at the Southampton Meeting, 1844. 
381 
in this commendation, having had the opportunity of seeing Mr. 
Richmond's chaff-cutter in work. It appeared to him that choking 
in the feed-rollers — an evil to which the best of these machines 
has hitherto been more or less liable — is scarcely possible from the 
form of toothed-rollers adopted by Mr. Richmond ; and the getting 
up of the instrument was well worthy the reputation of a Man- 
chester mechanic. 
The thiee above-mentioned chaff-cutters are stated to have been 
respectively the best in the collection, and their merit in the order 
given. Others fell short of the duty required either in point of 
quantity or quality of work. 
A new machine by Mr. James Gardiner, of Banbury, having a 
plurality of mouths, was considered by rhe judges to possess " con- 
siderable merit, but that the small openings for the cut create a 
difficulty in the feed, which is easily overdone." 
Another novelty was presented to the meeting, entitled the " Guil- 
lotine Chaff Machine," the invention of Messrs. James Ward and 
William Colbourne, of Stratford-on-Avon. In this machine the 
cut is effected by the ascent and descent of a double-edged angular 
blade working perpendicularly, and cutting both upwards and 
downwards. The judges speak of it " as the smallest of all, and 
too small for general purposes, but meriting commendation as 
the possible forerunner of an improved chaff-cutter." This short 
notice by the judges of a machijie which attracted great attention 
in the show-yard, by reason of its apparent simplicity, truth of cut, 
and moderate price, is, in the writer's opinion, substantially cor- 
rect, and all that can be expected from them who regarded it as 
an implement which, upon trial, deserved record in the report of 
the exhibition, but not a prize. The writer was requested by 
many gentlemen to examine this implement ; he did so attentively 
and repeatedly, though unknown to the exhibitors. His opinion 
is that it possesses very considerable mechanical merit. The cut- 
ting blade being quite straight and flat, and presenting no diffi- 
culty of adjustment, permits of its being repaired or renewed by 
ordinary country blacksmiths. The feed is at rest during the 
ascent and descent of the knife, i. e., during the cut; an excellent 
principle, though not original. The mode of effecting this alter- 
nate stopping and progress of the hay or straw is particularly 
simple and good. Notwithstanding these good points, however, 
it must be deemed very questionable whether their advantages be 
not more than counterbalanced by the limit put by them to the 
quantity of work it is capable of doing. The crank which impels 
the knife is necessarily obliged to be very long, as its length must 
equal the depth of cut, plus the breadth of blade, and some space 
more to permit the material to move forwards. A long crank 
and a short connecting rod are bad mechanical properties, and the 
