the same time, more than a sufficient proof of the weak- 

 ness of the bottom frame part. 



Several private trials were afterwards made with the 

 machine, but it is unnecessary to give any other re- 

 port of them, than that the great defect in the strength 

 of the bottom frame part was manifest in them all. 



2. Mr. Gladstone's Improved Reaping Machine. 



Mr. Glad- In our article on Agriculture, we have given a full 

 stone's Im- description, accompanied by a drawing, of the first 

 proved reaping machine, invented and constructed by Mr. 

 Reaping Gladstone, an ingenious millwright at Castle Douglas. 

 Machine. ^ putting that machine, however, to actual trial, Mr. 

 Gladstone found, that as the teeth for gathering the 

 corn were on the upper side of the cutter, they never 

 could get quit of the cut corn. The machine cut a 

 yard's length with great perfection, but the corn after 

 .this stuck in the teeth, so that the growing corn was 

 shoved forward, and the cutter went over the top of it. 

 He was therefore led to remedy this evil, by the con- 

 struction which we shall proceed to describe. 



This reaping machine is wrought by one horse, and 

 PLATE is represented in Plate CCCCLXXIX. Fig. 13; is a 

 CCCCLXXIX. view from the side of the machine farthest from the 

 growing corn. A represents the shafts for the horse 

 like those of a common cart, B a diagonal piece of wood 

 as shown at B in Fig. 19, for the pur pose of strengthen- 

 ing the frame. G is the wheel carrying the one side 

 of the machine, and giving motion to the gatherer, by 

 means of a pinion working into a wheel fixed on the 

 gatherer at H on Fig. 19, at M in Fig. 18. K is a block of 

 wood or bolster for supporting the axle of the wheel G, 

 andLLLListhegatherermovingroundthecommon cen- 

 tre N, and having the form of a cylinder of thin boards 

 with teeth starting out from holes at the side where 

 the corn is cut, and put back again within the cylin- 

 der as at Fig. 15. P is a small wheel carrying the 

 principal part of the machine, with segments of cast- 

 iron on it acting on the pinion on the socket of the cut- 

 ter, asatFig.14. Q represents teeth of wood for gathering 

 up the straggled corn, and holding it or preparing it for 

 the cutter, as at Fig. 19. Fig. 14. is a view of the cutter by 

 itself, having a socket of cast-iron, with a pinion upon 

 "the socket about two inches in diameter, to take into the 

 upright bar, Fig.l7,which is the centre bar, and is acted 

 upon by the wheel P, whose motion is obtained from the 

 surface of the ground and the weight of the machine. 



7 



The cutter has four iron arms screwed into the last Reaping 

 socket at the top, and bent as at RR, on purpose to al- Machine, 

 low the teeth of the gatherer to pass when thrown in r^" m ^: 

 by the circular pin of wood, as at Fig. 1 9, and the cut- 

 ters are in six pieces and bolted to a bar of iron at SS, 

 to which the arms are bolted likewise. Fig. 15. is a 

 view of the gatherer by itself, only the circular bars to 

 put out and in the teeth of the gatherer, as the gatherer 

 comes round. As the teeth and cross on the top are 

 all fixed on one piece, when the gatherer, comes round 

 the end of the cross at T will strike the circular barV, 

 and by that means send out the teeth to catch the corn 

 at W, and the other pieces of circular wood at X will 

 send in the teeth to the straight of the cylinder, and 

 thus drop the corn without scattering any of it. This 

 gatherer is made of two slender wooden rings, and is co- 

 vered on the outside with thin boards, with a socket of 

 cast or malleable iron to turn on the bar V. The cut- 

 ter and gatherer are both fixed on the same bar. Fig. 



16. is a view of the teeth of the gatherer by itself. Fig. 



17. is a view of the centre bar, the top part of which is 

 square fitted into the frame, a plate of iron being on 

 the under, and another on the upper side, the middle 

 being round turned and smooth for the cutter and ga- 

 therer acting upon the bottom part square like the top, 

 only the square is taken from the round, so that the 

 sockets may go on. On the bottom square is fitted a 

 piece of iron, either cast or malleable. The cast iron is 

 no doubt cheaper ; but malleable iron is better. Its 

 use is to fix the teeth for gathering the corn, and 

 likewise for the centre of the centre wheel for carrying 

 the machine, as at P in both Fig. 1 8, and 1 9. Fig. 18. is 

 a view of the machine behind, showing how the cutter 

 and gatherer pass one another, and how the teeth are 

 fixed that gather up the loose corn. Fig. 19. is a view- 

 from the top of the machine, showing the framing and 

 top of the gatherer, part of the cutter, and gathering 

 teeth. 



When the machine was thus constructed, it was sub- 

 jected to trial, and it was found to have no tendency to 

 choak, but kept itself clear, and laid down the corn 

 with great regularity. The teeth in the gathering cy- 

 linder were placed rather high, so that the corn leant a 

 good deal from them, so as to bring the lower end of it 

 round first, and lay it at an angle of about forty-five 

 degrees, whereas it would have been better if it had 

 been laid right across. This could easily have been 

 accomplished by drawing the machine right against the 

 corn. The sharpening apparatus is not given in this 

 machine, because it has already been introduced into 

 the machine described under our article Agriculture. 



Mr. Gladstone has likewise constructed a machine 

 for reaping beans, which has been actually used, and 

 which cut down in great perfection, four acres in a day, 

 with one man and one horse. The beans were after- 

 wards to be gathered into sheaves and bound up, but 

 we believe Mr. Gladstone afterwards made similar ma- 

 chines, in which the man guided the machine, and ei- 

 ther gathered the beans, or made the machine gather 

 them at the same time. 



REAUMUR, RENE-ANTOINE FERCHAULT, an emi- 

 nent French naturalist, was born at Rochelle in 1 683. 

 He was educated for the bar, but being particularly 

 fond of mathematics, natural history and physics, he 

 went to Paris in 1703, where he distinguished himself 

 so highly, that he was elected a member of the Aca- 

 demy of Sciences in 1708. The Memoirs of this learn- 

 ed body from 1709 to 1763, contain nearly a hundred 



