The Portland daily press., 1867-08-22
Miscellany.
The Trial of Reapsrs and Mowers.
Correspondence of the N. Y. Times.l ~
PARIS, Friday, Aug. 2. is,


a PARIS, Friday, Aug. 2, 1867.
The gentlemen of the reaping and moving
machine persuasion had their final opport1i-
nifty on Friday last. The scene was the En-
perors farm at Vincennes. The day was fine
and the bearded grain dropped YEARLY in tbs
heated air. A field of oats containing about
forty acres was set apart for the exposants
each happy being having strip of about al,
acre on which to operate. There were four-
teen machines, combining every thing that was
needed for cutting and curling the SUNNY and
golden locks of nature. Perhaps am it,
tie credulous, but was assured by gentle
man who carried great deal of soil on his
boots, and otherwise looked highly aoriculnr-
al, that it would have taken 500 men to do
the same amount OF work in the same
amount OF time. The first machine tn enier
the held was that of Walter A. Wood. a oen-
tleman who has already carried off two osad
medals, one for machines exhibited and
another forperiect work (mowingl i'm tbe fell
he came very near bearing away another
one, and for cleanness of work OBSERVER Il, 10
SO. The lot attacked by this machine had
completely succumbed in forty-two minutes
A French machine followed, and COMPLETED
IFS work somewhat raggedly ia sixty minutes,
linen an extraordinary arrangement from tbe
Beverly Iron Works, En-, gland, launched awk.
wardly into the patch, and Tor several minutes
stuck fast Its principal peculiarly was thai
the horses were behind instead OF in
'front.', and pushed instead of pulled
1t has, nevertheless, performed elsewhere
good work, and obtained many prizes. On
the present occasion it did not sustain its
character The ground was reaped in fifty
minutes. Another English machine lbuiit
on the American plan) was more successful
and performed its duties In thirtv-six min
utes. The reaper of Seymour Morgan e, Co
made In France on American patents. acted
Wen, and may, perhaps, take the second
PRIZE. 1t was thirty-two minutes in going
over the ground. ALVEY little Spanish one,
morse lnachine was sixty minutes. Then
came Samueson's English machine. which
made the brilliant 5ime or twenty-seven min
utes. This was also on the American primer
pie. 1t is difficult to speak of any machine
without recording this fact. The principle Of
the American reaper is found in every imple-
ment or The kind exhibited. But ii is not
conceded by foreign manufactures that II is
unquaiifedly OF American origin.
scotch clergyman of the name of Bell
is spoken OF as the inventor of the earliest
reaping machine Quite recently this gentle-
man was presented with considerable sum
OF money by the agricultural societies of
GREAT Britain, as testimonial tof.his services
IN the cause. L should hesitate myself to de-
eide on point OF such extreme nicety. Int
repeat as fact that all the thoroucbly good
machines on the field, whether of French Or
Englsh make, were undeniably on fhe Amer
lean plan. itA lt aa = 15Fiff-fl
Another English machine, made by Hears
ley, ON the Wood model, got through, in tbir-
ty-eight minutes, and the Massey machine
manufactured in Canada, also on the Wood
system, M ished its work in twenty SIX min /.
utes. Matters and things were BEGINNING 10 H
looE ana ieel pretty warm about this time.
Inc contest had ran much closer than was
anticipated, and good many who had conf
gently looked to victory began now to con-
template defeat with Christian composure-
tnat Is 10 say, they sneered at everything.
and threw out hints of mysterious, cbarac,
ter about the proceedings being farce. and
sne whole affair an arranged sWindle.
MI. Mc.JolInlcks reaper took the field. and
lett 1t all shaver and shorn, and the rest of
the exhibitors all forloIn, in tweptv-fanr
minutes. The time, L believe, is according 10
the Jurors watch, but others calculated If
somewhat higher, namely, tweaty-seven min
utes and q hall. 1t is possible that some al
loWance may have been made for the nature
Oh the ground, which was somewhat obstrnrt.
ed with timber. There is no doubt. However
OF at all events, but very little doubt. that the
Time was the shortest made, while the work
was good. The last machine to GET at If was
WOODS chaln-rake reaper, which desnite fhe
fact that it was drawn by horses liat had
gone through , two previous contests, and were
consequently less fresh than any other team
reaped its piece in twenty-five minutes. The
Jury followed the machines like respectable
congregation of crows, picking up truth In
stead OF worms. The result Of their learned
deilberations is not yet known. But have
Sa.nered in strict confidence from about'a
Sozen sources, that Mccormick will rank /.
seymour, Morgan d Co. 2, Wood 3 and Mas
sey, Wood again,) 4. Wood, yoa perceive, is
inrepresslble, He is as troublesome to the
Jury as the Wood of Dunsinane was to Mac
beth. They have given him already two cold
medals, and he is entitled to two other medals
now. This is not the way they manage things
IN ~ france, SO that if Wood gets pitched out
~ woulq MOI astonish me-. Still as a matter of
lustlce, ne ought TO pocket few more medals,
lor nothing can be finer than the back-actioI',
u tne Idouoie-pronged thing which goes up
ana down and round and about, and il every,
wnlen way, flor no earthly reason, except
lheealthy recreation, that l can discovery In
N'"'n i"he' ii e. B. S.