G50 Reptrt on the Trials of Implements at Reading. 
or corn in the stack. The essential characteristics of this 
method are these : By means of a fan communicating by an air- 
tight passage with a central cavity in the stack the hot air is 
withdrawn from the inside, in consequence of which the cooler 
and drier air of the outer atmosphere rushes through the 
interstices of the hay or corn, and in its passage cools and dries 
the stack. The motive power, the mechanical means of exhaus- 
ion, the junction of the horizontal flue with the machine, the 
size and position of the flue, and the proportions of the shaft or 
central cavity, may vary, but the principle is the same in all. 
This method is the invention of Mr. Neilson, of Halewood 
Farm, near Liverpool ; and it is impossible to name this gentle- 
man without saying a few words in acknowledgement of the 
debt which is due to him, not merely for the untiring zeal and 
energy with which he has carried on his experiments with the 
view of perfecting his method of harvesting crops independently 
of weather, but also for the public spirit and self-denial which 
he has shown in declining to patent his process. Whatever the 
value of the invention may prove to be, and the inventor him- 
self is sanguine as to its future success, he has made a free gift 
of it to the public. 
It is proposed at this point to give some description of the 
different exhaust fans which competed for the prize as they were 
exhibited in the Showyard ; and afterwards, in relating the trials 
to which they were subjected, to notice the A'ariations in the 
practical application of the principle by individual exhibitors. 
Taking these machines in the alphabetical order of the ex- 
hibitors' names, the first to be noticed is thus entered in the 
Catalogue : 
Stand No. 206.- — Tlie Agricultural and Horticultural Association 
(^Limited) {E. Owen Greening, Manar/ing Director\of Z,Agar Street, 
Strand, W.C., and 3, Creek Boad, Deptford, S.E., London. 
Article 4394 — (iVejr Implement.) — Hay and Com Dryinj; in Stack, 
" One and All," portable system ; manufactured for the Exhibitors. Price 
147. for exhaust fan on wheels. Galvanized iron and pii)es, centre air 
chamber and thermometer extra, if required. This system is applicable to 
single stacks, whether in stack-yard or field, and can be worked by hand 
power. (For Trial.) 
The fan here exhibited is thus described by Mr. Anderson, C.E. 
(the Consulting Engineer to the Society) : — 
This machine is a fan for the purpose of ventilating stacks. Apparently 
with the object of reducing the bulk of the apparatus to a minimum, a very 
simple movement has been produced by the most complicated means. The fan 
is four-biaded, 15 inches in diameter, with a single inlet 6 inches in diameter. 
It is placed at the bottom and one side of a wooden bos, mounted on a pair of 
wheels, and fitted with a pair of shafts. The box also contains ail the following 
