1861.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
•^37 
Fig. 1— Sanford’s Improved Horse-Power. 
Farm Machinery. 
BAOTORD’S “ ANTI-FRICTION ” HORSE-POWER, 
The improvements constantly making in 
Steam Engines, tending to greater effectiveness, 
simplicity, and cheapness are bringing them 
into more general use, and doubtless the day is 
not distant when a large proproption of the 
heavier agricultural operations, such as plowing 
or soil-stirring, threshing, etc., will be mainly 
performed by steam. The single fact that the 
steam engine consumes no food when not at 
work, is a strong argument in its favor, as com¬ 
pared with horse-power, for work carried on at 
only occasional periods—though this is in part 
overbalanced by the consideration that horses or 
mules can be used for other purposes, when not 
required for temporarily driving machinery, and 
the interest on the capital invested in machinery 
standmg idle much of the time, is thus saved. 
I hat farmers, as a class, do not yet fully appre¬ 
ciate the economy of a good horse-power, is evi¬ 
dent. Take a single illustration: Suppose 15 
cords of wood to be consumed during a year 
on a single farm. To cut this with an ax fine 
enough for stoves, would require 15 days’ work 
at least, worth $1 a day, wages and board in¬ 
cluded. With a light horse-power * geared to a 
circular saw, costing $100 to $125 all complete, 
a man with a horse would easily cut this amount 
of wood in two days at the outside, and do it in 
a better manner with far less waste of chips. 
Call the horse worth $1 a day, or $4 for the two 
days of man and horse, and there is still a saving 
of $11 —or enough to pay 7 per cent interest on 
an outlay of $ 00, leaving $4 for wear. The 
same power can, of course, be used for threshing 
and other work, making it of still greater value. 
For small operations, we have esteemed the 
44 rail-road horse-power ” as on the whole the 
simplest and cheapest. But for a complete farm 
power, adapted to all sorts of work, threshing, 
wood cutting, ginning cotton, pressing hay, etc., 
where two or more horses are required, a heavi¬ 
er and more substantial power is needed; and 
for such a power there is, perhaps, none better 
than the one illustrated in the accompanying en¬ 
graving. It has the merit of being strong, com¬ 
pact, readily moved about, and free from fric¬ 
tion so far as possible. We append a brief 
Description. —In fig. 1, the bed or main 
frame, A, A, ia firmly secured to the bearefs, B r B. 
The driving wheel, B, turns upon the shaft of 
another wheel, J, below, which saves one shaft 
and secures compactness. A peculiarity of this 
power is the arrangement of round iron balls, 
B, B, at different points, to support the wheels 
and save friction. The placing of the cogs on 
the inside of the rim is claimed as another ad¬ 
vantage, securing strength and compactness. It 
will be seen that the drive wheel, B , turns the 
For in-door work similar wheel work is used* 
but the central shaft is carried upward as shown 
in fig. 2, and the wheel, J, placed at any desired 
hight. As above hinted, these powers are taken 
up and set down very readily, which is a conve¬ 
nience where portable power is needed. They 
are manufactured by Bennett Brothers, and the 
entire workmanship of all we have seen appears 
to be substantial and made upon honor. The 
price of the medium size, for one to three horses, 
is $125, and of the larger size, for four to six 
horses, $175. 
What England Bought in Three Months. 
pinion, E, on the shaft of the large wheel, G. 
The cogs of G, play into the pinion of J, while 
the cogs of J, play into the pinion, A, on the 
shaft of the band wheel, M. P, is a wrought 
iron “ hanger,” supporting the bearing, Q. The 
bearings subject to much friction are prepared 
with Babbitt’s metal, which renders them very 
durable. The band wheel, or pulley, M, makes 
52 rotations to one of the drive wheel, B. The 
size of if, is varied to give any velocity required. 
In looking over the official tables of the value 
of sundry articles imported into England during 
the first three months only of the present 
year, and for the same period last year, it 
occurred to us that the readers of the Ameri¬ 
can Agriculturist would be interested in examin¬ 
ing a few of the figures which we have reduced 
to our currency. Take a common map of the 
world, and note the little colored spot about the 
size of the thumb nail allotted to our ancestral 
island, and then look at the following figures, 
showing the money value of a few items carried 
there in 90 days ! 
Value —1861. Value— ’60. 
Wheat and Flour..$34,184,725 $5,556,885 
Indian Corn...... 4,339,640 1,696,650 
Barley. 4,048,030 3,161,980 
Oats. 926,110 762,360 
Beans... 967,045 710,145 
Peas.. 670,385 245,595 
Flax. 1,555,035 2,323,400 
Flax Seed. 2,939,745 2,445,180 
Hemp. 776,735 755,255 
Hides.. 1,666,140 2,571,575 
Butter. 3,807,900 3,424,580 
Cheese. 1,111,340 1,115,390 
Rice.. 1,374,550 734,650 
Sugars and Molasses......_12,743,435 10,123,730 
Cotton. .45,266,945 54,065,565 
Silk (Raw).10,801,705 11,420,840 
Coffee . 1,322,290 1,475,420 
Tea....11,003,885 10,005,180 
Tobacco... 1,596,555 529,975 
Wool. 5,651,495 8,195,455 
Tallow...... 1,587,460 1,289,200 
Oil (Olive). 1,653,135 2,681,240 
Currants (dried)..... .. 642.985 541,045 
Raisins. 447,615 244,670 
Wines. 4,501,400 3,943,030 
Timber and Wood.. 3,627,965 2,450,215 
Indigo.... 875,860 783,480 
Guano. 2,383,840 1,095,545 
Nitrate of Soda (for manure). 241,315 740,780 
Oil Seed Cake. 980,765 620,905 
Total.$163,706,020 $135,709,920 
One hundred and sixty three million dol¬ 
lars’ worth of products imported during three 
winter months!—The marked increase in the 
imports of breadstuffs, (wheat and corn), will be 
specially noted, amounting to about $40,000,000 
for the quarter year. As this was all for home 
consumption, it indicates the effect of bad weath¬ 
er on a single crop upon a comparatively small 
area. Among other items of inteiest in the ta¬ 
ble, will be noticed the large amount of butter, 
cheese, wool, and tallow. Also the consump¬ 
tion of beans and peas, which are more highly 
esteemed in England, for feeding, than here. 
The same may be said of oil cake, and of flax¬ 
seed which is manufactured into oil and oil¬ 
cake. It will be seen that nitrate of soda is im¬ 
ported to a considerable extent as a fertilizer, 
the $740,000 paid for it in three months last 
year, being equivalent to over twenty million 
pounds, or ten thousand tuns. The $2,883,840 
paid for guano, is equivalent to about eighty 
million pounds, or forty thousand tuns ! 
---—nOB—--- 
A Considerate Woman.—“M adam,” said a 
gentleman to the mother of a noisy child, “ a 
good many persons were disturbed by the cry¬ 
ing of your child at the concert last night.” 
“Well,” replied the considerate woman, “I d« 
wonder such people will go to concerts 1” 
