278 
Sept. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
way, it would not now have been covered in spots with 
dry clover stalks, while other parts were closely eaten, 
and the whole amount of pasturage it affords lessened 
and deteriorated in value. 
Pastures, properly treated, are improved by keeping 
«heep upon them a portion ot the time—especially those 
of a wild and bushy character. They supply consid¬ 
erable quantities of manure, they keep down many 
wild plants, and bring in grass and white clover in their 
place. And we join in the views first above quoted, 
that no grazing farm should be without a proper pro¬ 
portion of these animals. 
We have recently seen sheep employed for the novel 
purpose of weeding beans, and they did the work in a 
very satisfactory manner. Turn in a good flock into 
the bean-field for two weeks before they begin to blos¬ 
som, and the weeds and grass will be eaten down so 
closely that they will .be of little injury to the crop. 
Especially will this be the case, if, as in the instance 
noted, the beans are planted in hills 16 to 20 inches 
apart, as they will soon cover the whole surface. As 
the beans begin to blossom the sheep must be removed, 
or they will eat them off, and also the young bean pods, 
and it is well known that they are very fond of dried 
beans and bean straw. 
Steam Engine for Flowing, and Draught 
over an Uneven Surface. 
Our readers already know that the Ag. Society of 
this State has offered a premium of $250 for any en¬ 
gine that shall substitute steam-power for horses in 
plowing, in an available and satisfactory manner. An 
application was accordingly received at the last meet¬ 
ing of the Executive Committee, for the appointment 
of Judges to examine into and report upon the merits 
of an invention recently made by Mr. Charles E. 
Mann of Troy. July 26th a trial of it was had. We 
should premise that Mr. M. is a mechanic and that his 
engine was constructed rather with a view of manu¬ 
facturing one capable of draught over ordinary roads 
or fields, than specially as a motor for plowing ; with¬ 
out personal experience as a farmer, he had of course 
no knowledge of the best way of making his invention 
accomplish most before the plow, and there was much 
need through the trial, of some one sufficiently con¬ 
versant with those that were used, to manage success¬ 
fully the attempt to draw them. But considering the 
imperfections incident to the first engine constructed 
on a new plan, and several very discouraging circum¬ 
stances that occurred,—among them the breaking and 
consequent entire loss of the fly-wheel,—the trial was 
really a success. The power of draught evinced; the 
facility with which the engine was steered ; the fact that 
it could surmount the obstacles of rough ground, of soft, 
wet spots, and of considerable elevations—and all 
without sufficient jolting to displace or impede the 
working of its machinery—surprised the best mechani¬ 
cal judges who were present: and, while the current 
opinion was that the whole affair was still too crude 
to be considered yet in the light of a “ steam-plow,” 
the hopes of the most incredulous could but be excited 
for the ultimate accomplishment of all that is desired in 
such an engine. As a full and careful report will shortly 
come from the committee, we need not forestall its con¬ 
tents by attempting a description or foreshadowing its 
criticisms and decisions. But a word or two as to the 
principal novelties involved, will perhaps be expected 
from us. 
Like those engines which have been most successful 
in England, this invention of Mr. Mann’s, lays its own 
track as it proceeds. The platform of the engine rests 
upon two main traveling wheels four feet in diameter— 
the forward end supported by a double castor, or two¬ 
wheeled truck, turned to right or left by the steersman 
above. These castor wheels are two and a half feet in 
diameter, and flanged ; a slack chain of traction links, 
each link 12 inchos long and 6 inches broad, revolves 
of itself within the flanges, so that one link always 
forms a square support to the convex surface of the 
wheel, while the chain is loose enough for a second link 
to be flat upon the ground when the wheel passes off 
from the one behind it. This is very ingeniously ar¬ 
ranged, although we do not know whether it is new or 
not. 
The main traveling wheel on each side is surrounded 
by an endless chain, composed of links 14 inches long 
and 12 inches broad, which forms the track on which 
the wheel runs. But the power is not applied directly 
to the wheel as in the driving wheel of a locomotive, 
and as is the case we believe with all similar engines 
invented abroad. The endless chain (which is compos¬ 
ed of 18 links in all) passes forward of the traveling 
wheel around a wheel 18 inches in diameter—which 
wheel is not round, but 'pentagonal, and has forks at 
each angle fitting between the links of the endless chain. 
The power is now applied in this way : a cylinder on 
each side of the boiler turns a 6 inch pinion at a high 
rate of speed, say 150 revolutions per minute ; this 
pinion plays into a large (22 inch) cog-wheel upon the 
shaft of the pentagonal driver, and as the speed by 
this gearing is decreased, the amount of power is cor¬ 
respondingly and very greatly enlarged. The driver 
pulls the endless chain around, which draws upon the 
top of the traveling wheel—thus in reality making 
each spoke in that wheel act like a lever of the second 
class, having the ground for the fulcrum, the axle of 
the wheel for the weight or resistance, and its upper 
surface for the power—in prying the machine along. 
The upper side of the endless chain is thus constantly 
tight, while the lower side is slack and hangs down 
loosely enough to supply the traveling wheel constant¬ 
ly with a firm track or support. This mode of apply¬ 
ing power, we believe to be novel and original—but 
have no means at hand of determining with certainty. 
The endless chain, which as will be seen, must be very 
strong to meet the py.ll upon it, is composed of square 
iron frames, in which a wooden shoe is secured of 2-inch 
plank. The whole is said to weigh 8,000 lbs., and to 
be able to carry fuel and water for five hours work. 
The engine was, as we have seen, a double one, opera¬ 
ting on quarter cranks, to avoid any dead center in 
turning the drivers ; the cylinders carried five and a 
half inch pistons, and ten inch stroke, and the amount 
of steam calculated for average use was 70 lbs. The 
boiler, however, did not seem quite capacious enough 
to supply steam to the full capacity of the machinery. 
-*-*-o- 
Lucerne or Alfalfa. —Can you or any of your 
readers, inform me through the Country Gentleman, 
where I can procure the seed of the lucerne or alfalfa 
mentioned on p. 394, last vol. Co. Gent., and the price 7 
James Clegg. Columbus, Geo. 
