312 Report on the Exhibition and Trial of Implements 



extensive sale for more expensive drills, ventures to disregard 

 any possibility of interfering with such sale by the introduction 

 of a cheaper implement, and boldly to carry out the wishes of 

 the Society, it is right that every publicity should be given to 

 the fact, in the hope that, when the merit of these implements 

 becomes fully known, he may meet with the success which so 

 spirited an attempt well deserves. 



Great improvement has been made in the mills for agricultural 

 purposes, the extent of which will be best shown by comparing 

 the performance of the prize mills at Lewes and Exeter. At 

 the Exeter meeting Clayton's mill (price 45/.) ground at the rate 

 of about If bushels per horse-power per hour; whereas Hur- 

 wood's mill at Lewes (price 20/.) ground at the rate of 4 bushels 

 per horse-power per hour, the proportion of work done in the 

 two cases being as 20 to 8. Clayton's mill was doubtless 

 capable of making finer meal, but few farmers require a mill for 

 grinding fine flour ; the general demand being for a moderately- 

 priced mill that will reduce barley, beans, &c,, to sufficiently 

 fine meal for feeding cattle or pigs, and for this purpose Hur- 

 wood's mill seems perfectly well adapted. 



Sufficient has now been said to prove that essential improve- 

 ment has been made in several of the most important imple- 

 ments ; the reports of the judges show that similar improve- 

 ment was observable throughout the greater part of the show. 

 The preamble of this report is therefore proved, and it may be 

 considered an established fact that Progress was a leading feature 

 of the Lewes show. This is very satisfactory, and, to use a 

 phrase in vogue amongst our Gallic neighbours, it is a fact of 

 ^'immense signification.'' It is so, because it proves that equally 

 rapid progress is being made in the adoption of these improved 

 machines by the farming community. In former reports the im- 

 portant influence exercised by the shows of the Royal Agricul- 

 tural Society in improving the construction of agricultural 

 implements has been duly pointed out, but no attempt has 

 hitherto been made to furnish any data illustrative of the rapidly 

 extending application of machinery to agriculture : no doubt can, 

 however, be entertained that, notwithstanding all the efforts of 

 agricultural societies, the current of invention and improvement 

 would soon have been checked, and must ultimately have ceased 

 altogether, had it not been closely followed up by a largely 

 increased demand for the machines when improved. It will 

 now be briefly shown from returns furnished by the principal 

 implement makers that the increased demand has fully kept 

 pace with the improvements which have been made. It would 

 be obviously unadvisable to publish the names of those who 

 have been obliging enough to furnish the following information, 

 and it must be understood that the letters A, B, C, &;c., are 



