614 



Report to H.R.H. the President 



M'Cormick's own account of his progress, or some extracts at 

 least from a statement written by him at my request: — 



" My father was a fai rner in the county of Rockbridg-e, State of Virginia, 

 United States. He made an experiment in cutting grain, in the year 1816, 

 by a number of cylinders standing perpendicularly. Another experiment 

 of the same kind was made by my lather in the harvest of 1831, which 

 satisfied my father to abandon it. Thereupon my attention was directed 

 to the subject, and the same harvest I invented and put in operation, in 

 cutting late oats on the farm of John Steele, adjoining ray father's, those 

 parts of my present reaper called the platform for receiving the corn, a 

 straight blade taking effect on the corn, supported by stationary fingers 

 over the edge, and a reel to gather the corn, which last, however, I found 

 had been used before, though not in the same combination. 



" Although these parts constituted the foundation of the present machine, 

 I found in practice innumerable difficulties, being limited also to a few 

 weeks in each year, during the harvest, for experimenting, so that my first 

 patent for the reaper was granted June 24th, 1834. During this interval 

 I was often advised hy my father and family to abandon it and pursue my 

 regular business, as likely to be more profitable, he having given me a farm. 

 No machines were sold until 1840, and I may say that they were not of 

 much practical value until the improvements of my second patent, 1845. 



" These improvements consist in reversing the angle of the sickle-teeth 

 alternately — the improved form of the fingers to hold up the corn, &c. — 

 an iron case to preserve the sickle from clogging — and a better mode of 

 separating the standing corn to be cut. Up to this period nothing but loss 

 of time and money resulted from my efforts. The sale has since steadily 

 increased, and is now more than a thousand yearly." 



One merit of the machine consists in the extreme simplicity 

 of its cutting part — a straight saw, vibrating rapidly right and left. 

 The teeth, however, incline alternately in each direction, so that at 

 each vibration half of them are inclined in the direction of the 

 motion, as is shown in the diagram of a portion of the saw. 



As to the practical vi^orking of the Reaper, two horses drew it at 

 the trial very easily round the outside of the crop until they finished 

 in the centre, showing that they could cut easily fifteen acres in 

 ten hours. One man drives sitting, and another stands on the 

 machine to rake. It is hard work for him, and the men ought 

 sometimes to change places. The straw left behind at the trial 

 was cut very regularly — lower than by reaping, but higher than 

 by fagging. The inventor stated that he had a machine which 

 would cut it two inches lower. This is the point, I should say, 

 to attend to, especially for autumn cleaning. Though it seems 

 superfluous to bring this machine to the test of economy, we 

 may estimate the present cost of cutting fifteen acres of wheat, 

 at an averasfe of ^s. an acre, to be 6Z. 155. Deduct, for horses 

 and men IO5. 2>d., and for binding 2s. 6d. per acre ; the account 

 will stand thus : — 



