GiREAT TRIUMPH OF AMERICAN iMPLEMENtS. 



303 



the machine, requiriug an extra man to guiiic the 

 unwieldy contrivance, (at one time three men were 

 engaged steering the niaeliine.) and tifrLir<ling the 

 horses less chance for their exertion of power ; 

 secondly the use of a high clumsy endless apron for 

 side delivery, liable to continual derangement, es- 

 pecially in wet weather or dew. It needs too much 

 gearing lo move the apron, making (he machine 

 complicated and heavy. It has been demonstrated, 

 to the satisfaction of all, that Bell's Reaper works 

 badly. 



"The Englishmen present were satisfied that it 

 could not compete with Brother Jonathan, and its 

 greatest advocates gave up. 



"There were yet in the field two machines of great 

 repute : that of Hussey and McCormick. One of 

 McCormick's Mower and Reaper had already ope- 

 rated in the neighborhood, and its perfect work in 

 clover, luzern, sainfoin, meadov,' grass, oats and rye, 

 was known among the farmers, and much talked of, 

 but many had not seen it work, and therefore a great 

 deal wos expected of it. 



" Hussey's compact Reaper stood along side, with 

 a number of men ready to clear the track, having no 

 aparatus for side delivery. At last the drum gave 

 the signal, and both started. 



" Hussey went on, and the gatherers had to jump 

 and run to keep pace with the fleet horses. McCor- 

 mick gained an inch on Hussey every second, and 

 when they were half down the field McCormick lead, 

 and in a few minutes it outran and outworked Hus- 

 sey and all. 



" Hussey had 22 ares to cut, for which it required 

 28 minutes. McCormick's lot mepsured 19.87, nearly 

 20 ares, which it cut in 16 minutes and I by the 

 watch. The old racer made more than an are in a 

 minute. But that is the least of its merits. It did 

 more, it worked very easy, and cut as close and regu- 

 lar as could be desired; there was not a straw to be 

 seen on the whole track over which it went ; the 

 shea\'es were all beautifally ranged in a line with their 

 butt ends nicely together, and as nicely as if done by 

 hand with care. It cuts so perfectly straight that it 

 took the last row at one cut, and made a clean sweep, 

 Bot leaving a single straw to tell the talc. 



" When it came round the last time, and had done 

 its work, three cheers were given by the crowds at 

 both ends of the fields, and every one of the specta- 

 tors congratulated Mr. McCormick's able agent, Mr. 

 McKe.nzie, on his undoubted success. 



" While all that wag going on, HcssRy worked up 

 and down with a legion of busy gatherers following 

 the Reaper at a quick step, having a large quantity 

 yet to cut. The poor horses, although young and 

 powerful, driven at a great speed, were completely 

 exhausted. The machine works heavily, it requires 

 too much power to drive its ponderous knife. Hav- 

 ing no side delivery, a number of men must immedi- 

 ately remove the grain in order to clear the track for 

 the next cut ; the men not having time to make neat 

 work, leave the field strewed with grain. In countries 

 where manual labor is scarce, which is the case every- 

 where during harvesting, this machine could not be 

 employed at all, except with great loss of grain, 

 being trampled out by the horses. 



McCormick icon the laurels in cutting grain. 



"But the man who also carried the day at the 

 great World's Fair in London, who got the Council 

 medal in spite of all opposition; put out his circulars 

 and handbills Mower and Reaper. This caused a 

 new challenge. His two countiymen, Manney and 

 Wkigbt, called him into a field of luzern of a doubt; 

 ful character ; the luzern being exceedingly young 

 and thin, and rather difficult to be cut, — but McCor- 

 mick nobly accepted the challenge. Manney, the 

 principal challenger, seemed to be sure of success ; 

 his Mower looked as if it would do the thing beyond 

 a deubt. 



" The drum gave the first signal, gensdarmes i 

 cheval galloped up and down to drive the excited 

 spectators into a line, the soldiers levelled their 

 muskets and pushed the curious intruders beyond the 

 field. The Jtn-ors collected together, and down came 

 the drum stick, off went Manney and McCormick. — 

 One cut up and back satified the Jurors that Mc- 

 Cormick cut this delicate forage better in every re- 

 spect than the challengers. 



"Wright came up a little later; he worked the 

 machine without the automaton, and cut much better 

 than Manney. We consider it by far a better ma- 

 chine than jSIauney's." 



From the correspondence of the JVew York 

 Tribune, we see that another trial has been held, in 

 which not only was the American Reaper successful, 

 but the American Threshing Machine (Pitt's, of 

 Buffalo,) did nearly double the work of any of its 

 competitors. Prince Napoleon thought Pitt's ma- 

 chine " fi-ightful to look upon." It wouldn't be a bad 

 idea for the French to get a few of them to thrash 

 the Russians. We copy from the Tribune : 



"The trial took place at La Trappes, on- the farm 

 of M. Daillyi Postmaster General of France, thirty 

 miles from Paris, on a line of Railroad. M. Daii^ly 

 is a member of the Jury on Agriculture, and placed 

 his farm at the disposal of the Commission for these 

 experiments. The farm is a very extensive and very 

 beautiful one, is almost perfectly level over an open 

 space of two miles square, and oflijred superior ad- 

 vantages for the trial. Several trials had already 

 taken place before the Agricultural Jury and a con- 

 course composed of agricultural schools and the 

 neighboring farmers, in which the American machines, 

 few as they were in number, had carried off all the 

 honors, and had thus created for themselves a reputa- 

 tion which brought spectators to the last trial from 

 a distance of two or three hundred miles; but the 

 Prince Napoleon, the President of the Imperial 

 Commission and President of the International Juries, 

 had not yet seen the agricultural implements of the 

 Exhibitirfh in operation, and he therefore ordered the 

 final trial which had just taken place, and invited to 

 it all the jurymen, commissioners, and other officers 

 of the Exhibition, and a large numfeer of public 

 dignitaries. 



'■ The news soon gained great publicity, and when 

 the day of trial arrived, the railroad company had 

 not made preparations for the transportation cf more 

 than half the number of persons who presented them- 

 selves. The list of names of distinguished men who 



