THE EXHIBITION OE 1862. 
153 
done in draining, accompanied witli the new system of rotation 
of crops, comparatively little had been accomplished in the 
shape of machinery as applied to the labours of the farm. The 
south of Scotland took the lead in a superior class of implements 
for tillage, and the thrashing-machine, driven by water and 
horses, was introduced about the same time by Andrew Mickle, 
of East Lothian ; but steam as a substitute for animal power 
had never been thought of, and until the last ten or fifteen 
years the great steam arm of science remained a listless agent, 
inoperative in the hands of the agriculturist. 
At the present day, the very reverse is the case : as steam- 
engines, steam-ploughs, and other steam drudges of the farm, 
are not only appreciated, but they testify then value by their 
presence at the Exhibition. 
In this display we recognize one of the most imposing sights 
in the world’s fair, and it is not too much to say that the agri- 
cultural mechanician has equally distinguished himself for solidity 
of construction, simplicity of details, and economy in price, 
with his contemporaries, the marine and locomotive engineers. 
The steam-ploughs of Fowler, and the engines and machinery of 
Ransome & Clayton, may challenge competition in any depart- 
ment of mechanical science, and the implements generally in 
this important division are exceedingly well made and admirably 
designed for the purposes for which they are intended. 
Reaping-machines of almost every description are well repre- 
sented at the Exhibition, and there appears to be no end of 
cultivators, grubbers, and sub-soilers, all of which are carefully 
designed andwell made. In the construction of reaping-machines, 
considerable improvements have been from time to time effected 
by Smith, Bell, McCormack, and Crosskill ; but the labours of 
the engineer are of little value, unless supported by the agri- 
culturist in the preparation of the land, so as to render it 
available for the work of the machine. To make a reaping- 
machine work well, everything must not be left to it; the 
farmer has his duty to perform in preparing the land as well, as 
the machine, and that being carefully accomplished, the great 
problem of machine labour will soon be solved, and the farmer 
may then calculate with certainty upon securing his crops in 
the worst of seasons. In a variable chmate, such as that of 
England, where a whole harvest may be lost or seriously 
damaged unless rapidly cut and securely housed, the machine 
reaper becomes invaluable, and cannot fail, when properly 
constructed and applied, to become the farmer’s friend, and 
a great national benefit. 
Miscellaneous Articles and Machines . — Our limited space 
will not permit us to enter into detail, or we should have 
noticed a considerable number of machines and objects well 
VOL. II. — NO. VI. M 
