The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1865-06-13 00:00:00

VIE BATH AND WEST OF
ENGLAND SHOW AT HEUEFORD.

We attended this important meeting lest
week at Hereford, though far off, and rather I
out of our way, for various reasons, and
chiefly because the next gathering will take
lace at Salisbury, the site of one of our
branch journals, and because it was generally
anticipated, but as it turns out erroneously,
that the Hereford Meeting, in the outskirts
of the populous West Midlands, e ould. in a
great measure, forestall the Royal Agricial.
tursl Society's Meeting in the end of next
month at Plymouth. So far as concerns the
exhibition of stock, this could, perhaps, sunder
no circumstances have occurred. But singu-
larly enough, the entries and exhibition of
implements, particularly of machinery in
I motion, exceed everything that has hitherto
been known in the Bath and West of
England Society's annals. But although
most of the great houses were represented,
we looked in vain for the presence of many
• of their principals, who will doubtless enter
appearance at the Royal Show-ground at
Plymouth. Still, the first person we en-
eountered in entering the Show-ground was
Mr. James Howard, of the well-known
lßedford firm. Messrs. J. and F. Howard.
\disc work a first-class farm adjoining their
IBritianaius Works, as our readers may re-
'member in connection with the exciting visit
of Garibaldi, had intended showing some of
their fine cattle stock as well as implements,
but thef were precluded from filling up their
entries in class X (cows in calf or in milk)
by disease having broken out amongst their
nettle. Still they not only showed, but, as
will presently appear, took . prizes, and corn-
niendations in the horse classes for tbeir
Clydesdales. Mr. Pigeon, of Messrs. Samuel-
• gores firm, was present, Mr. W. N. Nichol-
. ash, of Newark, one of the young Messrs.
*gnomes. Mr. Joseph Tuxford, (of Messrs.
• Taiferd and Sons, Boston,) one of the Messrs.
'Tamer, of Ipswich, Mr. H. H. Bentall, we
although we missed seeing him, and
:his name was entered as Bersdall, almost the
,dtly error in the catalogue, Mr. Robert
'Boby, Mr. Brown, of Messrs. Brown and
May, Devizes, Mr. Cambridge of Bristol, Mr.
j. C. Wheeler of Gloucester (whose seed
establishment was decidedly the best got up,
sill, to boot, the most hospitable in the yard,
. although Messrs. Sutton, of Reading, were
represented also very elegantly and exten-
sively, but were not personally present). Mr.
Hornsby, of Grantham, was there, likewise
.147. T. Baker, of Compton, Newbury, Berke,
((whose liquid manure carts are on the best
tcapstruction we have seen) Mr. Brown,
(Mn. Brown Brothers) of Lyme Regis,
:astonished and gratified large crowds in suc-
(cession, by working his exquisite bijou ice
innichines, and producing pyramids of ice
telryaeves itinutes, despite the intolerable
lest of the weather—intolerable we mean as
'relates to ice in June, for otherwise there was
ocessionally a little cloud, a little shade, a
'passing breeze, and once or twice the very
.slightest sprinkling of rain, to diversify the
,most superlative show weather that has ever
fallen to the lot of this Society; and oh,
how the natives were exulting over us P orPet
men for what happened when they visited
'this quarter! The two first days of the
lihW 'Monday and Tuesday, were remark-
Ably quiet interesting only from the steam
ipleughing end the trial of the reapers which
was gore:mon in fields in the neighbourhood
of the. 41104.F.yard. The yard itself, by the
way,' Mit Opined off the race-course, and
formetleniagndleent forty-acre expanse of
nearly level ground. A finer show-ground
•coold not have been obtained. The only
complaint for the first two days was that it
•wri too vicious, and that by the time one
hatnasde the circuit of the machinery in
mdtion, passed through the pigeon, the '
-poidtry, and horticultural sheds, (one of the I
most gorgeous displays conceivable) been
steered in the successive sheds of the now
.crowded "Arts Department," had eircum-
'vented the array of horse-boxes, and got down
;amongst the cattle, after perhaps zig-
zagging many, #aile44l,,,ief the lanes of
implement sheds, the amount of walking be-
ease ,enormous. The central clearance.
vast aa it seemed, and well supplied with
*tenches, facing the grand music stand for the
Military and Marines Bands, proved, how-
on and after Wednesday not too much.
either, in fact, did all this available space,
kforsthe influx of visitors. But it was re-
Inistluxt on Wednesday that the great pre-
-pondedance were bodies, and that pleasure
parties, many of them per ex ursion trains'
predominated entirely over baldness. Still, on
Wednesday buirinees in the implement yard'
steadily set in; and we have reason to know
that more than one of the leading houses did a
rod deal of highly important character
'Two of these firms were hard at work pumping
water, at the rate of 10.000, gallons per hour
—these were Messrs. Taxford and Sons and
Merano. Brown and May—and the very sight
of dor living cascades of water, brown and
disooloared as they were, imparted quite a
freshening sensation to the scene. Many
•scientific wen appeared to interest themselves
deeply in investigating the process of pump-
ing so applied to drainage, irrigation, sewage,
and. biting/ of waters, which -last can be done
to 4100 fa all of 40 feet by theme
engilkills, Pia,. •Sh lift and partly as
forge innapor. In connection with the trials
noaireer and reaper, w• were- inter-
ested )ia easmining Abe different
-c Howard,

