S86 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
they are boiled, makes excellent Wane mange. All these 
articles are frequently thrown away in families. With a 
little labor, they constitute the most favorite dishes—fit 
for a king, or even a fanner. A House Keeper. 
HUSSEY’S REAPING MACHINE. 
To the Editor of the Cultivator —Several notices 
of my Reaping Machine have already appeared in the 
Cultivator, and I would not now intrude on your valuable 
pages, did I not believe that a large number of your rea¬ 
ders are much interested on the subject of cutting wheat 
by machinery. 
It is now ten years since my invention of the Reaper. 
I have been constantly engaged since that time in its im¬ 
provement. Although the grand principle has never 
been departed from, it has undergone several changes in 
its general construction, with a view to convenience and 
durability. It cannot appear strange if some of these 
changes may have been for the worse, and thereby en¬ 
dangered its good name. With thishazzard in full view, 
I have followed every idea which promised any improve¬ 
ment; the result has been the production of an imple¬ 
ment as near perfection, I apprehend, as any thing of the 
kind can well be. The improved Machine has been in 
use three years, with increasing reputation. 
The following letter is from Mr. Washington of Jef¬ 
ferson county, Virginia, who has cut three harvests with 
one of my Machines: 
Bell Air, July 8, 1844. 
Mr. Obed Hussey—Our harvest is over, and has afford¬ 
ed another opportunity of testing the Reapers of your 
construction. Unlike most patent farming implements, 
they manifest their utility more evidently with each suc¬ 
cessive trial. Owing to rust, the straw' this year was 
spongy and difficult to cut with any tool; it was also much 
fallen. Those farmers who witnessed the operation of 
my machine admitted that cradles could not have done 
the work so effectually. L. W. Washington. 
Cautious farmers at the present day place little confi¬ 
dence in certificates. I will only add the following ex¬ 
tract of a letter from Mr. Watkins of Va. 
Chesterfield co., Va., July, 1844. 
Mr. Obed Hussey—Having never seen you since recei¬ 
ving the wheat cutting machine, I with the greatest plea¬ 
sure make known to you the result of its performance, in 
cutting my wheat. It surpassed my expectation. In cut¬ 
ting wheat or oats, no reaper can surpass it as to quanti¬ 
ty, neatness in cutting, and the laying of the grain to the 
greatest nicety, and to advantage for the binders. The 
having to pick it up as fast as it is cut, is in my opinion 
one great recommendation, because every operation is 
immediately under the manager’s eye, consequently much 
more work will be done, and at night when the cutting 
is done, the picking is of course. Numbers have been 
to see its performance, and all left with delight. One old 
gentleman, a James river farmer, remarked, had he such 
a farm as mine he would not be without your reaper for 
five hundred dollars. John Watkins, of Ampthill. 
Last summer I visited the Mississippi Valley to introduce 
the Reaper there in places where it had not been known. 
Four machines were sent on before me to places distant 
from each other. Every machine without exception 
gave the highest satisfaction. One was used in Kentucky 
for cutting hemp as well as wheat. Although the hemp 
was cut and laid completely, yet a great improvement is 
in contemplation for expediting the work, and saving the 
labor of hands. I refer for information to James An¬ 
derson & Co. of Louisville, Ky. Another machine was 
sent to Lafayette, Indiana. For an account of its per¬ 
formance I refer to Henry W. Ellsworth, Esq., of that 
place. Another machine went to Pekin, Illinois, where 
its performance was equally satisfactory. I refer to John 
Bennet, John Carmichael, and Matthew Brewer of Pekin. 
Another machine was sent to Mount Morris, near Rock 
River, Illinois. Fora disinterested account of its per¬ 
formance I refer to Sam’l L. Hitt, of Mount Morris, and 
to Emmert, Halderman & Co. of Savannah, Ill. 
My large machine requires four horses, and is warrant¬ 
ed to cut from 15 to 20 acres per day—price 170 dollars. 
My light two horse machine is warranted to cut from 12 
to 15 acres per day—price $100. Either of the machines 
is capable of cutting much more by a change of horses, 
and driving on a trot a portion of the time. Machines 
of medium size will be furnished at $140. The small 
machine is well adapted to ground cultivated in corn lands 
such as is usual on the eastern shore of Maryland and the 
counties of Va. bordering on the Chesapeake Bay. 
No farther improvement is contemplated which can 
make the Reaper materially better than it now is. Far¬ 
mers who are not acquainted with it may rest assured it 
is no humbug. To the references already given 1 will 
add the names of the Hon. Wm. H. Roane of Richmond, 
Va., the Hon. H. L. Ellsworth, Commissioner of Patents 
who witnessed its operation last summer in Indiana. 
Baltimore, Md., Nov. 18, 1844. Obed Hussey. 
TREES GNAWED BY MICE. 
I am reminded by an article which lately met my eyes 
in the last number of the Cultivator, that now is the sea¬ 
son for guarding against the attacks of mice on young fruit 
trees. I have accordingly 
just had my trees embanked 
slightly by inverting the sod 
in a circle about them by the 
spade. If young trees stand 
in grass ground, as is some¬ 
times unavoidable but not 
desirable, they are in the 
greatest danger from these 
attacks. But by turning up 
a circular portion of the 
ground around them, as re¬ 
presented in the annexed fi¬ 
gure, (fig. 1,) and raising it 
at the same time a few inch¬ 
es towards the tree above 
the common surface, the danger is greatly lessened if not 
wholly removed. The grass about the trunk no longer 
furnishes a hiding place for the mice; and the earth, by 
being raised, prevents the snow collecting at much depth 
about it, being blown away by the wind. By elevating a 
circular bank of earth ten inches or a foot around each 
tree, all danger is wholly removed. 
Another, and the chief reason for thus inverting the 
sod, is to promote the growth of the tree, as a few spa 
j dings during the course of the season will in many cases 
triple the growth of a young tree in grass ground; indeed, 
we may about as well throw away our trees, as to plant 
them in grass, without keeping the soil for some feet 
about them, well cultivated for several years. 
When trees become actu¬ 
ally girdled by mice, I save 
them without difficulty, if 
they are not peach or necta¬ 
rine, by a mode sometimes 
described in the papers, re¬ 
presented by the annexed 
cut, (fig. 2,) and which con¬ 
sists merely in connecting 
the bark above to the bark 
below the girdle, by an in¬ 
serted piece. If the tree is 
small, portions of the wood 
and bark, at the upper and 
lower extremeties of the 
girdled part, are cut away 
with a knife, so as to leave 
smooth horizontal faces, as 
shown at a. a. If the tree is large, these are best cut in 
with a mallet and chisel. The limb of a tree is then made 
just long enough to fit in and connect these two cut fa¬ 
ces together, taking care that the line of separation be¬ 
tween the bark and wood of the tree and inserted piece, 
exactly coincide as in grafting. This inserted portion 
may be a small round piece with the bark on, or a larger 
piece, split, leaving the bark on the outer side. The 
whole may then be covered with grafting wax or other 
suitable composition, and, if low enough, embanked with 
earth. In small trees, a piece may be thus inserted on 
each side—in large ones, several should be employe i 
