164 FARM MACHINERY 



ceeded in combining so many important features in his machines 

 as to give him a place as one of the foremost pioneers in the 

 development of the mower. The machine of 1854 was not a suc- 

 cess as constructed, but the features of two drive wheels and 

 a cutter bar jointed to the main wheels were lasting. . . . 



"On July 17, 1856. a patent was granted to Cornelius Aultman 

 and Lewis Miller containing principles that still exist in all 

 successful mowers. The first patent claimed 'connecting the 

 cutter bar to the machine by the double-rule joint or the double- 

 jointed coupling pin.' It was reissued to cover an arrangement 

 for holding up the bar while moving, and the combination of 

 ratchet-wheel pawl and spring. On May 4, 1858, Lewis Miller 

 took out a patent on a mower that combined the features of 

 the former machine with some new principles. It contained 

 all the elements of the successful modern two-wheeled machine, 

 and mower development since that time has been a perfecting 

 of this type. This machine was built under the name of the 

 'Buckeye/ and, with a substitution of metal for certain wooden 

 parts, and certain other improvements, it is in use to-day. 

 E. Ball, associated with this firm, also made valuable improve- 

 ments in mowers. In 1856 a patent was granted to A. Kirby 

 covering improvements made by him a few years previous, and 

 his machines soon became popular. Others took up the manu- 

 facture of mowers at this early date, so that by 1860 the mower 

 had become a thoroughly practical machine, and was being 

 improved by various firms throughout the country. This im- 

 provement has gone on with the many makes of machines now 

 in existence, and to-day we have various forms, from the single 

 one-horse machine to the" large two-horse type, with its long 

 cutter bar, running with as light a draft as the former clumsy 

 machine di<i with a cut but half as wide. As a result of this 

 development the amount of hay produced in the United States 

 has increased enormously, and to-day it stands as one of the 

 most important crops." 



MODERN MOWERS 



227. Types. Modern mowing machines are of two 

 types, the side-cut mower and the direct-cut mower. The 

 cutter bar of the former is placed at one side of the drive 



