THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



503 



with fencing his pasture, upon an expenditure o( 

 ^960, and keeps this tence in repair at an annua! 

 expense of ^60. We will also suppose that a:? 

 both be^in vviih a floaiing capital of ^6400, the 

 European puis the residue Irom the cost of hia 

 fence, or 85440, at compound interest. At the 

 end of twelve years, the European has a liirm 

 wiih a well fenced pasture, which has cost ^1920 

 in capital sunk, and ^720 in annual repairs, and 

 ^'294 in interest on these repairs ; the ajzgregaie 

 being ^2934. Tne difference between these ag- 

 gregates is only ^16,483!! Therefore, at the 

 end of the twelve years, the American has a good 

 farm and nothing else, and the Europe-in has a 

 farm equally good, in other words equally pro- 

 ductive with the same labor and culture, and 

 ^16 483 cash at inierest ! Yel these two men 

 Btaried together with precisely the same means, 

 and all this difference is produced by different 

 systems in fencing. Whoever will make, or read 

 and understand the calculation, will perceive thai 

 fencing cattle in is much cheaper than fencing 

 them out. ' 



We commend this subject 'o the I'armers of the 

 great agricultural siale of Pennsylvania, The 

 evil of this erroneous sysiem is an enormi)us tax 

 upon agriculture, and the remedy is in their own 

 hands. By enacting and enlorcing severe laws 

 for the confinement cattle, they will relieve (hem- 

 selves from a heavy burden. We shall here .f er 

 offer a word upon the same subject to railroad cor- 

 porations. 



ACCOUNT OF THE OPERATION OF ftl COR- 

 BIICk's VIRGINIA REAPER. 



To the Editor of the t-arniers' Register. 



Cfierlcoke, Ntweviber llth, 1812. 

 When you were at my liouse duimg (he past 

 spring, I mentioned expecting to have in opera- 

 tion, during the then approaching harvest, a new 

 reaping machine invenied and patented by a Mr. 

 MiCormick, of Rocktaidge coiiiity, in tnis situe. 

 You were pleased to request thai 1 would lijruistj 

 you, for publication in the Farmers' Regisier, the 

 result of the operation of the machine. In re- 

 gard to my promise, as well as in justice to liir 

 worthy invenior, it ought to have been cumplie.i 

 with sooner; but circumstance*, unnecessary now 

 to refer to, have hiiherlo prevented me. But 1 

 hope it may not still be too Ime lo afford any g^•n- 

 tleman who may be so disposed time to send on 

 his order lor a fnachine for the next harvesl. 



The machines were received in due time for 

 the then appr-'achinir harvest. fin(J with th.-ni 

 came the elder Mr. McCormick, the lather of the 

 patentee, to sHt liiem up ami put them in opera- 

 tion, whom 1 found to be a won by, inteliigeu, 

 old gentlennn. As soon as the first macbiin- 

 was put toifeiher, we started it jn a wet, damj) 

 day, in very heavy wheat, not yet ritie, bui 

 having the rust so badly as totally precluded the 

 hope of its being of any value, or indeed that ii 

 would make any /unlier progiess in ripening. 

 Mr. JVlcCormick not seeming lo (ear, or have any 

 doubt but that ihe machine v^ould work in it, two 

 mules were hitched, and, to my astonishment, 

 under all the unfavorable existing circumstances, 

 it operated wiiliuut stoppage or d.ffii;uliy, leaving 



the stubble as even, and the ground clean, not a 

 straw standing or lying, as a parlor floor. 



This vvlieat was of the kind you saw growino' 

 at my house, called the rock wheat, which I dare 

 say would be the most productive wheat I ever 

 saw, if it would mature well in our climate ; but I 

 ftiar tiom the stoutness of the straw, and quantity 

 ol' fodder, it will not. As soon after as the weather 

 permitted, and the wheat was ripe enough, the 

 .machines were put to work, and although then, 

 from the repealed winds and rains which had 

 fallen, we had no wheat that stood erect, and none 

 that was not badly rusted, still they worked 

 beauiilully and without hindrance, saving the olt 

 repeated rams — coming up fully I think to Mr. 

 McCormick's advertisement, going over fully aa 

 much ground as stated by him, irom 15 lo 20 

 acres per day, and doing the work as neatly aa 

 it could be done. During the first days of harvest 

 we had eacli day quite a troop of horsemen of 

 ihe neighboring farmers following the reaper, all 

 expressing iheir admiration and entire salislactioa 

 at its performance. Among ihem were many 

 cautious and judicious men, not easily led astray 

 by novelties or humbugs, and one or two very 

 good machinisis. And one gentleman, who, you 

 know, nr.ver gave in readily to new notions, the 

 laie Conrade Webb, esq., said it was the only 

 ihmg oJ' the kind he iiad ever seen which, instead 

 oi falling short otj exceeded his expectations. I 

 cannot say wiih |>reci^ioll, as compared wiih cra- 

 dles, how many it will take the place of; but this 

 lact I know, that wiih 25 hands, counting the 

 (inver and laker, I could not secure in shockg 

 much over half the wheat it cut in my rankest 

 growth of straw. But that I think was greatly 

 owing to the straw having become so rotten, 

 (hat alter the dew was off we could not bind 

 wiih (he wheat, and had lo substitute willow bark 

 to bind jv'ith. I think it a great labor-saving 

 machine; but its greatest beauty is Ihe neatnesa 

 and clean manner in which the grain is saved, 

 saving in good or heavy wheat, 1 am satisfied, 

 more than a bushel of wheat lo the acre more 

 ilian can be savt:d by the cradle. 



Having never seen one of Hussey's machines, 



I am unable to draw a comparison between them; 

 but from what i have heard resptciing it, shouiti 

 think this of McCormick's was constructed upon 

 a different principfe, and one moie simple than 

 the other, and 1 should suppose not liable to the 

 same otjections, as although it may not cut wheat 

 as well wet with a heavy dew or rain, as indeed 



II does riot, as when perliectly dry, siill it operates, 

 even under those circumstances, very well. In- 

 deed 1 biive seen J. A. S Ideii, esq. during this 

 lidl. and he.iold me he had iwo of tiussey's ma- 

 chines, bui could noi woikiheui at all last harvest, 

 on account of' wel, which 1 suppose proves con- 

 clusively the supMiaii y of M' Cormick'^-, as 1 cut 

 all my crop with perleci ease and despatch. 



From tile maiiiier in which it cut some patches 

 of clover, hero's grass and iimoihy, it met with 

 amonir the wheat, i am saii^fied it m.ay be adapt- 

 ed well lor mowing purposes, and such is my 

 conviction of the fact, that i have ordered one 

 lo be consirucied for ihe purpose. The only lo- 

 calities in which I should suppose McCormick's 

 reaper would not operate well, would be on Ara- 

 icr's narrow .sharp-'op beds, and in very rocky or 

 stu.moy land ; in such situations the c.adle would 



