Harvesting Machinery.

Southland Times, Issue 9544, 14 June 1887, Page 4

Harvesting Machinery.

At a London Club meeting Mr Nathaniel R ; x of London Colney read a paper on ' Harvesting Machinery, 1 of which the following is the substance : — The subject, said Mr R>x, naturally falls into three divisions — (I) the cutting ; (2) the carrying; (3) the stacking of the crop. (1> As to the cutting of the crop and ite manipulation in the field, I will endeavour to give a concise account of ancient harvesting, and will venture to indulge in one or two iuggestiona for the improvement of the harveadng of the future. Treating of reaping by hook or sickle, of which the cost is 12t to 18s per acre \ of bagging or fagging, which coat 9s to 158 pei acre, but is very perfect. ; of the Eainsult acythe ; of mowing by the scythe, ia which mo»iug, tying, docking, and raking cost 7 s (5d to 11s per acre. I am of opinion that the scythe, particularly with a cradle added, is the sheet-anchor of harvesting. It occurred to a much-lamented friend, the late \lr VV. Burgess of Brentwcod, that the principle of the Archmedean screw might be utilised with alvantage to supersede manual labour in the delivery of corn at the side from a reaping machine. He carried oat bis ide«» with entire sacceis. His machine won easily every prize for which it competed. One of these machine*, at Cowlam, near Driftield, in Yorkshire, cut 28 acre 3in a day, and 1 am tmcier the impression that tbis is a ' record ' that has not been surpassed by any machine of the tame width. Twenty acres wa^ Always looked upon as about a fair day's work in Norfolk. An important step in harvesting was ta^en by Mr Marsh, Illinois, U.B.A. Mar»h raised the corn as cut, by means of an endless web, on to a table or platform outside the main wheel. At this table stood two men, who bound the corn in sheaves and diopped it on ttie grouud. This invent iga heraWeci what may fairly be called ano'.her epoch in harvesting, viz,, the introduction of the selfbinding reaper. Some thousands of wirebinders were made in America, and many of taem still remain in use. Messrs. Wood &c M'Cormick firat introduced them here. The Eoyal Agricultural Society in 1878 offered a prize for a binder to bind with material Other than wire when the tH'Oarmick canchme carried oil the prize. At Shrewsbury, in 1884, the Ro,y»l Agricultural Society offered a prize for the best machine binding with string. Here the English makers were found to have outstripped the Americans in adapting the machines to English crops and lnnd, and, after perhaps the best trial to which reapers were ever subjected, the prizes fell iv Messrs Hornsby and Messrs Howard. It has often been asked how it happens tlm' machio s which do their woik in America •with entire satinfaction fail on arrival hereto enppoit their high reputation. What are the reasons for the success of English binders 7 I am told that in America in harvest the weather is continuously dry, the land is firm, the crops stand well, being of moderate bulk ; there is no green and damp undergrowth of grass or clover, xnd it is the practice to cut them hign. As a piece of iron hoop will divide a roll of butter aB well as the best carving knife ever made in Sheffield, co any reaper on a correct ground pJan and principle will work well on an American crop. Mr Xix then gave illustrations of the alterations necessary to adapt American machines to English crops. The work done by a well-appointed and well-managed binder ia of the first quality. I have never yet seen a binder work thoroughly well with fewer than three homes These are generally harnessed Abreast, thus requiring only one driver ; but in diffi>;u;t crops, where the whole attention of tbe man is required to manage the machine, a unicorn team can be used, with a lad on tt.e leader ; and in exceptionally soft and hilly l»Dd four horse*, two and two, may be r» quired ; if ii< always an advantage to have the power well above the work I have worked a bmdtr rrith three buJJocks abreast with entire success, and once cut a field of atvemeen acres by steam, using an Aveling and Porter e.x-borse traction engine. Driving the horses at the rate of :breemi!rj. J an aour, 20 acres 6hou!d be cut in a day As to cost, string and dl will co»t uarler 2 per acre ; driving and s'ooking, posaioly from Is 6d to 2s more, according to the crop ; In ought to be allowed for wear and in ere«r. To I avoid risk of heating, it i« very neces^a^r t •> allow corn cut by a binder to men -in lung enough ia the field to get thoroughly diy tbiuugh ; it ia also desirable uot to make t»e ' stacks too wide, j The-eare three points on which 1c ia pos. Bible and desirable to improve the binders. The jndges at many trial*, and hlso user?, have complained of the tendency of the ma« chine to pitch aboot and run the knife into the ground on slightly uneven Ixnd, thus causing stoppages and damage. This fnult is remedied by fixing to the frame at theiout, of the pole a email wheei, which guic.'es the cutter-bar overarjy inequalities of fcbe ground, and altogether does aw»y with this dtfect in the most simple and ea*y manner. I venture to ask if some material, that will not shrink in the wet and stretch when dry, could not be mbstituted with advantage for canvas for the bottom apron ? The canvas apron works well in dry weather, but is found_troublesnme ia a damp harvest. I think pitchchains, which work well on a Crosskill reaper, in a much iess favourable position, are the best drivers, and have very little doubt that, in conjunction with a better apron, they will eventuilly be brought into use for this purpose. I oannot help thinking that the plan of lubrication generally used for reapers, threshing machines, and most other implements is very imperfect, and that the constant attention required to keep it going "jt, one cause of the comparative slowness with which these machines generally get over the work. lam under the impreesion that eventually three sizes of binder?, which ha^e been already made, will come into use. (I) the present general-purpose binder, which ought to cut one and a half acres per hour ; (2) a machine with a longer cutt«r-bar for light land and crop*, estimated to cut afc least two Acres an hour, or nearly thirty acres a day ; (3) a binder with a shorter cutter-bar, but a wide and roomy delivery, and every necessary appliance for heavy corn, Amongst other desirable appliances I would mention and strongly recommend good corn-lifters, whieb often make all tbe aifierence b tween success and failure in dealing wilh a difficult crop. At tbe Shrewsbury meeting the Boyal Agricultural Society offered a prize for a machine to gather up corn lying on the ground in swathes or in iowb of sheaves, and to bind it in sbeaves, by horse or other power. There weie several competitors for this prize, but none succeeded. I cannot think this is an insoluble problem. My idea of such a machine would be to gather and bind two B*'athe« or rows of sbeaves at a time, by mams of a cioubio machine j the horaes would walk between tbe two rows or swathes $feere would be no Bide drought, mi the work

would proceed at a great pace. If a thoroughly workable machine could be designed and brought out, I believe nearly four acres an hour could be tied : and even if the sheaves were somewhat rough and partook of the nature of bundles, it would vastly expedite and reduce the expense of carting loose barley, and generally place in the farmer's bands the power of securing his corn at the most favourable time, in tke most rapid manner, and in the beßt condition . Corn can often be cut when it is not fit to tie, and on this plan it can be allowed to lie amd get properly dry, and th^n be very rapidly got together. Mr Rix next dealt with carrying the corn. One of the cleverest methods of working elevators 18 carried oat by Mr B, Bererley Leeds at Castle Acre, Norfolk. Mr Leeds builds stacks twenty-two yards long ; he has two elevators placed side by side at a distance of eleven yards. Between them is placed a horse-gear, connected to both of them ; thus one horse drives both elevators at a time, and keeps six pitchers fully employed in the field, where it is well known that Norfolk men do not let the grass grow under their feet in harvest.