"2G(5 Report on the Trials of Reaping Machines at Leamington, 
Both machines make 8| cuts for each yard advance, or, in 
•other words, the advance is 4 - l inches per single stroke or cut; 
and in both the distance between the ringers, centre to centre, 
is 3 inches. The effective depth of the knife-sections, or of the 
notches exposed for cutting, is in the Johnston machine 1-^ inch, 
and in the Hornsby machine If inch — not a very great difference ; 
but the length of stroke of the crank and knife-bar is only 3 inches 
in the Johnston machine, while it is 5^ inches in the Hornsby 
machine ; that is, each knife-section in the former cuts across one 
interval between two fingers, while in the latter it cuts across 
two intervals between three fingers. The effect is, that the 
Grantham reaper makes two clips in the same time that the 
American reaper makes one. By reversing a pinion, a quicker 
speed can be given to the crank in the Johnston machine, when 
the advance is only 2*8 inches for each stroke .or cut ; and 
this might have cut the barley efficiently. But the slow speed 
used in the barley was the one subjected to the dynamometer 
test, in which this machine showed rather the lightest draught, 
namely 3*20 lbs. per inch-width of cut, while the lightest 
Hornsby machine had a draught of 3"36 lbs. per inch-width of 
•cut. That the quicker speed, if tried, would have considerably 
increased the draught, may be inferred from the example of 
Messrs. Bickerton's Combined Reaper and Mower, which is fur- 
nished with two speeds ; the draught in cutting wheat was, 
with the slow speed, 3 - 42 lbs., but with the quick speed 4 - 22 lbs. 
per inch-width of cut. 
A final run of machines in this class was made on Monday, 
August 21st, all operations having been stopped by heavy rains 
on the Friday and Saturday. This was over a heavy piece of 
wheat, very tangled, with green at bottom. Here the Hornsby 
machines performed well, in spite of the damp condition of the 
corn, and had no difficulty in delivering. The Johnston reaper 
was worked at first with the quick speed on the crank-gear, 
rattling, however, considerably ; and in the latter part of the 
trial, when the crop was drier and where it was freer from weeds, 
the slow motion was returned to and the cutting was well 
done. 
The superb workmanship and the perfection of design, fitting, 
and finish observable in every part and minute detail of Messrs. 
Hornsby's machines (not to mention the finishing touch given 
to them in the way of colour, the red being artistically picked 
out with relief-tints and lines, and brilliance added by the 
silver-bronze on the rods, chains, and other metal-work) were 
subjects of universal remark ; and their excellence of construc- 
tion, even more than actual performance through the necessarily 
brief trials, swelled the number of points gained in the Judges' 
