156 
THE CULTIVATOR 
May. 
Value of Mowing and Reaping Machines. 
Luther Tucker & Son —I see doubts are expressed by 
some correspondent of the Country Gentleman, as to the 
mowing machine being a money saving farm implement. 
Having had some experience, I would like to say some¬ 
thing on this point. 
In 1856, we had a field of heavy and badly lodged clover, 
which was partly cut with scythes and partly with a mow¬ 
ing machine made by Walter Wood. The best that could 
be done with the hand mowing, was to cut a half of an 
acre to a man in a day. The stubble was then left in such 
a condition that the hay had to be gathered with a hand- 
rake. Having gone over some acres in this way, we con¬ 
cluded to try the machine—and found that by driving very 
fast we could do the work to our satisfaction ; leaving the 
stubble in a condition to be raked with a common revolv¬ 
ing horse-rake, following around in the direction taken by 
the mower. We had two pairs of horses in the field, 
changing teams as often as necessary; these two pail's of 
horses, a man to drive them, and the machine, earned in a 
day, twenty dollars—paying for the work done the same 
price it would have cost had we kept the scythes at work, 
and doing it much better. 
The same season we had a field of eight acres of oats, 
lodged and tangled so badly that it would have required 
sixteen days work with scythes to cut it. In less than a 
day, a team and two men with the machine, put the whole 
into gavels—doing the -work much more nicely, and saving 
more grain, than would have been possible with scythes. 
When we first commenced using the machine, we sup¬ 
posed it could only be used in standing grain and grass, 
and on comparatively level ground, but experience has 
taught us that its greatest value is in tangled and lodged 
crops, and that it can be used wherever a wagon will run 
without turning over. 
We do all our mowing and harvesting, and gather our 
clover seed, with the same machine—“Wood’s Manny”— 
and in every case it does its work cheaper and better than 
hand labor can do it. 
Last fall we cut a little over fifty bushels of clover seed 
in less than a day, with a man to cast oft' the gavels, a boy 
to drive, and one pair of horses. What did the machine 
earn that day? 
In cutting clover for seed, we set the machine so as to 
cut higher than we cut for hay—in fact only intending to 
cut low enough to get all the seed. The gavels require 
turning two or three times,"according to the weather, and 
then with a barley fork (long wooden tines,) carefully lift 
on the -wagon, handling as little as possible to save shelling. 
In mowing and reaping, let all the dew and rain get oft' 
before you commence cutting. The grass or grain will dry 
quicker standing than it will after it is cut, and it cuts bet¬ 
ter when dry than when wet. 
There is one important measure that NOW is the time 
to attend to : get ail the stones and sticks, and every thing 
that will endanger the machine, off the meadows, so that 
when the busy season of haying comes, you can go ahead 
without fear. Geo. Geddes. Fairmount , Onondaga Co.. 
N.Y. 
A controversy of Scythes vs. Mowing Machines, seems 
to be bringing us in a retrograde position as to Agricultu¬ 
ral implements. All such discussions are valuable, but 
one great element in the calculations is omitted on both 
sides. A man can easily cut an acre a day, if that acre 
yields one ton of hay ; but on a hot day, in grass of two 
tons, can he do it ? or at all events, can he cut twelve tons 
in a hot week ? Can he cut half an acre of tangled clover ? 
Then, again, a good mower must begin at an early hour in 
the morning, and what piles of wet grass must be opened 
after him at 9 or 10 o’clock. A boy cannot spread hay as 
the machine does it, after two men who will cut two acres 
a day. In good grass I do not want to cut more than four 
acres a day. This I can do between 8 and 12 o’clock, and 
in the afternoon put it in small cocks, and if the weather 
is threatening, my hay covers make all safe. 
I have often been asked for advice as to mowing ma¬ 
chines, and my answer is for ten acres of mowing it will 
not pay, and as to a company machine, every man wants 
it on the same day, and one careless man breaks twice as 
much as his neighbor. A mowing machine is not a lenda- 
ble article, except the borrower will use it on your own 
farm. The Allen machine is decidedly my favorite for 
simplicity, ease of draught, and close cutting. Two in¬ 
ches oft' of the loAver end of each spear of grass, makes a 
heavy odds in the produce of an acre. W. H. Henning. 
Fishkill Landing. 
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Long-Island Lands. 
To the Editors —In answ'er to inquiries by your read¬ 
ers, I have added to my notice of Long-Island land, a more 
full description of it and the country. 
Probably but few persons have a correct knowledge of 
the Island—of its extent and resources, its climate, soil, 
and history. It is more than 140 miles long, by an average 
breadth of more than 10 miles, embracing more than 1,400 
square miles. It has a sea coast of 300 miles, with nume¬ 
rous harbors and bays and streams ; some of great extent 
and capacity. These bays and streams abound in fish and 
wild fowl in the greatest numbers ; they are inexhaustible. 
Of the 500 varieties of birds and wild fowl that are found 
on the North American continent, near 300 varieties are 
found on and frequent this beautiful and highly favored 
Island. It is the great half-way house of the migratory 
tribes of birds; in their annual wanderings they give 
Long-Island a call. 
I have in my advertisement, endeavored simply to set 
forth the facts, not learnedly but understandingly, and 
they cannot be disputed. 1 am prepared to sustain the 
whole by any amount of proof. E. F. Peck, M.D. 
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Experiments in Potato Culture. 
The proper mode of cultivating the potato seems to 
be a subject of interesting inquiry at the present time. 
I wrote you some time since my experience and obser¬ 
vation concerning the one-eye system. I shall adopt 
that mode this season, but shall add to it another im¬ 
portant item—that is, a change of seed. I believe it 
will well pay a farmer to take a day’s journey to ex¬ 
change seed, if he plant but one acre. 
I last year saw a field of potatoes planted partly with 
seed that had been raised on the farm, and partly with 
seed brought only a distance of five miles. The lat¬ 
ter were worth double the former, though planted side 
by side at the same time, and receiving the same cul¬ 
ture. 
An idea has prevailed quite extensively in this 
quarter, that rich land was dangerous to the potato 
crop, and that barn-yard manures should never be 
used. 
I last year broke up an old pasture lot—furrowed it 
out about six inches deep—dropped the seed in the fur¬ 
row, and covered with a good forkful of horse manure 
After hoeing, gave each hill a handful of plaster. The 
vines were blighted too early for a good crop, but the 
potatoes were not injurod by the rot, and they were 
considered a better crop than those planted in the 
neighborhood without manure. 
I also tried the experiment of dropping the seed on 
sod, and covering with straw, chip manure, and horse 
manure. These three experiments gave equal results, 
and were satisfactory for the season. M. F. Carlisle , 
Schoharie Co. y N. Y. 
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121^* In answer to G. W., we would state that the 
postage on the Cultivator is six cents a year.. The law 
is so plain upon the subject, that that there is room for 
no dispute about it. 
