IMPORTANCE OF SIMPLICITY IX MACHINES. 117 



cultivators. Contrast these with the ditching machine 

 (Pratt's) considerably used some years ago, but ending 

 in entire failure. It Avas ingeniously constructed and 

 well-made, and when new and every part uninjured, 

 worked admirably in some soils. But it was made 

 up of many parts, and weighed nearly half a ton. These 

 two facts fixed its doom. A complex machine, weighing 

 half a ton, moving three to five feet per second, could not 

 strike a large stone without a formidable jar ; and con- 

 tinued repetitions of such blows bent and deranged the 

 working parts. After using a while, these bent portions 

 retarded its working ; it must be frequently stopped, the 

 horses become badly fatigued, and all the machines were 

 finally thrown aside. This is a single example of what 

 must always occur with the use of heavy complex machinery 

 working in the soil. Mowing and reaping machines may 

 seem to be exceptions. But mowers and reapers do not 

 work in the soil or among stones ; but operate on a soft, 

 uniform, slightly resisting substance, made of the small 

 stems of plants. Every farmer knows what becomes of 

 them when they are repeatedly driven against obstruc- 

 tions by careless teamsters. 



There is another formidable objection to comj^lex ma- 

 chines this is, their cost. Even with some of proved 

 value, the expense is a serious item with moderate farm- 

 ers. Mowers and reapers, $130; grain drills, $80 or $90; 

 thrashing machines, $100 to $400 ; horse rakes, $45 ; hay 

 tedders, |80 to $100 ; iron rollers, $50 to $100; and even 

 some of the efficient new potato diggers are offered for 

 not less than $100. Placing all these sums, and many 

 others for necessary tools together, the whole will be 

 found a large outlay more economical by far, it is 

 true, than doing without them; but greater simplicity 

 and consequent cheapness, as well as durability, would 

 facilitate progress in agricultural improvement. A single 

 machine, Comstock's spader, is offered at $250 ^twenty 



