C93 MECHANIC S. 
Ut reft, or at liberty to turn back. N, part of the frame 
ponnefted with the fhafts. P, the firing for the driver to 
pull back the bolt at pleafure, as in fig. 34. 
Fig. 38. the rake-rail, iron wheel, and fpring. L, part of 
the iron arms and wheel, being made with collars to re¬ 
ceive the rake-rail M, which is rounded where it falls into 
the collar, fo as to turn freely therein. 1, A tooth, as com¬ 
monly made, for carrying round the hay. 2, A wood or 
metal wedge, going into a focket in the wheel to keep the 
rake-rail in its place; by the taking out of which, other 
rails, with longer or fhorter teeth,, according to the crop, 
may be inftantly introduced; or the fame rail may have a 
double row of teeth, one long and the other fhort, either 
to be turned inwards out of ufe, at pleafure, while the 
other remains outwards to work. 3, A metal collar, 
about an inch wide, fattened to the rake-rail againft the 
jfides of each wheel. 4, The fpring, acting on the pro¬ 
jecting part of the collar, and keeping the fpring up to 
its work, while the other end of the collar refts on another 
part of the fpring, and prevents the teeth coming too for¬ 
ward. Front this confirmation of the fpring, the rakes, in 
cafe of violent obftruftion, will turn quite back, and 
again, by the fpring, be brought into aftion. Or, fltould 
only part of the rakes be required in ufe, the others may, 
•by hand, be turned toward the centre of the wheel out of 
action ; or the whole may be fo turned when moving from 
place to place. 5, A focket to receive the fpring. 
Amongll the ad vantages to be obtained by this machine, 
the patentee enumerates the following: 
1. The wheels being connefted together by an axle- 
tree, the whole.of the frame and machine is more flrong, 
fimple, and perfect. 
2. The movements being all clofe boxed in the wheel, 
they .are fecurely excluded from the hay, dufl, or dirt. 
3. The means of inftantly throwing in or out the move¬ 
ment of the rotative rakes, without the driver leaving his 
horfe, affords the greatefl protection to the machine. 
4. The teeth being made to yield quite back, and yet 
return to their work again, admits of their patting over 
every obftacle, as well as prevents them from ftraining or 
clogging. 
5. The opportunity of inftantly taking out and ex¬ 
changing the rakes for long or fhort teeth, or of applying 
the whole, or only part of them, affords every opportunity 
of adjuftment, according to the crops. 
6. The facility with which all the rakes may be turned 
with their teeth towards the axletree admits of varying the 
•number of rakes without taking out any. 
7. This facility alfo is of great advantage when the ma¬ 
chine is moving on the road, as alfo when it is out of ufe ; 
as, by turning the teeth inwards, it becomes an admiflible 
implement in any yard or fhed, without which preparation 
it is a dangerous and terrific implement wherever cattle 
are admitted. 
8. The increafed fize of the wheels prevents them from 
flipping, and alfo prevents them from falling into hid¬ 
den holes or gutters. 
9. In addition to thefe advantages, it is obvious that,, 
without addition to the machinery or the expenfe, the 
machine may be made to aft as a horfe-rake, for gathering 
•the hay into wind-rows, or for raking up ftubble; and 
Tome of them will be fo got up by the manufafturers. 
Reaping-Machines. 
In all field-operations, difpatch, in fuch a climate as 
this, is a matter of great importance ; but in reaping corn 
at the precife period of its maturity, the advantages of 
difpatch are incalculable, efpecially in thofe diflrifts where 
the difficulty of procuring hands, even at enormous wages, 
aggravates the danger from the in (lability of the fealon. 
It cannot, therefore, fail to be interefting, and we hope it 
may be alfo ufeful, to record fome of the more remark¬ 
able attempts that have been made towards an invention 
/o eminently calculated to forward this molt important 
,«p£fatioi>. 
