TRIAL OF REAPERS AND UNKNOWN

Otago Witness, Issue 1418, 25 January 1879, Page 18

TRIAL OF REAPERS AND UNKNOWN

(from our own correspondent.) Oamaru, January 22nd. The North Ofcago Agricultural and Pastoral Association's trial of reapers and binders came off to-day at Totara, and was attended by about 500 persons. Only two machines competed, and the decision was arrived at by the votes of bona fide farmers on the ground, the points to be considered in voting being speed, quality of work done, lightness of draught, durability of working parts, and simplicity of meuhanism. The conditions were — three acres of crop to be cut, and tbree hours allowed to complete the work, any machine not finishing its allotted work in the time to be disqualified. M'Cormick's machine completed the three acres in two hours twenty minutes, and Reid and Gray's took two hours forty minutes. During the competition a bolt was broken in Reid and Gray's, which caused a delay of 20 minutes. Bothmachinesworked well, theM'Cormick being, however, decidedly the better. Reid and Gray's had the advantage in lightness of draught and breadth of cut. The voting: of the farmers was— for M'Oormick's 37, for Reid and Gray's 4. The driver of M'Cormick's machine obtained 27 votes, and the driver of Reid and Gray's 10 votes. Ashburton, January 22nd. At the trial of reapers and binders at Ashburton to-ilay, M'Cormick's machine took the first priz^, doing its woik first class throughout.

A young man in Maine writes to ask ns if w e want to engage a "puzzle editor." No, thank you. We havo a puzzled editor, and that is sufficient, Ho is puzzled to find out why in thunder people don't pay for their papers,