!<). 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL. 



155 



„,K 



n siimoumos led oil' by eheep, conliuiiig lUciii 

 . iiu'niis of leiuporary leiidng orliuidles; cot- 

 iMt liable 10 become Uoveii while feeding it in 

 'c of its growth; on good land it hns been 

 ; . icnch the height of three feet nnd oven 

 lutiicing OS mil cu as 12 tons of green food 

 . . wliich, when wkII dried, will yieW 3 tons 

 1,1, .St viiliiablc hny on the farm. The first amy- 

 kc9 place as soon after harvest as possible in 

 jiaiid. upon land designed for the wheat crop the 

 t aiuuiiin, with the icinlcr variety of seed, which 

 casdy bedisiinguished from the siimmo- tare, as 

 I Biunller, rounder, and blacker; these will bear 

 severity of the winter; rye is oltcn mixed, to en- 

 e tlic crop to stand up, when it attains a consider- 

 e hei!»ht, but a spriukling of wheat has been found 

 tforlbifl purpose, as it remains longer succulent 

 the summer. The crop from this sowing will be 

 for cutting for soiling in May, and the stalks il 

 . .._,Auind, will affird a second growth lor 

 lep-fecd; but as the tare is a fallow crop, it is the 

 It management to cut all off and plough the land 

 !p as soon as the crop is removed, well working 

 1 cleaning it during the summer, preparatory to 

 lent-sowing, early in the autumn, after a dressing 

 well prepared compost, if ibis has not been given to 

 yci — a far better arrangement for both crops, 

 next sowing is with the summer variety ol the 

 0, as early in March as the season will admit, on 

 i that has been ploughed preparatory in the au- 

 nn or winter; again in April another crop is sown, 

 d, if necessary, two other sowings might take 

 the last so late as the end of June, that so a 

 ;cession of this inust valuable crop might be se- 

 red for the whole of the summer, and until the end 

 September- Such crops produce immense quanti- 

 8 of manure, which is carried from the sheds and 

 mpostM for dressing others; lurneps, for instance, 

 lich may be sown on the land from which the lirst 

 ip of tares has been carried, and fed off in time lor 

 leat-sowing in the autumn. It must not be forgot- 

 , that tbe° richer the land, the greater will be the 

 .p ol taies, and none will pay so amply for manure 

 t when the crop is very heavy, there is less chance 

 obtaining good seed, and if that be the object, it is 

 .'ommended to mow the first crop early for soiling, 

 d permit the secjiiid growth to stand for seed, which 

 sometimes a precar.ous business, nothing being 

 )re uncertain; I have purchased seed at a guinea 

 d a half a bushel, and sold the next year's produce 

 tained from it at six shillings a bushel! When the 

 ico of seed is moderate, the quantity sown is two 

 shels or two and a half per acre, but whatever the 

 ice may be, it will be repaid in the crop, if the land 

 in good heart. As much as 30 bushels of seed per 

 re has been obtained, but 15 bushels, and often half 

 at, is more common. Undei a heavy crop ol tares, 

 e land will be found perfectly clean and mellow, 

 d will turn up like an ash-heap: and there is no 

 lestion with me, that the crop may be raised with 

 ccess in this country, if well cultivated on good 

 nd, rather stiff in its nature and lying cool. 

 With regard to the value of the tare for soiling, it 

 i9 been calculated that ten times the stock might be 

 ipt on them than on any other commonly cultivated 

 op; ho?S3s require no corn or any other food, and 

 ws give more butter while feeding on them than on 

 ly other food whatever. Is it not strange that no 

 .gular experiment on an extensive scale has yet been 

 <adeon such an invaluable crop in this country." 



ould 



Htissey's Reaping Machine. 



In our July nnmber we mentioned that one of these 

 lachines had arrived in this city, and that the farm, 

 (s in this vicinity would have an opportunity of wit 

 essing its operation. But, unfortunately, the pro- 

 rietor did not arrive till after the l«t of August, 

 'hen nearly all the wheat was cut, and a good field 

 >T the purpose could not be found. A trial was, 

 owever, made on the farm ol Mr. Whitney near this 

 ity, and witnessed by a number of farmers and citi- 

 ens. The ground was very unlit for the purpose, 

 oing quite rough, and containing numerous stumps, 

 that the machine was exhibited under great disad- 

 fantages. Still it did good execution, and convinced 

 11 who were present that on ordinarily smooth land 

 t would prove a great saving of time and labor in 

 larvesting grain. It cuts remarkably clean — in fact 

 tot a straw that stands in its way can escape; and, 

 rom what was shown of it here, there was no reason 



to doubt thai under favorable circunietancts il 

 cut liflecn acres in a day. 



