114 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



March 



VERMONT MOWER AND REAPER. 



[See Page 113.] 



In no one agricultural implement has more 

 progress been manifested than in the harvester ; 

 from being a very rude combination of a pair of 

 shears on a wheel, guided and moved by hand, 

 it has quickly risen to the character of a perfect 

 machine. 



Among the numerous patents, is the one to 

 which the above named has been given, and a 

 description of which, with the points of merit 

 of the machine, we copy from the Scientific 

 American. Our farmers will do well to thorough- 

 ly examine the different machines now before the 

 public, before purchasing, and in their selection 

 be guided by their own knowledge of their wants, 

 and the adaptation of the mower to those wants. 



A is the platform, on which is raised the driv- 

 er's seat, and to which the horses are attached to 

 a pole. B is a wheel, connected by ratchet teeth 

 to the axle of the wheel, C, as is also the other 

 large wheel, both of them supporting the machine, 

 and giving motion when drawn forward, to C. 

 The ratchet teeth are so cut that when the ma- 

 chine is backed, no motion is communicated to 

 C ; and when it is desirable to draw the harvest- 

 er anywhere, and the cutters are not required to 

 be operated, the ratchets can be thrown out of 

 gear by the lever, N. C gives motion to the 

 bevel gear under the platform, which rotates the 

 wheel, D, and consequently gives the necessary 

 vibratory motion to the cutters, F, by means of 

 the shai't, E. 



The cutters are mounted on a platform, G, on 

 the back of which is the raker's seat, the plat- 

 form being well and strongly hinged to the cast- 

 ing, H, which is firmly secured to A. G has a 

 tongue, or piece of iron I, projecting from it, on 

 which the screw in the end of the lever, J, can 

 exert pressure, by means of the cord,y, passing 

 over the puUy, K, and worked by the lever, M, 

 so that the platform, G, and cutters, F, can be 

 raised or depressed to overcome any obstacle 

 which they may encounter. On the end of one 

 of the wheels, B, is a small pully, r, around which 

 passes the endless band, q, that gives motion to 

 the reel, S, the arms of which are the peculiar 

 and advantageous shape shown in the engraving. 

 This reel revolves around the axle, P hinged ato, 

 to a coiTCsponding stretcher or tyer, O, to allow 

 of it being elevated or depressed with the cutter 

 platform. 



The points of excellence and the peculiar ad- 

 vantages which this machine has over others may 

 be enumerated as follows : 



1st — In having the cutter-bar hinged to the 

 frame so as to adjust itself to the unevenness of 

 the ground. 



2d — Having two driving wheels, so that if one 

 slips the other will take the load. 



3d — When the machine is moved to the right 

 or left the knives are kept in motion by one or 

 the other of the driving wheels. 



4th — The motion of the cutters is stopped by 

 the driver taking hold of the lever N, (as repre- 

 sented in the cut) which is attached to the clutch 



on the main shaft. During the process the gear- 

 ing remains unmoved. 



5th — The whole Aveight of the machine is on 

 the wheels where it is required to give power to 

 the stroke of the knives. 



6th — When the machine is backed the knives 

 cease to vibrate, consequently you back away 

 from obstructions without danger of breaking 

 the knives. 



7th — The whole weight of the machine, while 

 reaping, rests upon the wheels, except the raker's 

 seat, for which a separate wheel is provided, as 

 seen in cut. 



8th — The cutter-bar, being hinged to the ma- 

 chine, can be packed up without removing a bolt 

 or screw. 



9th — The cutter-bar can be raised 18 or 20 

 inches so that the farmer can gather his grass- 

 seed before he mows his grass if he choses. 



10th — The cutter-bar is easily raised, which is 

 very convenient when coming to the corner of 

 the land. When raised, the machine can be 

 turned as short as you please, or go over the 

 mown grass. 



11th — The machine is operated in all its pai-ts 

 without the operator leaving his seat. The cut- 

 ter-bar can be raised and the machine thrown out 

 of or in gear while in motion if required. 



12th — The reel is adjusted to the cutter-bar by 

 a joint. 



13th — Bent slats on the reel for the purpose of 

 reeling in the grain at the ends of the cutter-bar 

 in advance of the rest. 



There can be little doubt that this is one of the 

 best among the numerous harvesters. It is the 

 invention of Hosea Willard and Robert Ross, of 

 Vergennes, Vt., who will furnish any further in- 

 formation. It was patented Nov. 8th, 1857. 



Robins and Crows. — AVe cut the following 

 from a report of a recent meeting of the Boston 

 Society of Natural History, published in the 

 Traveller : 



"Dr. A. A. Gould observed that at a recent 

 meeting of the Horticultural Society, a discus- 

 sion arose upon a question of petitioning the 

 Legislature to repeal the law concerning the de- 

 struction of robins and other birds, the injury 

 to fruit being so extensive from their abundance 

 in the neighborhood of Boston. He hoped the 

 present law preventing the destruction of birds 

 would remain in force, as the benefit derived from 

 them, in the consumption of insects injurious to 

 vegetation, far surpasses the value of the fruit 

 lost. 



"Mr. T. T. Bouve remarked that, in Ilingham 

 and its neighborhood, he had noticed that the 

 robins' nests are invaded by crows and about 

 half of the young destroyed. The crow exhibits 

 considerable instinct in selecting a proper time 

 for the depredation. 



"Rev^ Theodore Parker inquired if it had been 

 noticecTthat the crow mates in families of three, 

 generally one male and two females, an arrange- 

 ment by which the duties of obtaining food and 

 watching its young are better performed than by 

 pairs. This he had observed, but he could find 

 no notice of it in works on ornithology." 



