at the Lewes Meeting^ 1852. 



335 



B. 



Report of the Committee appointed hij the Driffield Farmers' Club to Examine 



and Report on the comparative merits of several lleapimj M.achirtes, and 



on their applicahility and usefulness in the neighbourhood. 

 Though your Committee had expected the following machines to be on the 

 ground, viz. : — McCormick's, represented by Mr. W. S. McCormick (l)rother 

 of the patentee) ; Ilussey's, by Mr. Crosskill, of Beverley ; another of Hussey's, 

 by Messrs. Dray and Co. ; and one by Mr. Wray, of Leeming ; only the two 

 former were submitted to their inspection, and, as the competition was con- 

 fined to these two only, your Committee was able to bestow a more undivided 

 attention on their respective merits than had a larger number competed. 



The trial took place on Friday, the 13th instant, on a crop of wheat at 

 Kelleythorpe ; and had your Committee confined their report simply to the 

 direction they received from the club, as to their superiority, and " which of 

 the machines is best adapted for practical use in this district," their labours 

 might have been brought to a close by stating that McCormick's machine was, 

 in their opinion, superior to Hussey's in every respect ; and that on all standing 

 crops of grain, of whatever kind, and where the ground w^as tolerably even, 

 McCormick's may be advantageously employed. 



But, as your Committee are of opinion that it would be more satisfactory, 

 not only to individual members of the club, and an act of justice to the owners 

 and patrons of the successful machine, they beg to suggest the propriety of 

 their being permitted to lay before the club, somewhat in detail, the reasons 

 which led to the conclusion they have come to ; and fearlessly state, notwith- 

 standing adverse decisions, that McCormick's reaper, as regards power, speed, 

 efficiency, and apparent durability, is far superior to Hussey's. 



McCormick's machine is 6 leet wide, and Hussey's 5 feet : but, as it 

 would be impossible always to keep up the cutting exactly to that v. idth, they 

 conceive that 6 inches less is all that can be calculated upon, and that at these 

 widths, viz. 5J feet and 4^ feet, and the horses moving at an average speed 

 of 2-j miles an hour (a speed which your Committee would recommend), 

 Hussey's machine would, in 5^ hours, cut exactly 7^ acres, while, in the same 

 time, and with fully as little horse-power, McCormick's would do 9a. Or. 26p. 

 Another matter worthy of consideration is, that one man only is needed to 

 drive the horses in McCormick's, the horses being yoked abreast, whilst two 

 are necessary in Hussey's, having to draw in a line. McCormick's machine 

 also possesses another advantage in having a wooden reel, which, without 

 injury to the corn, materially assists the man who pulls away the sheaves, and 

 gives him a better opportunity of adjusting their size. 



But the greatest superiority of McCormick's machine over that of Hussey, 

 which your Committee have to notice, is that the sheaves, when pulled oti', 

 are laid in such a way as not to impede its working, so that two men and two 

 horses may move on uninterruptedly, leaving the rest of the labourers to be 

 otherwise employed ; while in Hussey's the sheaves are left behind, and a 

 sufficient number of workmen is consequently required to remove them, so 

 that the machine may go on. This your Committee need not point out as a 

 grave objection, more especially when the crops are much mixed with clover 

 or seeds, and it is desirable to let the sheaves remain unbound for a few days. 



Your Committee are further of opinion that, from the violent reverbera- 

 tory motion imparted to every part of Hussey's machine, durability is not to 

 be expected, and that the form of the serrated cutters in McCormick's machine 

 is far preferable to the deeply indented cutters in Hussey's, and that they will 

 not nearly so often need renewing. 



Your Committee now beg to state that the above conclusions have not been 

 hastily adopted, and that their best and closest attention was given during the 

 working of the machines ; that they have no particular or party purpose to serve, 

 their only object being to recommend that machine which they consider most 



