

value, for hoop poles. The nuts should either be 

 sown in the fall, or kept among earth all winter 

 and sown in the spring. They should be put in 

 good clean soil, and be a-s carefully attended, for 

 the first year, as a hill of corn. They m-ay be 

 sown thickly in a seed-bed and afterwards trans- 

 planted, or at a foot apart and let them remain 

 until ready for cutting. 



(L. W. C, Marion, Oregon.) The lower tier of 

 branches on dwarf or pyramidal pear trees should 

 not, as a general thing, be more than a foot from 

 the ground. They need shortening (the young 

 wood) annually, not to keep them from growing 

 too large, but to keep them vigorous and well 

 supplied with fruit spurs on all parts. You 

 should peruse the "Fruit Garden" on the culti- 

 vation and training of pears. We are glad to 

 learn that fruit growing already occupies so much 

 attention in Oregon. 



(C. A., Paris, C. W.) The Syrian grape can be 

 had at any of the nurseries where foreign grapes 

 are cultivated. 



The Prince Albert grape has not the reputation 

 of being superior to the Black Hamburgh, and we 

 believe is inferior in size and productiveness. 



We are not aware of the British Queen straw- 

 berry being liable to change its sexual character. 

 The Fabiana is easily propagated from cuttings 

 of the young wood ; in light, sandy earth, cover- 

 ed with a bell-glass, they root more certainly and 

 quickly. 



Hedges. — For a "thief-proof" hedge, in 44 deg. 

 north latitude, we would choose the Cockspur 

 native thorn, or any native thorn with sharp, 

 powerful spines, or the Honey Locust. The latter, 

 if well managed at first to thicken it^ makes an 

 excellent hedge. 



GENEVA TKIAL OF IMPLEMENTS. 



Bevimoo/the recent Trials of Horse Pcnoers and Thresli- 

 ing Machines, mid the Report of the sctme, by the Coni- 

 mittee of the Neio York State Agricultural Society, at 

 Geneva and Utica, under whose sitpei'visum it was 

 held. 



If anything were wanting to prove the great superiority 

 of the Kntlless Chain Horse Power, patented by Horace L. 

 Emery, over all others of its class — or if to prove the superi- 

 ority and utility of endless chain powers over all sweep 

 powers — it lias at length been furnished by the report of the 

 committee (;f the State Ag. Society, on the trial of machine- 

 ry at Geneva in July last. 



The trial was one the largest ever had in this country, and 

 probably in the world. It continued nearly two weeks, and 

 was attended with a vast amount of labor and expense to all 

 concerned, and seemingly every competitor returned to his 

 home perfectly eatisflecLwith the experiments to which their 

 machines had been subjected. 



Although the award for the best Horse Power was given 

 the malcer of the above Emery power, it is of not half the im- 

 portance as is the report of the several severe tests to which 

 all were subjected, as will be seen by reference to the report. 

 Among other things, it says of the Emery power : 

 " The platform rolls over reels, furnished with clutches so 



disposed that its action is nearly in a tangent to the circle, 

 and therefore acts to the best advantage. This arrangement 

 seems less liable to wear than any other, and the entire ton- 

 trivance and perfection of the work, gives to it a marked 

 superiority." ^ 



It may hero be proper to state, on the authority of two of 

 the comihittee, Mr. Howard and Mr. Holmes, (after publi- 

 cation of the report) " that in course of consultation upon 

 the relative merits of the several other powers, it was con- 

 sidered in committee that this one had one-third advantage 

 in utility, over the best of the others ;" but it is nevertheless 

 true that its relative utility was not over-estimated, as will 

 hereinafter appear. 



One of the tirst and simplest experiments tried with the 

 several powers in this class, was to ascertain the relative 

 amount of friction, or in other words how much force was 

 absorbed in friction by the powers when not attached to 

 any machinery, and running at the velocity required for 

 practical purposes. 



