1852 
THE CULTIVATOR 
413 
It may not prove practicable to combine these two qualities to the 
best advantage in one machine,'’ &c.—and further, that “one of the 
best machines in the field was McCormick’s—like Manny’s and Dens- 
more’s—( £t this clever machine seems not yet perfected.”— Report .')— 
it cut about 6 feet wide, and in execution was not exceeded by any, 
especially in lodged gram,”—just the opposite of what is said in the 
report. 
In fact, a single trial of cutting a few acres of light, dry wheat—for 
there was neither heavy nor damn wheal cut at the Geneva trial—is 
no test at all of the powers and efficiency of a reaping machine; and 
no stronger proof can he adduced of this, than the fact that in the late 
great trial between Mr. “ Garrett’s improved Hussey Reaper” and 
mine, in which there was 100 acres cut, at the Royal Ag. College, 
England, the decision of the Committee was in favor of the. former 
at the close of the first day, after having cut but a few acres under 
favorable circumstances, while at the close, though the stubble left 
by Garrett’s was reported to be rather shorter and neater than mine, 
the decision of the same committee was decidedly in favor of mine 
in every important particular—and when, notwithstanding any sup¬ 
posed difference in shortness or neatness of stubble, the waste after 
the former was found to be one-third greater Ilian that from the latter 
—winning over to the support of my machine , the proprietors and 
conductors of the College Farm, under whose auspices the trial was 
made, and who owned the Garrett machine! 
On this part of the Geneva report, I have only to add a word of ex¬ 
planation, in relation to the particular machine used at the trials, and 
its partial failure in mowing , of which the committee say, “ The 
construction of this machine is too fragile for useful purposes, the 
knives yielded after a few swaths were cut, needing to be replaced 
by another set; these yielded also. The stubble was left long and 
uneven.” 
After the established superiority of my cutting apparatus, beyond 
all question, it would seem from this statement my own fault, if 1 had 
not the best machine; and I have been advised that this was a con¬ 
trolling point in the case. I have stated in my previous notice in the 
Cultivator, however, first, that delay on the way from Chicago, pre¬ 
vented me from having at the trial the machine constructed espe¬ 
cially for that purpose; and second, that in consequence of wider 
spaces between the fingers of my machine than others, loose cobble 
stones on the surface of the ground entered between them, and raked 
the teeth off the sickle—which (stone) should not be found on mead¬ 
ows—but which liability is prevented by putting the fingers closer 
together. All this was explained to the committee—and apart from 
this, the durability of my machine needs no endorsements of any 
committee. 
In conclusion, I have a word to say in relation to the “ unanimous ” 
report of this committee!—first, that one of the most practical mem¬ 
bers of it, residing in one of the best wheat districts in New-York, 
who carefully attended the trial through at Geneva, but was prevented 
by sickness from attending the Slate Fair at Utica, where the report 
and awards were made up, was in favor of atvarding the first pre¬ 
mium for my machine , and was “ surprised at the awards that were 
made”—that some other members of the committee disagreed with 
the majority, but out of deference to their judgment, consented to let 
the report go out as unanimous—that agencies were offered by some 
proprietors of a machine to members of the committee, prior to ma¬ 
king their awards, and in one case known to have been accepted. 
Finally, permit me to add some account of the result of the Spring- 
field trial of Reaping Machines, made last summer, by a committee 
of the Stale Ag. Society of Ohio, by way of further showing the de¬ 
generacy to which such local trials are fast sinking, and the unrelia¬ 
bleness of them. It took place on the farm of Mr. Warden, manu¬ 
facturer of Densmore’s machine, and was couducted by a committee 
of the Ohio State Agricultural Society, at which they awarded the 
first premium for “ Densmore’s self-raker,” and second for Hussey’s 
Reaper; and for mowing, first to Ketchum, and second to Hussey’s; 
whereupon, my brother (who attended for me) challenged the two 
premium machines to a thorough trial, on a neighboring farm of 
Messrs. A. Collins, and H. Shields, near Xenia, where Densmore & 
Co., had placed a self-Raker for trial, to be purchased if approved. 
Many of the citizens of Xenia also united in the call for a thorough 
trial; but finally, Messrs. Collins & Shields were required by the 
owners of the Self-Raker, to decide prior to the day appointed for the 
exhibition,whether lliey would keep it, that it might be removed if 
not kept—when my brother, to prevent a disappointment to the pub¬ 
lic, who had had notice to attend, paid $140 cash for the machine, 
and then requested the owners to attend to its operation. Suffice it to 
say, that Hussey’s Machine was not presented, (by the Ohio manu¬ 
facturers of it,)—that the Self-Raker was abandoned by its owners, 
but was operated on the day of the exhibition by Collins A Shields, 
and was afterwards unsaleable at any price; that the exhibition re¬ 
sulted in a strong report in favor of my machine, and in the sale of 
it to Messrs. Collins A Shields—and in a notice of the trial in the 
“ Xenia Torch Light,” which reads as follows.— 
“ From the above unvarnished statement of facts, it is quite evi¬ 
dent that the Committee at Springfield committed a gross error in 
awarding the first premium to the Self-Raker, the consequences of 
which the public interest requires should be counteracted so far as 
possible, by all fair means. Committees who undertake the responsi¬ 
ble task of adjudging and deciding upon rights and interests so impor¬ 
tant, should be admonished by this, to give a more thorough investi¬ 
gation before publishing their judgment to the rest of mankind. Tn 
this case, the Ohio Board of Agriculture have endorsed in an official 
and very public manner, a machine which, as at present construct¬ 
ed, is and can be of no practical utility. This is humbugging f 
If the same opportunity could have been afforded at Geneva for 
bringing the premium machines to a more thorough test, and in a 
greater" variety of conditions of the crop, a like result would have 
followed. Doubtless, it has generally been observed that the great 
trials of the Reapers in England this year, have effectually dissipated 
any doubt that might have been left upon the public mind, as to the 
correctness of the award of the Council Medal for my reaper, by the 
committees of the Great Exhibition—in consequence of the result of 
a partial trial made at the close of the season, after I had left Eng¬ 
land. As it now is, we shall be thrown over to another reaping sea¬ 
son for further reaper trials , when I design to have my machine in 
the field at the earliest day possible—say on James River, Virginia— 
that its superiority may again, as, heretofore,, be contested in any tho¬ 
rough manner , and that in time to govern sales further north. 