themeelveP i

lieree

rakee

' upwards of twenty years ago; and it is found
that, with horses, in their prime, and doing
full work, there is a saving of from 25 to 40
per cent by feeding with milled or crushed
oats. For fattening beasts and pigs the milled
baricy is found as efficacious as when ground
to a fine meal, the difference being that 10
bushels may be crushed with the power
required to grind only one. The most strik-
isg portion of all the machinery in motion
was, perhaps, Messrs. Tuxfords and Son's
patent combined thrashing machines to which
were attached their newly patented elevators
or rather elevator. This singular but
effective spout which is capable of stacking
straw to a height of 24 feet clear of the
ground is worth describing. The straw
ascends the spout or trough by means of a
belt having a series of carriers attached, a
loose chain running over a couple of pulleys
above the carriers and driven in the same
direction aiding the ascension and preventing
the action of the wind upon it. By means
of screw elevators the spout can be directed
for delivery at any angle. Messrs. Ransomes
and Sims combined machine again (also in
motion) has most of its motions rotary, for
instance the very -teeth that act as straw
shakers in the final exit of the straw. This,
though an old, is found to be an effective
arrangement. A sample of wheat cleaned
and quite perfected for market at one opera-
tion by this machine did much credit to its
efficiency. Messrs. Garrett and Son s were like-
wise propelling a combined finishing machine.
The corn drills and horse hoes formed the
distinctive features of their stand "in repose"
as usual. Cambridge's pressers and chain
harrows are also entitled to notice.

