1851 
THE CULTIVATOR, 
327 
American Reaping Machines. 
The following letter from Mr. Johnson, was received 
by ns too late for insertion in our September number, 
and it was therefore handed over to the editors of the 
Evening Journal , in which paper it was published, but 
it will be new to many of our readers, who will be much 
interested in its subject matter. Eds. 
London, July 29,1851. 
Eds. Cultivator —On Thursday, the 24th instant, 
three of the Jurors on Implements proceeded to Mr. 
Mechi’s farm, in Essex, (Tiptree Hall,) about 45 miles 
from London, to try the American Reaping Machines, 
and to test the draught of the plows. Col. Challoner, 
of the English department, Baron Martens, of Belgium, 
and myself, were the jurors. This day was selected at 
the request of Mr. Mechi, who held his annual festival 
for the examination of his crops, stock, &c. The day 
proved, as did that for the trial of the plows, one of the 
favorite days of England—that is, rain incessantly. We 
left here at eight o’clock in the morning, and arrived at 
Mr. Mechi’s about 11 o’clock, and found assembled from 
one hundred and fifty to two hundred farmers and others, 
to witness the trial, as well as to examine the farm and 
its crops and arrangements. Mr. Mechi’s wheat was 
not ripe, but quite green—the crop very heavy upon the 
ground, and every thing as unfavorable as possible for 
trying the Reapers. The people present were clamor- 
our for the trial, and the person having Hussey’s Reaper 
in charge placed it on the field, and a trial was made 
with it; but the grain was so green, that it soon clogged 
the machine, and it passed over without cutting it. This 
damped, as you may well imagine, the spirits of many 
who had hoped the trial would have been satisfactory. 
It was suggested by the other members of the jury, that 
we had better not try McCormick’s ; but I informed 
them that the machine was there for the trial, and it 
must be tried, as I could not consent that the gentle¬ 
men present, many of whom had come for the sole pur¬ 
pose of witnessing the trial, should go away with the 
impression that our Reapers could not do the work 
promised. McCormick’s Reaper was accordingly placed 
to its work, and with a single span of horses, it went 
through the grain, green as it was, cutting all before it. 
When I ordered the machine stopped, the crowd around 
it, who had followed after very closely, were addressed 
by Mr. Mechi. He said to them: “Gentlemen—here 
is a triumph for the American Reaping Machine. It 
has, under all its disadvantages, done its work complete¬ 
ly. Row, let us, as Englishmen, show them that we ap¬ 
preciate this contribution to our implements for cheapen¬ 
ing our agriculture, and let us give the Americans three 
hearty English cheers!” They gave them, I assure you, 
with a will ; and a fourth with a hip! hip! hurra! The 
Jurors then required the machine to cut another swath, 
so that it might be timed, and its powers ascertained. 
Accordingly, the machine was put in operation again, 
and cut 74 yards in length in 70 seconds, doing its work 
first rate, and to the satisfaction of every one present. 
At this rate it would cut twenty acres per day, during 
their usual hours of work here. A large number of 
the farmers present called upon me to express their great 
gratification at the result under such unfavorable cir¬ 
cumstances ; and said they considered the result a very 
great triumph for the American machine; and that it 
had fully redeemed everything I had said in relation to 
its capabilities. 
Hussey’s was afterwards tried upon a clover field and 
did the work well. A machine made after Hussey’s, 
by Garrett, here, with some alterations, was tried up¬ 
on a clover field, but would not work. The English 
machinists will learn, by-and-bye, if they expect to im¬ 
prove American machines, they must learn to work 
them—-until they do that, their attempts to improve will 
fail, as this did. Another trial will be given when the 
grain is ripe, probably, for the satisfaction of many who 
were not present, and who are anxious to see the ma¬ 
chines work. 
You can hardly imagine how the tone is altered since 
we have had our implements tried. The “Prairie 
Ground” is filled with inquirers, and some gentlemen 
have found out that there are some people who know 
what they are doing in some other parts of the globe as 
well as this little Island, where, it is most readily ad¬ 
mitted, there are many “clever” people. The McCor¬ 
mick machine was put together in the Palace again, 
and yesterday it had more visitors, I believe, than the 
“ Ko-i-Noor” diamond itself! 
The plows were tested by a dynamometer the same 
day, and the result I will give you hereafter. There 
was considerable difference in the land, and the subsoil 
was very tenacious and the average depth was quite large; 
and the trial not more satisfactory, on the whole, than 
in our trials heretofore, where, as here, in a half day, 
twenty plows or more are tested. 
It is some little consolation, after all the taunts that 
have been heaped upon our implements, that we have 
been enabled, measurably at least, to put them in a pro¬ 
per position before the people here; and the orders we 
are receiving for our plows, as well as the award for our 
reapers, "shows that we have made the people satisfied 
that our light, cheap implements can do all we promised 
they would do; and that they are very desirable imple¬ 
ments to be used here. And I have not any doubt my¬ 
self. that a manufactory of American plows here would 
very soon work a revolution in the implements in use 
here; but they must be made by our own manufacturers 
to be successful. 
After the trial of the reapers, about 150 gentlemen sat 
down to a first rate dinner prepared by Mr. Mechi, and 
did, as you may well suppose, creditable justice to it. 
We had some of us, at least, worked well in the rain and 
mud, and bore outward evidence at least, of being work¬ 
ing-men. Mr. Mechi presided, assisted by Lord Eb- 
rington as vice chairman. Several speeches were made. 
Lord Ebringtcn, in giving the health of the foreign vi¬ 
sitors present, remarked that it must have been truly 
gratifying to their American brethren, to witness 
the triumphant and complete success of the American 
reaper, which had done its work under great disadvan¬ 
tage, to the entire satisfaction of all present; and the oc¬ 
casion was one of very deep interest to all present. 
(Cheers.) He coupled with his remarks, the name of 
Prince Frederic of Holstein —who replied on behalf of 
the guests, in a very neat speech—and concluded with 
the health of Mr. Mechi, who responded in a straight 
forward speech that drew forth rounds of applause. In 
