The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1855-09-13

tain perfectly the lines which were formed
around the field. There were seven reapers on
the ground-three American, two English, and
two French-but all more or less notifications
of McCormick's original invention; and the
field had been divided into seven equal por
tons, each portion containing, as well as my
Impractical eye could estimate, slightly more
than an acre of wheat. The wheat stood heavy
on the ground, and was at least one fourth fall
en-. AT the tap of the drum, the machines all
started off together, McCormick's rapidly ia
king the lead, position which it maintained to
the end, performing its task in ten minutes and
third. Nancy came out in sixteen minutes.
and Wright 1.-THE Hussey machine) in eighteen
minutes. The others varied in their time from
half an hour to an hour and half-but / be-
lieve an English machine, which did not work
well from the start, left the field without &C.
complishing its task. After the three Ameri-
can machines, the first one out was Cournier's
(French) machine, which was drawn by one
horse, and which was much admired for the
beauty and regularity of its movements.
The excitement during the contest could only
be compared to an animated horse race. The
Americans were collected principally in the
neighborhood of the Mccormick machine, and
at each turn cheered on Mckenzie, the able
agent who conducted it. In this group, the fine
form of Mr.. Fillmore, who had climbed on to a
shock of fallen wheat, was conspicuous, and he
was as excited for the success of American
genius as any man on the ground. The machine
of Mccormick had never, within the knowledge
of Mckenzie, cut so fast as on that occasion.
The machine was drawn by two large horses,
that accomplished the whole distance at a pace,
half walk, half trot which would have done four
miles and half to the hour. Mckenzie was
nearly exhausted when the task was finished,
and declared he could not have gone another
half round. To see his long, brawny arms
swinging in unison with the blades of the ma
chine, as he raked to one side the great masses
of falling grain, was an exciting spectacle to
all who saw it, and one not soon to be forgot
ten. AT the end of the performance, he was
loudly cheered, and the crowd, following Prince
Napoleon, the Arabs, and the Jurymen, and
regardless of the soldiers who threatened to use
their bayonets, but did not, rushed to the mid,
die of the field to examine the coneuering ma
chine. The Prince, the Arabs, the Jurymen,
and the Americans, crowded around the modest
Mckenzie, and complimented him warmly for
the great feat which he had Just performed :;
and the conductor placing French and Ameri-
can flags on the machine, it was escorted from
the field in the midst of dense crowd of ad-
miring people.
These seven reapiug machines were then ad-
justed for grass, and put into field Of luzerne-
kind of grass which resembles clover in ap-
pearance, and is very valuable for feeding pur-
poses. Here again the three American ma
chimes came out first, Mckenzie in the lead.
The performance in grass, however, was not so
perfect as could have been desired, from the
fact that the machines for scattering and gath
ering were allowed to start in Immediately after
the mowers, and thus created confusion and
imperfection of work, by throwing the cut on
to the uncut grass. The mowers were thus
choked, and made to skip. In the gatherers
and scatterers, the English machines held the
superiority.
Thus terminated day which has added
great lustre to American inventive genius, and
it is gratifying to know that the championship
on the occasion was frankly and cordially &C
knowledged. There were other inventions for
reaping at the Exhibition, and great Boosting
had been made about the vast superiority over
all others of a recent French invention but af-
ter the American machines were first seen in
motion, only four inventors of all those repre-
scented at the Exhibition were found bold enough
to enter into competition, and these are now
so completely vanquished that their patents
will possess no value.
A decision which has Just been made in favor
of one of the two American pianos in the Elk
hibition will no doubt astonish the French
people more than the performances of the ma
chimes of which we have just been speaking.
The French people, With their limited knowl-
edge of the halfcivilized people of America,
pretend to comprehend how it is possible for
them to excel in the Invention of such labor
saving machines as sparse population and a
scarcity of hands compel them to invent but
that America should sc nd over here a piano
which could take pr MUM over the three
hundred fine French pislnos in the Exhibition,
is problem which tn y cannot understand.
They imagined that the furnished the United
States with nearly all th pianos they required,
and that in consequence it was an industry not
yet developed there, AMI that the people were
not capable of excellen e in that branch. No
award of the juries, the. efore, will be received
with more surprise than lshis. l take this occa-
sion to repeat what have stated on former
occasion, that at the end, when the juries come
to make their awards, the United States will, as
at London, come off with honors of which they
may well be proud.