My machines will, this year, be manufactured in a superior slyle— 
corresponding with its superiority in principle —embracing some im¬ 
provements in construction over those of any previous year; and ar¬ 
rangements will in due time be announced, for the supply of the di e- 
rent wheat growing sections of the country with the same. Satis¬ 
fied, from the experience of the past harvest, of the impossibility of 
constructing the same machine, both for reaping and mowing, to the 
best advantage, as the width of a mower should not exceed five feet, 
for the ordinary lands of this country, while that of a reaper can as 
well be six feel as less, and where greater speed is essential, a sepa¬ 
rate mowing apparatus , with iron beam, will for the next harvest be 
sold to order with my reaper, at a cost of $30. Both machines war¬ 
ranted to operate superior to any others in use, and will be offered 
on trial with any other, the best performing machine, in such case, to 
be kept by the purchaser. For mowing alone, the machine will be 
delivered at Buffalo at $100. G. H. MeCQRMICK. 
NEWLY PATENTED 
MOWING AND REAPING MACHINE, 
BY HORACE L. EMERY, OF ALBANY, W. Y. 
UCH has been the condition of the people of our country, that 
in many portions of it, manual labor has been found inadequate to 
the task of harvesting grains and grasses in proper time, and manner, 
while, in all sections^ the cost of manual labor, where to be had, has 
often been too expensive for profitable farming. 
These facts have caused hundreds of thinking minds, for some years 
past, to turn their attention to the subject of substituting other more 
expeditious, as also cheaper methods of effecting the same. 
As the muscular power of the horse is known to be equal to that 
of seven men, while the cost per day for boarding and employing a 
horse, is only equal to that of one man, this source has been looked 
to as the most feasible. 
With what success, it is only necessary to refer to the late Exhi¬ 
bition and Trial of Mowing, Reaping and Threshing Machinery, un¬ 
der the direction of the committee of the State Agricultural Society at 
Geneva, where were collected the finally successful results of the 
experiments of years by thousands of minds. 
With all this before us, whoever now attempts the construction of 
Agricultural machinery for the above purposes, must be blind indeed, 
to make an unsuccessful attempt in constructing machinery for either 
of the above three classes of farm labor. 
Therefore, the subscriber, not only having made himself practi¬ 
cally acquainted with the construction and working of all the sue* 
cessful machines of this class, but having made and successfully 
introduced several valuable improvements in some of the above 
classes of machinery, which have already gained favorable and world 
wide reputation and adoption, flatters himself that he has also made 
an improvement in ihe construction of a Mower and Reaper of equal 
if not greater merit, than any of his former successful machines. 
As the Engravings, Diagrams, Ac., of this new one are yet in the 
hands of the engravers and unfinished, as also diagrams of several of 
those of other makers of the best standing, it will be impossible until 
next month, to give it a practical and mechanical description, when 
it is the intent ion to show the leading and important points in it which 
are new, as also to show those of the best of other makers with the 
differences between them. 
It will suffice to say, that while this is the most compact, light, 
simple, cheap, durable, easy working machine—it is at the same time 
the most perfectly adjustable, portable and easily convertible into a 
mower or reaper, working as perfectly in either form as those of the 
best of other kinds, whether simple or combined. 
The main wheel is 39 inches in diameter, 8 inches face; the whole 
contains but one gear and pinion and that an internal one; it has neither 
crank or connecting rod about it. It has a wrought iron knife beam 
formed of two plales, struck up into ribs, and firmly riveted together, 
thus forming a light, stiff, strong and hollow beam, which is sus¬ 
pended by means of a shaft running through its whole length, 
terminating at the outer end witli a crank axle and wheel attached— 
the inner end of said shaft being connected by a lever with the driver, 
the beam may easily and instantly be elevated or depressed at plea¬ 
sure. The frame itself is so suspended upon the axis of the main 
wheel, as to be elevated and depressed at pleasure, so as to secure a 
horizontal position to the whole machine at whatever elevation used, 
thus always having the cutting works in proper posilion. 
In reaping, a reel is used, and the raker stands erect, face forward, 
and directly behind the center of the platform, and on a level with it, 
with a support about him; the movable platform being on the same 
plane with Ihe frame-work at the side of the discharge, and at the 
same time two or three inches above the stubble. With the above 
introduction, and the directions and diagrams to follow, together with 
prices, terms of sale, warranty, Ac., which will appear in next month’s 
papers, the public will have before them the several machines front 
which to make a selection before purchasing for the coming season 
and at the same time know what they are purchasing much beltet 
than to be guided by the very impracticably written and published re¬ 
port of the committee of the Geneva trial, which to be seen and care¬ 
fully read will be sufficient to satisfy every one of the truth of this re¬ 
mark concerning the correctness of its conclusions. 
As this is the age of humbug, it becomes every purchaser to look 
well to his dollars before parting with them for that which will prove 
worse than usetess, and purchase only such articles as have their 
practical as well as theoretical merits plainly pointed out, or if not so 
pointed out, to purchase only of responsible manufacturers, who are 
willing to back their machines by their reputations and capital, 