We regret that a more public and extensive trial 

 could not bo mode here the prcsoiil season; but hope 

 that many of our readers will have an opportunity 

 of witnessing its performance next year. In the 

 meantime we copy from the t^ariners' Register some 

 account of its operations in Virginia. After speaking 

 of an experiment made on very unfavorable ground, 

 William U. Harrison, of Brandon, says; 



" The third day, however, we removed them to a 

 more favorable site, where the beds were wide, the 

 lurrows shallow, and the wheat heavy, and I very 

 soon became convinced that Mr. Ilussey's reaper did 

 not deserve to be classed with the humbugs ol the 

 day. By this time the horses and hands employed 

 bad become belter trained, and the work was beauti- 

 fully done — belter indeed than I ever saw done by the 

 most expert cradler and binder, " with every appli- 

 ance and means to boot," to enable them to do the 

 work well. Less wheat was left on the ground trav- 

 ersed by the machinco, either standing or cut, than 1 

 ever observed in any wheat field before. 



" I wish I could speak as strongly in favour of the 

 reaper as a time-saving machine, but the truth obliges 

 ine to say that I cannot. Still I think that it will 

 save time; but the question is, how muchf A very 

 didicult question it is, too, and by no means so easily 

 solved as might at the first glance be imagined. In- 

 deed, so much depends on the locality, the length of 

 the rows and the heaviness of the crop, (the reaper 

 operating to most advantage in heavy wheat, J that 

 the time saved is constantly varying; and to approxi- 

 mate the truth, therefore, is as much as con be expect- 

 ed. Something, indeed, a good deal, depends upon 

 the fact, whether good cradlera have to be stopped in 

 order to run the machine; good policy, however, 

 would always suggeel the propriety of slopping the 



worst. , r . • 1 



" It is not enough to ascertain the number ol bind- 

 ers required to run the machine, in order to deter- 

 mine the lime saved. Say eight hands are required 

 for this purpose in heavy wheat, and where the rows 

 are pretty long, and such situations are the most fav- 

 orable to the reaper, and six where the wheat is 

 lightest and the rows short, and a good deal of time 

 consequently lost in turning. Are six cradlers saved 

 in the former case, and four in the latter, estimating 

 the driver and raker, who ought to be good and cHl- 

 cient hands, as of equal value wilh cradlers? Cer 

 lainly not; and for this reason. The reaper cannot 

 be started as long as there is any dew on the wheal in 

 the morning, nor can it operate after much has fallen 

 in the evening. Ai such times the hands that attend 

 the machine have to be employed in someother way; 

 and moving from one kind of work to another is al- 

 ways attended with more or less loss of lime. Nor 

 is this all. In shocking wheal after the machine, 

 some loss of time is also incurred. Where wc use 

 the cradles, the binders follow immediately behind 

 them, and then come the pickers up as well as the 

 shockers, and the whole work goes on together. The 

 reaper, however, when operating in long rows, as il 

 must do to work to advantage, scatters the work so 

 much, leaving it in long narrow strings, that shock- 

 ers cannot find constant employment in following it. 

 We have found it necessary, therefore, to stop a part 

 of our cradles, once a day, in order to bring up the 

 shockin" after the machines, which certainly occa- 

 sions some loss of time. SiiU I think on the whole 

 that the securing of our crop has been somewhat ex- 

 pedited by the use ol these machines; and u binders 

 could have been hired to operate them without stop- 

 ping the cradles forlhe purpose, our harvest would 

 have been very ^materially shortened; and the loss of 

 wheat would un'queslionably have been inu':h less. 



" It would add greatly to the value of these ma- 

 chines, if the ingenious inventor, Mr. Hussey, conk! 

 device some way to make them cut damp straw; so 

 that they might be kept at work all day. Whatever 

 Mr. Hussey has not accomplished, however, is, I am 

 sure, owing to the intrinsic difficulty of making the 

 improvement desired; for the wonder with me is not 

 that he has achieved no more, but that he has done so 

 much. , ■ u 



"Thereoper compares most advantageously with 

 cradles in cutting heavy wheat that stands well, cutting 

 il quite as rapidly as It would a lighter crop, which 

 the cradles would not do; or in cutting fallow wheat 

 that inclined altogether one way. The fallow wheal 

 however, must be cut the way it inclines, the knife 

 going under it, and it is laid beantifnily as il falls from 

 the machine, for the binders; but the machine must 



go buck without culling. 1 am not of opinion tiiul 

 the reaper will answsr in all Bitnatioiis, or will even 

 supersede the use of the cradle ultogethfr; but I in- 

 cline to think lliat it may be need to great advantage 

 in securing parts of almost every large crop; at leasl 

 on level land. 