The firft attempt of (his kind, fo far as we have learn¬ 
ed, was made by a Mr. Boyce, who obtained a patent for 
a reaping-machine fifteen or twenty years ago. This 
machine was placed in a two-wheeled carriage, fomevvhat 
refembling a common cart; but the wheels were fixed 
upon the axle, fo that it revolved along with them. A 
cog-wheel within the carriage turned a fmaller one at 
the upper end of an inclined axis; and at the lower end 
of this was a larger "wheel, which gave a rapid motion to 
a pinion fixed upon a vertical axis, in the fore part of the 
carriage, and rather ori one fide, fo that it went before 
one ot the wheels of the carriage. The vertical fpindle 
defcended to within a few inches of the furface of the 
ground, and had there a number of fcythes fixed upon it 
horizontally. This machine, when wheeled along, would 
by the rapid revolution of the fcythes, cut down a por¬ 
tion of the corn growing upon the ground over which it 
pafled ; but, having no provifion for gathering up the 
corn in parcels and laying it in proper heaps, it was (till an 
imperfeft inftrument. 
An agricultural-implement maker of London, Mr. 
Plucknet, attempted fome years afterwards to improve 
this machine. The principal alteration he made, was in 
fubftituting for the fcythes a circular fteel plate, made 
very (harp at the edge, and notched on the upper fide 
like a fickle. The plate afted in the fame manner as a 
very fine-toothed faw, and was found to cut the corn much 
better than the fcythes of the original machine. 
A defcription and drawing of a machine, invented by 
Mr. Gladftones, of Cattle Douglas, in the Steivartry of 
Kircudbright, are given in the Farmer’s Magazine, vol. vii. 
It operated upon nearly the fame principles with Mr. 
Plucknet’s; hut Mr. Gladftones made it work much bet¬ 
ter, by introducing a circular table, with ftrong woodea 
teeth notched below all around, which was fixed imme¬ 
diately over the cutter and parallel to it. The ufe of 
thefe teeth was to colleft the corn, and retain it till it was 
operated on by the circular cutter. The corn, when cut, 
was received upon this table; and, when a fufficient 
quantity was collefted, it was taken away by a rake or 
(weeper, and laid on the ground, beneath the machine, 
in feparate parcels. To this machine was added a fmall 
circular wheel of wood covered with emery, which, being 
always in contaft with the great cutter at the back part, 
or oppofite fide to that where the cutting was performed, 
kept it conftantly ground to a (harp edge. This was a 
great improvement. 
The next attempt was made by Mr. Robert Salmon of 
Woburn, Bedfordfliire : whole machine was conftrudled 
upon a totally-different principle, as it cut the corn by 
means of (hears ; and it was provided with a very com¬ 
plete apparatus for laying it down in parcels as it was 
cut. 
The lateft, and by much the moll ingenious, as well as 
promifing, machine of this kind, of which we have received 
any account, is that conftrufted by Mr. Smith, of the 
Deanfton Cotton Works, Perthfhire. Mr. Smith’s perfe- 
verance, his fuccefiive improvements, and ingenious yet 
fimple contrivances for remedying de/efts, afford ftrong 
grounds to hope that he will ultimately fucceed in ren¬ 
dering bis machine a mod valuable acquifition to agri- 
culturalifts. He made the firft trial of his reaper, upon a 
fmall fcale, during the harveft of 1811. It was then worked 
by two men. In 1812, he conftrufted one upon a larger 
fcale, to be worked by a horfe ; but, though he cut down 
feveral acres of oats and barley with confiderable eafe, it 
was found that, when met by an acclivity, the horfe could 
not move the machine with proper effeft. In 1813, he 
made a more fnccefsful attempt, with an improved ma¬ 
chine, worked by one man and two horfes; and, in the 
year 1814, it was (till farther improved by an additional 
apparatus, tending to regulate the application of the cut¬ 
ter when working on an uneven furface. It was tried 
again in September 1815, and with much fuccefs. A 
Scotch acre (i£ acre Englifb) of beans was cut down with 
4. taffc 
