The Sun.
London, England, 1856-09-02 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Sla,—ln one of the leading articles in your paper of
Saturday you speak of the two great wants of agricul-
ture, and of the great boon that would be given to the
country by the supply of either of them. The first has
proved a problem of very difficult solution, but the
second, I hope and believe, might be easily solved, and
the corn in the straw be dried at a cheap rate, and al.
most, if not quite, as rapidly as it could be reaped by
the sickle, if Mr. Brunel or Mr. Stephenson would take
the trouble to adapt the centrifugal machine used at the
Staffordshire Potteries, which dries a ton of clay in a
few minutes, to drying corn in the straw. The object
would be at once accomplished, and the machine ready
for use at the next harvest, and a most useful boon con-
ferred upon the country. The machine I allude to is
stated in Chambers and other periodicals to dry a ton of
wet clay in a few minutes. Now, any machine which
has the power of driving out the wet in a few minutes
from such a compact and tenacious substance as clay,
and where the wet is so thoroughly combined with the
substance itself, how much more readily would it expel
the moisture from straw, to which it merely adheres ex-
ternally, and is not in any way combined with it. The
principle being alrrody cI fully provci and demon-
strated, nothing more is required than to adapt the ma-
chine so an to work equally well on a different material ;
and I cannot think that to a skilfol engineer there would
be any difficulty in doing so. The machine might be ap•
plied not only in drying corn in wet weather, but if found
worth the expense it might also be used under similar cir-
cumstances for at once converting grass into bay, and re-
taining more of the nutritive properties of the grass than
it would do if made into hay either under a broiling sun
of exposed to drenching showers. As it is seldom the
case that a new machine will work quite right in the
first ins+ ance, but requires subsequent alterations and
improvements, it is too oaten the cane that the original
inventor receives no profit or remuneration for his
labour and expenses; but in the present instance the
result required is so very de-nrable, that were I either a
machinist or a capitalist I should think the experiment
well worth the trial ; but as I am neither, I can only
hope that Mr. Mechi, or some machinist or capitalist of
equal spirit, may be induced to carry the plan into prar•-
tical operation. In drying corn in this way another ad-
vantAge of very materipl import ,Dt. 3 might also be de-
rived—the corn being made so thoroughly dry it would
probably keep as well for four or five years as it now
does for one, and thus the abundancs of one year might
be made to supply the deficiency of two or three succeed.
ing years, to the great advantage at least of the labour-
ing population.

You-r
insertion of this in your widely circulated paper
will oblige, sir, your obedient servant,

THOS. BRAMLEY.

Wakefield, Sept. 1, 1856.

EUGENIE'S BABY.

The Empress saluted the people. One said "Wo should
like to see the Prince Imperial."
"My friends, I should be happy to show him to you,
but he is asleep !"
"Don't disturb him then."
And the people abstained from any cheers, that the sleep
of the Pilnce should not be broken.