After timeing these machines repeatedly,! have not 

 been as yet able to get cither of them to cut more 

 than an acre per hour, and, by the way, thai is quite 

 expeditious work in heavy wheat. Before trying 

 the reaper, I had supposed that good scylhemeu 

 would average more than 2 acres a day in good wheat, 

 but I am now convinced thoi this is quite as much as 

 can be done. My overseer, Mr. Adams, who super- 

 intended the machines, and is quite a judicious man, 

 cnlertaine the belief that U acres might be accom- 

 plished by the reaper in an hour, with fust horses and 

 superior driving. It is probable loo, that the experi- 

 ence of another seoson mighl enable us to eH'ect moie 

 than we have yet done. But still I doubt if an aero 

 and a half an hour can e er bo counted on for many 

 consecutive hours. 



An observant gentleman of •Charles City, and a 

 practical farmer loo, who has one of these machines 

 hich ho worked last year, informed me recently 

 that it would cut down sixteen acres of wheat a 

 day, or would do the work of eight cradles. The 

 testimony of ibis gentleman is every way entitled to 

 credit, and justice to Mr. Hussey seems to require 

 ihat it should be mentioned. I presume of course 

 that some allowance was made for the lime lost in 

 the morning and evening, when the straw was 

 damp." 



Another trial was made by R. B. Bollisg, of 

 Sandy Point, who remarks: — 



" I feel satisfied that the principle is a good one, 

 and may be successfully applied to the object intcnil- 

 od, and that Ihc machine is destined when the invent- 

 or shall have better perfected its mechanical arrange- 

 ments, which he can, with his greater experience, 

 easily do, to be an invaluable ojquisition to the farm- 

 ers of the wheol-growing region of country. With 

 three mules, a man to drive and one on the machine 

 to rake the wheat from the platform on which, as it 

 is cut, il falls, we estimated that rather more than one 

 acre per hour was reaped. By Mr. Husscy's calcu- 

 lation the machine must cut one acre in every two 

 miles that it travels through the wheal; 15 acres 

 therefore by this calculation, may be reaped in a day 

 with one machine, pulled by three mules wilh two 

 men only to drive and rake, by travelling thirty miles, 

 a distance not too great on level land, through large 

 fields, where there would be but few turns. The cut- 

 ting of the machine where the wheal was rankest 

 was the he=t, leaving not a straw scarcely standing 

 ofter il, and rendering gleaning entirely unnecessary. 

 The wheat for the " pickers up," or binders, wos de- 

 posited more evenly nnd in much larger quantities to- 

 gether, than after the cradle, and wiih these advanta- 

 ges to the pickers up, eight were not always able, 

 when the wheat was rank and abundant, to_ gather, 

 lie, and remove the sheaves from the track of the ma- 

 chine, as it passed around the square. The machine 

 does not cut well early in the morning, when the 

 wheat is moist; il cuts best when and where a cradler 

 would do least — in rank wheat and in the hottest per- 

 iod of the day. I have concluded lo procure two for 

 the next harvest, satisfied that much manual labor 

 thereby may be saved, at a critical and important 

 season lo the farmer, when labor is always scarce, 

 and especially on the lower James River at that lime. 

 The Editor of the Register remarks—" Both these 

 trials were undertaken at our request, and we aie 

 confident that both the individuals used every care to 

 have full and fair trial made, and the facts and results 

 accurately noted. It is unnecessary to add that no- 

 where could such confidence be better placed." 



Yacca Gloiiosa. 



There is, at the present time, in the garden of Mr. 

 Baynton, of Hartest, near Bury St. Edmonds, o lorgo 

 specimen of the above plant with two flower stems, 

 on one of which are upwards of 400 blossoms, borne 

 one lately recommended the application of nitrate of 

 soda to Dahlias. A friend of ours tried it m a very 

 weak eolulion (about I oz. to a gallon of water) and 

 applied it once to each root in the dry v\'eatUer ot 

 June. The effect has been a rich and powerful foli- 

 aire. It is noi too late to try it wilh g/eat caution, 

 guarding against the chance of excess.— f.eamtrig'/ora 

 (Eiig.) Spa. Chroii. 



