THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



45 



.confess ourselves highly pleased with its construc- 

 tion and performance. It is as naked and simple 

 as possible ; from which are derived the three ad- 

 vantages, of engendering but little friction, being 

 easily kept in order, and being furnished cheap. 

 It occupies a space of about three feet square, 

 and weighs, we should guess, about three hun- 

 dred pounds. Upon a horizontal shaft, is placed 

 a cast iron grooved plate, armed also with steel 

 cutters, which works against another plate, 

 which is stationary, being screwed to cast iron 

 projections fastened to the frame. Both of these 

 plates, with the cutters affixed, may be displaced 

 and substituted by new ones, by the mere turn- 

 ing of two or three screws. The extra plates 

 are furnished at a dollar and a half a pair. By 

 means of a screw, shown in the front part of the 

 engraving, the plate affixed to the shaft, may be 

 made to approach or recede from the stationary 

 plate, at pleasure ; so that, in a few turns, you 

 change the grinding from the finest meal, to the 

 coarsest hominy. 



In answer to our inquiries as to the wear of 

 the plates and efficiency of the machine^ Mr. 

 Hussey says, that he has had no opportunity 

 yet of testing the wear of the plates, the ma- 

 chine having been in use only about a year. — 

 11 With the ordinary horse-power used in thresh- 

 ing wheat, it will," he says, " grind from eight 

 to ten bushels per hour of dry corn ; if the corn 

 be damp, it will make quite a difference in the 

 quantity, although the meal will be equally 

 good." 



The machine is intended for horse-power, and 

 has a whirl on the shaft of such a size as will 

 give it the proper motion when driven directly 

 from the drum which drives an ordinary thresh- 

 ing machine. It is also fitted with a crank and 

 handle, and although it is tolerably hard work, 

 two men, by spelling each other, can, of a rainy 

 day especially, do very respectable work with it. 

 It is fed through a tube or hopper, ear at a time, 

 and requires the constant attendance of a feeder, 

 although his task is an easy one. 



This machine, although it is sold for less, we 

 believe, than any other constructed for the same 

 purpose, bore away the palm and received the 

 first premium at the agricultural fair at Albany 

 last spring. 



We will keep a supply of them which we will 

 deliver at our wareroom, in Richmond, for $37 

 apiece. 



NEW FABRIC FOR SERVANTS' CLOTHING. 



Mr. Chase, of Baltimore, has invented a hand 

 machine for carding and spinning wool. It also 

 wraps one or more threads of cotton with the 

 wool. The only two machines of this kind he 

 has made, are now in use on the plantations of 

 George Kelso, Esq. of Louisiana. Mr. C. ex- 

 hibited to us some linsey manufactured by Mr. 

 Kelso's negroes, which is an excellent and very 

 singular fabric. The chain is of cotton, and the 

 filling consists of three threads of cotton wrapped 

 with wool. The cloth combines strength with 

 warmth and cheapness. Mr. K. uses Mclntyre's 

 spinning machine to prepare the cotton. Mr. 

 Chase says that a number of his spinning ma- 

 chines have been ordered by the cotton planters. 

 Very excellent blankets may be prepared by 

 wrapping the warp and filling with wool. 



Louisville Journal. 



M'CORMICK'S REAPER. 



As we have received a great many inquiries 

 about M'Cormick's Reaper since we published 

 our last number, and as they are pretty much 

 embodied in the following, from Mr. Smith, we 

 will undertake to answer them all, as well as 

 we can, through the columns of the Planter. 

 Mr. Smith asks, 



" First. Will the wheat cutter answer upon 

 land smartly undulating, or upon flat land bed- 

 ded — the beds eighteen feet wide — or upon the 

 same kind of land simply drained by water fur- 

 rows ten or twelve feet apart ? 



" Second. Will the cutter operate well when 

 the straw is damp from dew or rain ? 



" Third, Can the cutter be easily drawn by 

 two horses, when the land is wet ? 



" Fourth. Can the cutter be conveniently used 

 unless the wheat ripens in large bodies 1 And, 



"Fifthly. What will be its probable last? 



Geo. A. Smith. 



Orange C. H. t VaP 



1st. The width of the machine is about seven 

 feet, and where there are no very great inequali- 

 ties within that space, it will operate without 

 difficulty. Upon hill sides that are tolerably 

 level, and not too steep, we understand it works 

 well. 



2d. We have the authority of one gentleman, 

 Dr. Braxton, for saying, that during the last 

 harvest, which was a very wet one, he cut a 

 great deal of his crop immediately after heavy 

 rains, and found the dampness of the straw to 

 offer little or no obstruction to the operation of 

 the machine. 



