88 



Russell's came next, and it was also the next in time. It is a 

 wood frame, (and rather heavy for wood, weighing abovit 780 

 pounds,) with a wheel in addition to the driving wheel, aflfording 

 the means of travelling without cutting — an advantage of an es- 

 sential character in the convenience and economy of a farm. It 

 is thought to be best adapted, from its weight and steady motion, 

 to heavy grass, but the appearance of its half acre was hardly 

 surpassed by that of any other. This was one of the machines 

 which had the fortune to enjoy a double test of its capacity on the 

 same day. With a heavier crop and different kind of grass, in 

 the park of the Court-house, it turned out very beautiful work. 

 The reputation of this machine improved as the hours of the day 

 passed, and it is not improbable that some who were inclined to 

 slight it in the morning, turned towards it with different views at 

 the close of the exhibition. 



The three following lots were occupied by machines muaufac- 

 tured after Ketchum's patent. 



This machine, we have reason to believe, has heretofore held 

 precedence. It has been longest in the field, and, to some ex- 

 tent, occupies the position of general favorite. It is iron, and 

 without any wheel but the driving one, which, together, augment 

 the burdens of the team. It cut a wider swath than any other 

 machine engaged in the half acre contest. It cut a smooth, and 

 comparatively even swath, and spread the grass well. It preserv- 

 ed its ancient reputation very well in the trial, although the im- 

 pression very generally prevailed, that it had been surpassed in 

 several points ; for example, by the Manny machine, in the light- 

 ness and facility of its motions, and by the Russell machine, in 

 the closer shaving and the more even surface of stubble, after the 

 passage of the knives. This supposition Avas confirmed by the 

 operation of a machine of this patent on the west of the Court- 

 house, while the Russell was performing on the east side. It mow- 

 ed imperfectly, as if the knives had become dull. The gentleman 

 who had purchased the hay, that was to be, was led, by the cir- 

 cumstance, to intimate that he should not obtain quite as much as 

 legitimately belonged to him. It is not our purpose to intimate 

 that the Ketchum patent suffered in general reputation on the 

 occasion, "as accidents will happen in the best-regulated families," 

 The mowing machine, although it was known in England a cen- 



