l'.)4 



THE ILLINOIS FAEMEB. 



July 



On visiting Mr. S. we found tliat not 

 oiiljhimself but foreman and all hands 

 Isad spader on the brain. Mr. Comstock 

 the inventor, (not the oi divant Prof, of 

 trre coltur6\ was present, and it might 

 bo that he mesmerized the parties so 

 as to produce the effect so fully appa- 

 rent. 



Note book in hand, with a copy of 

 Daboll in our pocket, or at least a vivid 

 recollection of its pages as conned in 

 boyhood, we were fully armed against 

 any sinister influence from those in 

 cliarge, with the inventor included. — 

 For two days we gave it a thorough in- 

 vestigation, and are now satisfied that 

 we can speak of it by the card. A 

 careful account has been kept of the 

 work, which will give a very correct 

 idea of the value of the implement in a 

 ];ibor-saving point of view. There are 

 four of these spaders in use on the farm, 

 each of which is in some respect differ- 

 ent from the others. We will describe 

 tliem somewhat At length. 



In the first place, the machine con- 

 sists of a cylindrical cast iron frame, in 

 t\\Q ends of which there are slots, in 

 vrhich the cam or forks to which the 

 tines are attached, work. In passing 

 aiound the drum there is a stationary 

 bead or eccentric that changes the rela- 

 tive position of the forks in the slots, 

 bringing them in position to enter the 

 ground at the front, and so soon as they 

 h'vve passed the center, to fold back on 

 t;;e machine. They can also be folded 

 ir.) to pass around the ends of the land, 

 nv in passing from one field to another. 

 They enter the ground in a natural pro- 

 jection, like the spade in the hands of 

 ii man, ^iid, leaving the soil in the same 

 Avay, giving it a sudden shake by which 

 it is broken up and left in a tine condi- 

 tion. The lifting and shaking of the 



earth behind the machine keeps it in a 

 constant flutter, like the water after a 

 stern wheel steamer. 



LAKGE FOUR H0K8E SPADEE. 



This spader is three feet long with a 

 cylinder of two feet diameter. It has 

 twelve forks with six tines eacli. The 

 cut is six and one- fourth inches ; that is, 

 the spading tines enter the ground that 

 distance apart. This distance is uni- 

 form in all the machines. This machine 

 has been run twenty six and three - 

 fourths days, and had spaded one hun- 

 dred and sixty acres, or within a frac- 

 tion of six acres a day ; in fact, so near 

 tliat it might be called six acres. 



SMALL FOUR HORSE SPADER. 



This spader is twenty-one inches in 

 diameter, has ten forks with five tines 

 each. Being less in diameter the mo- 

 tion is about oviK-Mih. quicker than the 

 large spader; and having less tines it 

 apparentlj' works with less power. In 

 every respect this is the best machine 

 and the one to be adopted for general 

 use. The team attached to these ma- 

 chines traveled at the rate of two and 

 three-eighths miles an hour, which will 

 give for ten hours' work something over 

 the six acres ; but there is always a loss 

 of time in turning and stoppages, and 

 the only safe way to get at the amount 

 of work done, is as stated above, taking 

 the peiformance of several days. To 

 plow an acre with furrow slice of one 

 foot requires eight and a fifth miles of 

 travel, just about what a good team will 

 average in half a day ; in fact, unless 

 the lands are half a mile long they will 

 but seldom accomplish this amount, 

 and oftener plow three-fourths of an 

 acre in half a day of five hours. It will 

 be seen that the teams alluded to trav- 

 eled sixteen and a half miles a day, be- 

 sides passing around the ends of the 



