"After some further proceedings, the Vice-Chairman proposed the health of the President. Lord Harry Vane responded.

[Sidenote: "A Worthy, Modest and Unassuming Man"]

"The healths of the Vice-Presidents were proposed. Mr. Mitchell briefly responded. Mr. Wharton, in acknowledging the toast, took the opportunity of again bringing before the meeting the merits of the invention which had been the object of that day's attraction. It had been most unfortunate that when the trial took place for the prize of the great exhibition, Mr. Hussey had not arrived in this country—nobody knew how it was managed, whilst McCormick's was properly attended to. Mr. Hussey's machine did no work, and Mr. McCormick took the medal. No sooner did Mr. Hussey arrive than he prayed for a further trial, but the Jury could not grant it. All difficulty was removed by Mr. McCormick throwing down the gauntlet. The trial came off in Cleveland—the result was clear and satisfactory in favor of Mr. Hussey's machine as decidedly superior. Mr. Thompson, of Moat Hall, one of the Great Exhibition Jury, was also one of the Judges in Cleveland, and was so satisfied on the subject that he left, determined to urge for a medal for Mr. Hussey. It must be a source of pleasure to all to find that justice was thus about to be done to a worthy, modest and unassuming man."

From the Darlington and Stockton Times, October 11, 1851.

THE REAPING MACHINES AT BARNARDCASTLE.

"To the Editor of the Darlington and Stockton Times:

"Sir—I beg to trouble you with a few particulars of Mr. Hussey's American Reaping Machine, which I yesterday saw working in a field near Barnardcastle. I am not a farmer, and of course cannot be thoroughly au fait at describing an agricultural implement, nor am I sufficiently versed in mechanics to explain to you the construction of the machine in all its details, but of the result I can speak, and that with confidence.

"Drawn by two horses, a man seated on the near side horse as driver, this wonderful implement was drawn with perfect ease, at more than the rate of three miles an hour, round and round a field, partly in wheat and partly in barley, cutting a breadth of corn in its progress with a regularity and evenness that was surprising. No straggling stalks of corn were left, none of the slovenly irregular work too often seen where manual labor is employed was to be discovered; on the contrary, the field after shearing, looked nearly as smooth and even as a kitchen floor or turnpike road. The farmer has now no longer occasion to be behind the reapers, dinning in their ears, 'shear low"—'now do shear low;' for this machine, with a very simple adjustment, will cut the corn as low as he can possibly require. A seat on the machine is provided for a man, who, with a large rake, and with motion resembling the pushing of a punt, removes the corn from the machine as it is cut, and leaves it for the binders to put together in sheafs.

"The assistance of two men and two horses are thus all that is required to draw and to guide this wonderful sickle—and so manned, it will cut with the ease and regularity I have described, from perhaps ten to twelve acres in the working day. Nor as far as I could see, or learn from the observation of others, does there appear to be any drawback against its general adoption. Its price (L21) is not exorbitant—its construction is not so complex as to cause a fear of frequent repairs being required; men of the common run of agricultural laborers are quite competent to go with it, and the work of drawing it is not distressing to the horses. Neither does the nature of the ground appear to be much an object, for it traveled as well over ridge and furrow as it did upon a level.

"Nothing could be more unanimous than the approval of which the machine met with from all who saw its work, and I was informed that nine machines were ordered on the ground. Among the purchasers was the Duke of Cleveland, who, with Lord Harry Vane, was present and examined its working and construction minutely. The curiosity excited by the machine was great, and an immense number of people visited the ground during the two days. Noblemen and gentlemen, farmers and farm laborers, tradesmen and mechanics, men and women, flocked to see the implement which from the other side of the Atlantic has come to effect so important a revolution in the labor of the harvest field, and all were agreed that Brother Jonathan, though still a young man, had some clever notions in his head, and that John Bull, in the case of the reaping machine, would not be above taking advantage of his intelligence. I am, etc.,

"A. B."

From the London Daily News.

HUSSEY'S REAPING MACHINE—TRIAL BEFORE PRINCE ALBERT.

"The celebrated battle of the Ganges hardly excited more interest in the railway world than the battle of the Reaping machines has lately created in the agricultural world; nor is the result perhaps very much less important in the latter case than in the former.

