TRIAL OF SELF-BINDING HARVESTERS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1422, 22 February 1879, Page 5

TRIAL OF SELF-BINDING HARVESTERS.

A most successful trial of self binding barI vesters took place on the 13th, on the farm of Mr James Shand, West Taieri, under the auspices of the Taieri Agricultural Society. The following were the terms under which the competitioa was to take place : — 1. Five acres to be reaped and bound within six hours. 2. Lots to be drawn for places. 3. No exchange of lots or numbers to be allowed. 4. Two men will be permitted to accompany each machine at work. 7. In no ease will a prize be awarded unless the machine finishes its allotment within time. 8. The machines must stop at the request of the judges for inspection. 9. The decision of the judges must be final. 10. Objections to be lodged wit 1 }! the secretary, in writing, before the decision. The Working Committee of the Society had appointed the following committee to conduct the trial, viz. : — Messrs Peter Giant, of Gowiie ; Samuel Young, of Mosgiel ; and Malcolm Carmichael, of Riverside; and the following were the judges: —Messrs John Rankin, George Pram, John I Fiulayson, James Robertson, John Shaw, Thomas Craig, and W. F. Christie. The prizes offered were LlO for the first, and L 5 for the second ; and Mr 11. Driver off erod fiist, Becond, and third prizes for the beat drivers. There were seven entries, and the field selected for the contest was a large one, perfectly level, upon which there was a fair crop of ripe wheat, which, it was estimated would yield from 40 to 45 bushels to the acre. A large number of leading business men and farmers bad gathered to witness the trial, some of them from considerable distances. We noticed among them Mr G. M. Bell, of Wairaea ; Mr J. F. Kitching, of Moa Flat ; Mr Gow, of Wairuna ; Messrs Driver, Brodrick, Carter, M'Lean, Mndie, Duthie, Allen, Pram, Andrew, Kirkland, SnieUie, Young, Carmichael, Findlay, Malcolm, Rankin, Robertson, Shaw, Christie, Craig, Grant (of Gowrie), Grant (of Granton), Grant (of Cray), Turnbull, Waters, and Sutherland. A portion of the prop, measuring 35 acres, having been divided v into seven parts, a plot of each containing four acres and a-half after the I cuttings were made, was allotted to a machine as drawn, and a start was made at 10 minutes after 10. The entries were — three of M'Corroick's, and one each of Wood's, Oaborne's, Reid and Gray's, and the Buckeye. A protest was enteredagainst having threeof M'Cormick'p, but it was overruled, as they were all owned by different parties. Soon atter the start waa made, an accident unfortunately happened to Reid and Gray's machine, a pinion having broken. It was some time before another could be procured, and this delay destroyed all chance of succeeding in the contest. The other machines worked very smoothly, with the exception of Wood's, which was also unfortunate in having lost a screw, a washer, and a spring, which interfered seriously with the tension of the wire during the trial. Still, it worked well, and cut lower than any other machine, taking every straw. Osborne's machine finished its lot at a quarter to 1 ; M'Cormick's (Hack), at five minutes to 1 ; M'Cormick's (Wilson), at fire minutes after 1 ; Wood's at twenty minutes after 1 ; the Buckeye between 2 and 3 ; and Reid and Gray's late in tbe evening. After lunch, which was liberally supplied by ! Mr Shand, M'Cormick's, Wood's, and Osbome'a machines went once or twice nearly a mil© round the wheat-field, making splendid work, although some of the crop was very heavy and lodged. Mr Shand himself drove the Osborne without a mishap. At the close of the work Mr Shand and_ the spectators expressed'themselves well satisfied with the result. The self -binding harvester was pronounced just tha thing required to get a crop down quickly when the weather was threatening, or when there was any difficulty about getting hands. At about 5 o'clock the secretary, Mr Hector M'Kay, made known the result arrived at by the judges. He said that the work of all was bo good that they found great difficulty in deciding as to which should take first place. After due deliberation the first prize was given to M'Cormick's, driven by Mr Hack; and the second to Osborne's ; and M'Cormick's, driven by Mr W. Wilson, was highly commended. As i;o the prizeß for drivers, the first (L 3) was given to Mr Hack; the second (L 2) to Mr Smeaton; and the third (LI) to Mr Wilson. The follow ing is a list of tbe different machines, with the names of the driveis and agents or owners :— Milter Driver. Atrent or Owner. 1. M'Corin'ck Hack N Z L. and 11 A. Co. 2. Osliorno Case Maclean Bo thers 3. M'Cormick Wi son James Hhand Wood Brown Brodrick and Carter M'Cormick Smeaton James Sni«aton Buckeye R. Todd James Fowler Reid and Grey C. Grant Peter Grant. It will bo seen that judgment was passed upon the work alone. The judges evidently felt some diffidence about expressing an opinion as to the construction of the machines. It was acknowledged upon all hands that the work was well done, and that time alone was necessary to enable them to judge as to the durability of the machines. Some of the farmers complained that certain machines bound the sheaves too near the head, and others that they were bound too near the butt. The fact is that the man who cli ives can regulate the machine to bind as he pleases. If the weather is wet, and there is danger of injury to the grain, the bind should be near the butt ; and if it be windy, it may be necessary to bind near the head, so as to make a compact top, and to allow the butt to take a firm hold of the ground. As to the "kick," which is complained of in Wood's machine, it is notao bad as the tossing which the sheaf receives in hand-binding, and it is a grand thing in a tangled crop, as, unlike others, it never ties two or three sheaves together. After this trial, and that at Goodwood, the fawners of Otago will no doubt have perfect confidence in the self-binding harvester. We are told that in the States these machiues have superseded the reaper and. tbe ordinary harvester. The reaper cuts 12 to 15 acres per day, and the harvester, carrying two men on a platform to bind, cuts from six to seven acres, while the self-binding harvester cuts as much as the reaper.

