Reports on the Philadelphia International Exhibition of 1876.

Date:
1877-1878
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Reports on the Philadelphia International Exhibition of 1876. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    356/446 page 258
    Manual Imple- ments. James Fussoll, Sons, & Co., England, Royal WiirtcMuhurg Furnaces. Austrian Government. C. E. Pettersen, Swedon. Animal Power Machinery.— Reapors and Headers. Automatic Binder. Trials. Table Rakes. L. D. Sawyer & Co., Hamilton, Ontario. Mowing Machines. Eureka Mower Co., Towanda, Pa. Eureka Direct Draft Mower. Class 672.—Harvesting. Manual Implements. — Grain Cradles, Sickles, Reaping Hooks, and Scythe blades, Hooks, &c. were shown by several American firms, as also by James Fussell, Sons, and Co., England, Royal Wiirtemburg Furnaces, by the Austrian Government from several firms, and by C. E. Pettersen, Sweden, &c, the quality of material and the manufactnre being in all cases creditable. Animal Power Machinery.—Reapers and Headers.—Here are found by far the most interesting and important features of the Exhibition. The display of Reaping Machinery was both large and varied, so much so that from its study one can form some idea both of the vastness of the country and the varied character of its requirements. What, for example, can be more different than the clumsy-looking heading machine, which, severing the straw in the middle, conveys the produce to the attendant waggon, to be at once carried to the barn, and the neat light sheaf or table-rake machine which, drawn by two horses, severs the crop close to the ground, and deposits the gavel or sheaf in neat bundles clear of the maohine. Apart from these are the modern Harvester which by means of a transverse revolving carrier and elevator raises the cut grain on to a tying platform, where two or more hands make the bundles ; the facilities thus afforded reducing the manual labour by at least one third to one half. Lastly, we have the Automatic Binder, the realization of a long-wanted and much-desired combination, which formed the special feature of the Phila- delphia Exhibition. These binders are made on the plan of the harvester, manual labour being replaced by mechanism which binds the sheaf with wire, twists the same, and cuts it off, and either throws off the sheaves, as they are made, by a spring, or allows them to be ejected by the pressure of the following sheaf. Four such machines, exhibited by M'Cormick, Walter A. Wood, F. L. Osborne, and D. M'Pherson, were tried near the Scheneks Station on a moderate up-standing crop of wheat, and all but the last named performed respectably, the Osborne machine making excellent work. The failure of M'Pherson's invention was due rather to bad construction than to defective mechanism. It would be premature and indiscreet to say that the present will be the ultimate form, or that the mechanical arrangements are perfect; probably they admit of simplification, but just as the Exhibition of 1851 was memorable for the introduction of a Reaping Machine will this be remembered as the first public occasion on which Automatic Binders were successfully worked. A word or two as to Table Rakes may not be out of place, seeing that this form of reaper is unknown in England. The ordinary sweep-rake is replaced by a jointed rake which travels in a given orbit on the table or plat- form, being driven by universal joint and bevil gearings, the direction of travel being regulated by a cam screened from the grain by a shield. The advantages claimed for this invention are reduction of draft, and superior form of the grain for binding. The rake when uncontrolled works continuously, but can be arrested at any point by a leverage from the driver's foot; this is a desirable feature, allowing of uniform sheaves in a variable crop. The disadvantages appear to be, that as the rake compresses the grain at the corner of the table there is some risk of shedding when over-ripe ; also, that the compact nature of the sheaf interferes with the drying influence of sun and wind, so impor- tant when corn is cut in a green condition, and, lastly, the table-rake is not suitable for very heavy crops, especially if the straw is long. The large pro- portion of reaping machines were of American manufacture, but the Canadian exhibits, principally formed on American models, were both numerous and highly creditable ; more especially was this the case with the exhibits shown by L. D. Sawyer and Co., of Hamilton, Ontario. In the Russian department were two machines of peculiar construction, which appeared much behind the best American or English models. The display of Mowing Machines was nearly as large as that of Reapers; most of these were constructed upon well-known models, but one or two novelties deserve consideration. The Eureka Direct Draft Mower, made by the Towanda Eureka Mower Co., of Towanda, Pa., though not shown for the first time, has been greatly improved,.and both by its work and the lightness of draft attracted much attention. The draft is direct, i.e., is taken from the centre of the frame between the travelling wheels, which are much higher than m
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