[Sidenote: Hussey's by Far the Best]

"Of the recent inventions for diminishing the cost of production, the most remarkable are undoubtedly the Reaping machines of Messrs. Hussey and McCormick. Perhaps it would be more accurate to call them importations than inventions, since both have been in use for a considerable time in America; and amongst the benefits arising from the Exhibition, it is certainly not the least that it has introduced to the agriculturist of Great Britain implements of the highest practical utility, which might otherwise have remained forever exclusively in the hands of their brethren across the Atlantic. It will be remembered that a trial of the two rival machines took place last summer, at Mr. Mechi's model farm in Essex, having been directed by the royal commissioners, with the view of determining the comparative merits of the two instruments, whose patentees were competitors for the forthcoming medal prizes. At that time Mr. Hussey, the American inventor of the machine called after his name, had not arrived in the country. The weather, too, was very unpropitious for the trial, notwithstanding which a very large number of gentlemen were present. The machines were tried upon a field of wheat, and the result was such as to convince all present of the superiority, in every point of view, of McCormick's machine—a conviction which was subsequently confirmed by the fact of the Exhibition medal being awarded exclusively to the patentee of that machine. The tables, however, were soon to be turned. Mr. Hussey arrived in England; a challenge having been given by the agents of Mr. McCormick, it was accepted by Mr. Hussey, and his English agent, Mr. Dray; and, after a fair contest before the Cleveland Society, at Middlesbro', near Stockton-on-Tees, on the 25th and 27th of September, a jury of twelve agriculturists pronounced a verdict in favor of the unmedalled machine. They decided that of the two machines, Hussey's had the preponderance of advantages—that it cut corn in the best manner, caused the least waste, did the most work in a given time, left the cut corn in the best order for gathering and binding, was the best adapted for ridge and furrow, was the least liable to get out of repair, and was the least price at first cost. On the two other points submitted to them, namely, which machine required the least amount of horse labor, and which the least amount of manual labor, the jury declined to express a decided opinion, in consequence of the state of the weather."



[Sidenote: Arrival of the Prince]

"There have been many other trials of Hussey's machine in different parts of the country, and the result has been so far uniformly satisfactory. Amongst these we have now to mention a very interesting one which took place by appointment last Saturday, at Windsor, in the presence of his Royal Highness, Prince Albert, originating in a correspondence between General Wemyss, on behalf of the Prince, and Messrs. Dray & Co. of Swan-lane, the agents for Mr. Hussey. The spot selected for the trial was behind the statue of George III, at the end of the Long Walk, fern—of which there is an abundance in that locality—being the article on which the machine had to operate. The Prince having from an early hour in the morning been engaged in shooting in the vicinity of the statue, at half-past twelve, resigned his gun, and proceeded on horseback, in company with General Wemyss and Col. Seymour, to the spot appointed for the trial of the machine. Dismounting from his horse, his Royal Highness saluted briefly and gracefully the assembled company, and especially Mr. Hussey and Mr. Dray. He then asked a few general questions respecting the history of the machine, and observed that as the ground selected was very uneven (it was in fact remarkably so) the trial would be a good one. After a brief delay, the gear being declared in order, on went the machine, drawn by two strong horses, and heedless of ruts and hillocks in its course, which was very rapid, bringing down every thing it encountered cleanly and completely, including two or three slices of turf at least a foot long, and more than an inch thick.

"The performances of the machine were not confined to one single course. A considerable amount of work was performed in the most satisfactory manner, Mr. Hussey himself sitting on the box at the side, and throwing aside what was cut down in the manner best adapted for gathering and binding. Indeed the work was not confined to the fern; a rabbit which was not accustomed to this species of interference was startled and cruelly lacerated before it had time to escape.

[Sidenote: A Royal Order]

"At the close of the trial, his Royal Highness gave a practical proof of his favorable opinion by ordering two of the machines for himself, one for Windsor and the other for Osborne. He then, after expressing his gratification, rode back to the game-keepers and resumed his gun. After he had left, the machine operated well upon some rushes.

"It may not be out of place to state here that Mr. Dray's explanation of the failure of the Hussey machine at Tiptree Hall (Mr. Mechi's farm) is that it was entirely owing to its not being properly managed. On that occasion, he says, the person in charge of it was simply a porter at the Exhibition, who, not understanding the matter, neglected to clear away the wheat as it was cut down, in consequence of which the action of the machine was unavoidably and fatally impeded. We witnessed the result at Mr. Mechi's, and certainly there was no such fault on Saturday. The progress of the machine was notwithstanding the unevenness of the ground, rapid and satisfactory; and it was stated as a fact that on a level ground the horses used in drawing may trot, not only without weakening or impeding the action of the knives, but even with advantages, as by that means the cutting requires increased precision and force."