CHEVALIER BARLEY.

It may be of interest to mention something which all barley growers do not know, and that U the method of the origin of the Chevalier barley. It is not a chance product, nor a distinct variety, botaiiically considered. It is simply the development of the possibilities of the graiu by propagating the choicest seed by extra culture. It is a pedigree grain, brought to a stable condition; and endowed with the power of re producing its kind, which pertains both to plants and animals, it continues to give the grower a yield of unusually fine grain, if the soil and tbe conditions are favourable to its growth. Wo have spoken several times of the

production of extra yields of wheat by it sort of breeding and developing process in the seed, and the same remarks apply to bailey. This was the process adopted by M. Chevalier, and the result is that the grain he produced has carried his naroo into all the markets of the world. M. Chevalier observed an ear of barley of unusually flue size and quality growing in a field, and he picked it. He sowed the seed in i Jris garden and then resowod. it, giving it garden

culture until he had enough to sow a field. The superior quality of M. Chevalier's gn-in was at once recognised, and the result is that it has be come a favourite in all barley growing regions. As early as 1832, in England, Lord Leicester sowed Chevalier on a field, a part of which was seeded with the best common barley which could be found. The result whs that the Chevalier weighed 57 pounds to the bushel, and the common barley only 53 pounds, which showed the Chevalier to possess an advantage of about 10 per cent, in the formation of plump, heavy kernels. This early experience ha 3 bton repeated and approved iv many ways since that time, and the result as we now see it is the difference crystallized into a market price which leads all other barleys, The London Agriculturist, speaking of this grain, says: — "There can be no doubt now of the general superiority j of the Chevalier as a malting barley. It is now grown where formerly no such a thing as a fine bailey was thought of. It is one of those innumerable improvements of modern date, which, though but seldom thought of, have produced great effects. In thin case the price of barley, owing to improved quality, has been increased over wide districts by 2s and 3s per quarter." This is an interesting subject to all barley growers, and we trust the lesson from the facts we have stated will lead to a more general care in the selection of seed. The field for improve ment is open, and we know no ieason why a little practice of the scientific method should not evolve a barley which shall eclipse the fame of the Chevalier. EXHAUSTION^F~SOIL BY COWS. A cow giving 2000 quarts of milk per year takes from the soil about fifteen pounds of phosphate of lime, and, if the milk is sold, that amount of phosphate of lime will be removed from tbe farm. But the amount is readily restored by the purchase of 2001bs of bran, so that as far as exhaustion of the mineral elemfnts of the soil by selling milk is concerned fchoro is no serious trouble to be apprehended, since the phosphate of lime is the most important element removed. Where cheese is niado on the farm, and the whey is used for feeding to the hogs, the loss is still loss. If only butter is sold, and the rest of the milk is fed to the calves and swine, and the manure is saved, the loss to the farm will be of no account, for, in fact, there will be no exhaustion of the soil thereby. The elements ! of butter are carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, and these everywhere abound in the air, in the cirbonic acid gas and water which supports the I vegetation which is finally transformed into fat [ and butter by cows. VICTORIAN OHEESE> FACTORIES. From tbe wonderful increase in the amount [ of milk converted into cheese at the Sale factory this season, we should imagine that not only have producers found the _ supplying of this establishment the best paying method of disposing of their commodity, but the article turned out of the factory must have been of a class to commend itself to consumers. No less than 43,929 gallons of milk were used from August 29 to December 29, last year, a period of only four months, as agaii.st only 38,381 gallons during the season before, lasting nine months. The milk used at the Briagolong establishment from Sep l ember 9 to Decembor 31 was 35,886 gallons, and at the Heart factory from October 8 to December 31, its opening season, 38,925^ gallons. These figures speak well for the interest taken by our local farmers in this very important industry. — Gippsland Mercury. REAPERS AND BINDERS. The travelling agricultural reporter of the Melbourne Leader says : — " There is such a general feeling among farmers that the ruling prices of wheat will not ' pay for the expense of binding by baud, that in all probability hand- binding will be almost unknown next season. Except where such circumstances, therefore, as improperly prepared ground may interfere, the reaper with handbinding may be considered as out of the question in regard to future systems of harvesting. The header has also been shown to be of limited application, so that the real contest will be between the stripper and the reaping and binding machine. " The value of the straw is the real ground upon which the contest between the stripper and reaper and binder will have to be decided. Where the straw is considered sufficiently valuable to pay the expenses of carting and threshing, the reaper and binder will be adopted, and where this is not the case it i 3 difficult to see that any machine can displace the stripper. The reaper and binder will certainly be employed over the southern districts of the colony, but in the northern areas it will only be used where a market value can be obtained for straw above the expense of carting and threshing. In regard to the use of the stnw for manure and for stock, the farmers who use the stri oping machine claim that they obtain most of the benefit derivable from this sourep. The stock are put on to die eukivation paddocks whenever the grain is stripped, and between that time and the ploughing season a good deal of the straw is consumed. The remainder of the straw is then burned off, and the aahes serve as manure."