Messrs. Cambridge and Co., of Bristol,
are strong in press-rollers, composed
of a number of Cambridge's old pattern
wheels, with the introduction of a notched
wheel between each, and combining a per-
fsict press-wheel roller and clod-crusher in
one implement. Their celebrated patent-
jointed, self-expanding and dividing chain
harrows we have already noticed. The ex-
panding bar certainly causes this harrow to
take surface inequalities which the rigid
straight iron-bar would pass over.
Having examined Messrs Hornsby and Sons
implements more minutely on Thursday, we
were struck with the number and ingenuity
of the improvements on the working parts
of their reapers, mowers, and root pulpers.
Their one-horse back delivery reaper, cost-
ins about 18 guineas with extras, or 16
without, is rendered very complete by the
patent grated drop-sheaf apparatus, and is we
hear to be adapted this year for clover as well
as corn, as in fact the height of the cut can
be very easily altered. But the most
complete thing of the sort is undoubtedly
their new combination of the patent drop
-
sheaf platform, with their self-acting chain
delivery appratus for depositing the sheaves
et the side out of the track of the horses (price
£28.) This patent it is intended to change
next year by a very ingenious crank move-
ment which will admit ot four changes, two
for putting it in and out of gear for mowing,
and two for putting it in and out for reaping.
On a difficult piece of grass, grown under
some trees, at the trials on Wednesday, this
machine went in last and finished the work
after most of the competing machines had
been once round to test what they could do
with it as it was much twisted and laid ; and
we have been assured that its work was
pronounced by the society's officials the beat
of an), as it cut closest and went with the
slightest difficulty and least liability to choke
—exhibiting not any tendency to slip in its
work with the heaviest stuff, although many
of the others had slipped a little and slackened
in speed ; and all of them cut the grass
longer. One point in these implements we
regard as a consummate piece of ingenuity.
The globe (for the crank pin is made
globular) gives a universal motion to the
finger bar, the effect of which is to admit of
the pressure resting on the end of the frame
instead of on the axle as is usually the case,
thus not only enabling it to adjust itself to
the inequalities of the surface,but relieving the
friction of the entire machine. We shall
only notice another adaptation in addition to
these globular motions (of which by the way
the mowers and reapers of Hornsby afford
more than one illustration) a wooden
block loosely dovetailed on to the extremity
of the platform, which, after mowing, acts
a press-plough upon the mown sur-
dice. All these parts are patent. Hornsby's
root pulper is a not less ingenious
implement in its way. It is described
as -consisting of a disc wheel fitted with
single diamond-pointed knives of steel.
each fastened separately and so arranged that
no two of them can peso over the same track.
There is a curious patent oscillating bar
which clears the cutters and prevents that
compression af the material which is supposed.
to squeeze the nutriment partially out
of the roots in undergoing this process.,
One remarkable novelty characterises thio
production, as never before have the knives
been seen fastened in with wooden wedges as
they are in this instance, and having a clear-
ance hole at the base. An eccentric on the
axle works the moving bar already alluded ,
to, in such a manner that the last piece must
be cut. Indeed, the gentleman in attend-
ance showed us in another form of these
machines the lost piece brought up again by
teeth in order that it might not escape
cutting. By unscrewing three nuts the
knives can be taken out from this last
machine in a body at the back, and are easily
got ,at. By taking out the cutting dies, more- ,
over, one and the same machine may be made
to serve for slicing by simply introducing
knives instead. We must revert for a
moment to Nicholson's Haymakers, Horse-
rakes, Ire., for the purpose of dwelling on his
patent tubular shafts and other characteris-
tics. The provision of a seat for the driver,'
adds, perhaps, £1 to the cost of the machine ;",
but what a saving of trudging and fatigue
does it afford! Mr. Cranston'e exhibition of
Wood's reapers and mowers, of which last
, some 1,500 have been sent out this year,
proving the public and practical appreciation
.y the machine, was really interesting, not
Naly out of the yard at the trials, but in
-- at the stands. In these grass mowers
test improvements have been attained
ittaching the cutters to the frame of the
machine by a joint, making the cutter-bar
'.:Perfectly flexible in order to conform to the
surface of the ground. It is well-known
that an acre per hour of grass or clover can
be cut by these machines The one-horse
reaper is remarkable for its skeleton drop-
4latform, in which the very stubble is made
use of to assist the raker ui discharging his
lent grain! thus greatly relieving men of the
-heavy labour of shoving it off from the solid
`tle—for being ribbed or sparred the stubble
- up through this platform. The price
Richmond and Chandler, of Salford,
'ter, exhibited some very important,
in the construction of then. very-
Chaff-Cutting Machines, among
we may mention their patent steel
nicouthpiece, which, being harder than the
knives, is not worn away by friction, and
away' present the same smooth face for the
knives to work against. A very simple and
efficient stop motion, for arresting the snotion
of the rollers, is also shown, and the na*form
of 4 . roller which rendets- cliekieg
is worthy of the ettaution of ell
to ' lattels‘
so

ought now

OWSOTYy
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