[Sidenote: A Royal Verdict]

The following is Prince Albert's certificate:

"Windsor Castle, Nov. 13, 1851.

"Sir—In answer to your letter addressed to Gen. Wemyss, I have received the commands of his Royal Highness, Prince Albert, to say, that so far as he could judge of Mr. Hussey's Reaping Machine, from its performance in the high fern at Windsor Park, his Royal Highness is disposed to form a very favorable opinion of it, and has ordered one[10] in consequence for the use of his own farm. His Royal Highness can however give no opinion as to the relative merits of this machine in comparison with those of others which he has not seen at work.

"I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,

"GREY."

[10] The Prince ordered two Machines, one for Windsor and one for Isle of Wight.

From Maidstone & South Eastern Gazette, October 21, 1851.

WEST KENT AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY'S PLOUGHING MATCH.

HUSSEY'S AMERICAN REAPER.

"A distinguishing feature at this society's meeting on Thursday, the 16th inst., was an exhibition of the capabilities of the above machine. The session of the year of course prevented a display of its powers on anything in the shape of grain, indeed great difficulty was found in procuring even a green crop on which to operate. Undaunted by this fact, the inventor was determined to show to the anxious hundreds assembled the extent of the advantages to be derived from the use of his reaper. At two o'clock the machine was set to work upon a field of clover, short and light (as may be supposed), where its performance was effectual as it possibly could be, exciting a considerable amount of surprise as well as gratification. It was then taken to a piece of marsh land, where clumps of stout rushes in many places were growing in thick masses, presenting the appearance of stunted grain. The machine passed over this marsh, cutting the rushes with the same facility as if it had been corn, leaving the stubble about four inches long and very regular, giving also a good representation of the manner in which the sheaves of wheat, etc., are usually delivered. Both these operations, but especially the latter, were considered severe contests of the capabilities of the machine. Taking all the circumstances into consideration, the performance was far beyond all reasonable expectations. It was a question whether the excellent work of the 58 competing ploughs, or the extraordinary novelty of Hussey's machine in operation, added most to the gratification of the large assemblage of the leading agriculturists of Kent."

From the Kentish Gazette, November 11, 1851.

"In addition to the interest naturally felt by all who live on and by the soil in its proper cultivation, there was an unusual degree of attraction in the fact that a reaping machine by Mr. Hussey (the celebrated American Machinist) would be tested upon seven acres of mustard adjoining the ploughing field. The reaping was commenced about twelve o'clock, and continued for a considerable period. The crop of mustard was wet, and by no means calculated to favor the experiment. It was, however, after the machine was properly arranged, cut down with great regularity; and at a speed equal to four miles an hour it traversed the circuit of the field, hewing its way through the mustard, quickly followed by a crowd of eager observers, whose wondering gaze exhibited at once their astonishment and admiration of its working. Occasionally the level of the cutters were altered, so as to leave a greater or less length of stubble, which evinced the accurate adjustment to which the machine could be brought. Some portion of it was taken to pieces, and the whole of the arrangements shown, which the farmers present displayed an eager anxiety to investigate, and many were the questions proposed, and satisfactorily answered by the talented inventor.

"We should mention that the undulation of the land does not impede its operations in the least—as it was well observed by a gentleman present, that where a cart could travel there this machine could also go, and complete its design. No previous acquaintance with its principle is necessary to be able to guide its operation, as was shown by Mr. Neame, Jr., who mounted the platform and discharged the functions appertaining to the party who removes the corn from the machine after it is cut, with the greatest ease and precision. Indeed the most unqualified approval was given by the gentlemen present, to the applicability of the reaping machine to the purposes for which it is designed. We have thus entered into minute particulars, because this is the first opportunity we have had of witnessing the results of such an experiment, attended as it was with every degree of satisfaction. Lord Sondes gave an order for one of the machines, and we understand that three or four orders were given in the course of the day.

"At the dinner which followed, the chairman gave 'Sir John Tylden and the visitors.'

"Sir John Tylden, as a member as well as a visitor, replied to the toast, and in a jocular strain animadverted on the suffering of the farmers of Faversham, who were determined, like a celebrated regiment in the service, to 'die hard.' He alluded to the reaping machine of Mr. Hussey, which he characterized in contradistinction to that of Mr. McCormick's and all others, as the universal reaping machine, of which he spoke in highly approving terms, and passed a warm eulogium on its talented inventor, and the country he represented, which in the space of 80 years had risen from a wilderness to her now exalted position, and proud of her Anglo-Saxon blood."

THE END