448 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Oct. 



GALE'S STRAW CUTTER. 



It is now certain tTiat the hay crop in all eastern 

 Massachusetts, and in several other parts of New 

 England, will be a short one ; flour is still at a high 

 figure, corn commands an unusual price, the South- 

 em yellow being sold, at wholesale, at $ 1 ,05 on the 

 1st of September, and rye and other grains jjropor- 

 tionally high. Early frosts have ah'eady materially 

 injured the corn crop in this region, and hay ivill 

 be high. We do not say this from any anticipations 

 of want, but merely to suggest a commendable pru- 

 dence in the use of the fodder which has been laid 

 by. This may be done by judicious feeding, such 

 as changing the feed, by supplying it frequently in 

 small quantities, but mainly by cutting and mixing 

 the various kinds of hay or straw with roots or 

 meal. 



There is various machinery for cutting fodder, 

 and in our judgment it is economy to use the poor- 

 est machine among them all, rather than to feed it 

 out long ; and this opinion is based upon a winter's 

 experience in feeding eight or ten cows and a horse 

 with cut feed. 



In the number of the Farmer for January last, 

 we spoke of a machine for cutting hay, called 

 Gale's Straw Cutter, and gave the inventor's de 

 scription. This machine we have had constantly 

 in use since that time. A few days since our atten- 

 tion was called to one of the kind, to which has 

 been applied some important improvements, and 



which are illustrated by the engraving at the head 

 of this article. These improvements consist of sev- 

 eral alterations, but the principal one is the addition 

 of another knife — giving two knives instead of one, 

 and doubling the quantity cut in a given time with- 

 out materially increasing the amount of labor. 



A person of ordmary strength may cut a com- 

 mon bundle of corn-stallvs in this macliine without 

 over-exertion, and hay and straw, with a rapidity 

 and ease altogether unattainable in any other ma- 

 chine we have ever used. 



It is also so simple in its construction that any 

 farm hand may take out the knives and sharpen 

 them, or adjust the raw hide properly against which 

 they cut. 



If a person has but a single horse or cow, it 

 would be good economy to purchase and use one 

 of these cutters, as the saving made would pay for 

 it in two or three years, while the machine would 

 be left, and would last, with care, for twenty years 

 to come. 



It is for sale, at various prices and of various 

 sizes, at the Agricultural Warehouse of NouRSE & 

 Co., 9 and 13 Commercial Street, Boston. 



Iron Tablets for Orchards, &c. — We had on 

 exhil)ition, sent in as samples by the manufacturer, 

 iron tablets, 17 by 23 inches, on which is printed, in 

 raised letters, (covered with paint, bronze or gilt,) 