It was as f<illows: "Each Two-horse Power was placed 

 at an angle of 13 deg., and two men placed upon the plat- 

 fonn, and their gravity, (269 lbs.) allowed to move them as 

 nearly as possible to the required velocity for threshing. 

 As their weight was too great and the velocity too rapid, a 

 spring balance or steelyards was attached to the frame 

 work at the fore end, and held by the men on the platform 

 — and by this means the motion was retarded sufficiently 

 for the experiment. As the position of the steelyards was 

 the same on each power, and in a horizontal position, it 

 was reckoned that whatever the draft in retarding the mo- 

 tion might be, the steelyards must show it, as they did ; 

 and it was assumed that whatever of the propelling force 

 derived from 269 lbs., must bo shown upon the steelyards— 

 or in other words, what was nofupon the steelyards was 

 absorbed. The result of this experiment was as follows, 

 after getting up and maintaining a uniform velocity with 

 each machine. 



Emery's — Velocity of platform required for threshing, 169 

 feet per minute ; velocity in experiment, 292 feet per min- 

 ute ; steelyards showed 27 lbs.; absorbed by friction, 35 lbs. 

 Badger's— Velocity of platform required for threshing, 

 222 feet per minute; velocity in experiment, 2no feet per min- 

 ute; steelyards showed 11 lbs.; absorbed by friction, 51 lbs. 

 Westinghouse — Velocity of platform required for threshing 

 1.35 feet per minute ; velocity in experiment, 152 feet per min- 

 ute ; steelyards showed 13 lbs.; absorbed by friction 49 lbs. 

 Thus showing, that while the Emery power did move 

 nearly 75 per cent, faster than required, the friction was 

 but 35 lbs. — while had it been more retarded, the friction 

 would have been considerably reduced below even 35 lbs., 

 or about 25 lbs. 



Badger's power, which was awarded the 2d premium, ab- 

 sorbed 51 lbs. while running at about its requisite sjseed for 

 threshing, or 46 per cent, more than Emery's power — and 

 probably this difference would have been 75 or KiO per cent, 

 had the velocity of Emery's been reduced to its usual rate. 

 This experiment was also applied to the One-horse Pow- 

 er, with the following resuls : with one man, weight 150 lbs., 

 producing a power on platform of about 34 lbs. 



Emery's power in experiment, 192 ft. per minute ; 10 lbs. 

 on steelyards ; amount absorbed by friction, 24 lbs. 

 Badger's power in experiment, 146 ft. per minute; 4"'^ lbs. 

 on steelyards; amount absorbed by friction, 29 ';i lbs. 



Showing again, while Emery's jjower absorbed but 24 lbs. 

 while moving about 14 per cent, too fast, the Badges power 

 absorbed 29>4 lbs., about its regular velocity, or 24 per cent, 

 more friction than Emery's. 



These experiments, which were taken with the utmost 

 care and precision, and repeatedly corroborated by others 

 succeding them, are wholly left out of the report, while oth- 

 ers of less pointed results have been recorded. 



One of which was to attach the same threshing cylinder 

 alternately to each power, with Iho samo band and by pla- 

 cing five men in the Two-horse I'owers, to note the distance 

 their Weight would cause them to travel per minute, as also 

 the number of revolutions of the cylinder produced in the 

 same time. The weight of the five men was 714 lbs., pro- 

 ducing a force of about 161 lbs. 



Experiment with the Two-horse Poicers. 

 Emery's distance travelled, per minute, 218 ft.; revolutions 

 of cylinder, 1,996. 



Badger's distant travelled, per minute, 800 ft.; revolu- 

 tions of cyli^er, 2,160. 



Westinghouse'8 distance travelled, per minute, 130 ft.; re- 

 volutions of cylinder, 1,390. 



As this experiment combines an attachment to machine- 

 ry, and as the relative velocity of the cylinder to each foot, 

 or the whole distance travelled, varies according to the 



