Exhibited at Windsor. 
605 
to allow the connecting bars to be slipped on in a given posi- 
tion, but whicli effectually prevent their becoming disengaged 
in any ordinary working position. The holes in the connecting 
bars are bushed with malleable cast-iron bushes. 
The raising and lowering of the forks is done by a lever, 
close to the driving seat of the machine, actuating rods con- 
nected to the fore and aft part of the frame in the ordinary way. 
The throwing in and out of gear is also very simple. The 
fork lever actuating the same is pivoted loosely on a pin, the 
stroke being quite sufficient to throw the clutch boss of the 
small pinion out of gear, without actually withdrawing the teeth 
out of gear with the main driving wheel. When, however, the 
machine goes out of the field, the small pinion may be drawn 
completely out of gear by simply lifting the striking lever off 
the pin and pivoting it on another one close alongside. This 
not only throws the whole machine out of gear, but prevents 
the possibility of its being put into gear when travelling on the 
road, unless the lever is wilfully shifted on to the other pin. 
The driving wheels deserve some notice. The boss of cast- 
iron is made in halves, at right angles to the axis of the wheel, 
recessed so as to take the arms. The aiTtis are made of light 
o 
wrought-iron bars bent almost into a loop, the ends of which 
are laid in the recesses in one-half of the boss ; a ring is then 
dropped into recesses prepared in the ends of the arms, and the 
other half boss is placed on top, and the whole securely bolted 
together with three bolts. The annular geared ring is secured 
to the arms by means of eye bolts slipped on to the same, which 
bolts also serve for tying the arms together. The arms are 
secured to the rim of the wheel by means of small malleable 
clips with two rivets. The whole machine has been designed 
with the view that it may at any time be dismantled, and any 
spare part substituted, without the necessity of any special tools 
and with as little trouble as possible. 
The Hay-kicker was tried upon the Flemish Farm in a strong 
crop of long ryegrass and clover. It did not turn the crop over, 
but lightened it up thoroughly and well, both when going with 
the swathes or when crossing them, and in a manner that would 
not knock out the seeds of the ryegrass. In the heavy crop it 
appeared at times to be quite enough for one horse to work, but 
neither the horse nor driver had ever worked the machine before, 
and both seemed rather out of place. The machine did not 
block in the longest or heaviest part of the crop, and it seems 
to be an implement which may be more particularly suited for 
the heavy crops of ryegrass in the Fen district (where 
machines are often stopped by the length of the ryegrass 
