The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1873-07-30
THE UNIVERSAL EXHIBITION.
Trial OF Reapers and Mowers.

Trial OF Reapers and Mowers.
Triumph Of the eAmerieans.-The En-
clfsh and French Back Out.-Only
Four European Machines on the
Ground-FouFteen American Rea.
pers aud Fifteen American Mowers
Compete.
Correspondence Of the Tribune.
VIENNA, July love Americans
who have been under a cloud since
the opening ofthe Exhibition, may be
pardoned for feeling jubllant over the
complete success OF our mowers and
reapers. The history Of our depart
ment has been such dismal and sick>
eping tale of mistakes, disappointment,
failures and scandals, that complete
and recognized triumph for our exhib.
itors in a single field Of competition re-
joices US all exceedingly. Such a tri-
umph was expected by most judges
Of machinery who had visited the Agri"
cultural Halls, but 10 one thought that
the apparent superiority Of our ma
chimes would make European exhibi-
tors withdraw from the field trial. The
English had condemned our reapers as
fancy machines, made for show and
not heavy enough for hard service, and
had boasted OF the working facilities Of
their clumsy implements. The French
had been running q reaper by steam
for ak weeksIin their hall, to show the
play of the knives and the working of
the rake. When it came to the COM
pettive trial in the grain field, however,
neither French nor English could be
found. They made some pitiful ex-
cuses about the great expense OF the
trial-the only expense being the hire
of team and two or three men. Now
the proof of a reaper is in the reapiug.
and OF mower in the mowing-at least
that is the American rule. The En-
glish and French appear to think other.
wise, and will no doubt 60 on tai king
about the superiority Of their machines
until the end OF the Fair, in spite Of
their diagraceful failure to appear at
the trial yesterday. A single German
firm was on hand with three reapers,
and Vienna reaper and mower COM
peted. All the other machines were
American.
The trial took place on the fiat, sui
try Danube plain, about an hours ride
by rail eastward from the city, and
most in sight OF the battlefield Of
Wagram. No doubt the French and
Austrian columns tramped over the
ground if they did fight upon it. Here
is chance for some poet or preacher
to point a moral on the progress Of civ
ilization. The day was the hottest OF
the season, and the black dirt of the
plain absorbed and held the heat like 8
stone. The color and richness of the
soil, and the monotonous fatness Of
the country reminded some Americans
of an Illinois prairie, others found re-
semblances to the valleys Of the Sacra-
mento and San joaquin in California.
There were OF course no fences or any
division of the fields by hedge or ditch,
The roads were bordered by poplar
trees or American cottonwoods, natural.
lied here for their rapid growing
quality. By standing on the railway
embankment we could see half dozen
villages scattered over the plain. Ranges
OF low, misty mountains bounded the
prospect on the north and west. The
estate embraced two or three square
miles OF land, should say, aud the
fields stretched out from the chateau
and village on one side like the seq
ments of a half,circle. After a tedious
delay the reapers were set to work
about i o'clock. The grain was rye,
tolerably stout and thick in one part of
the field, but small and thin in another.
The heads were poorly filled and the
kernels small. The field had been
divided into sections OF an Austrian Joch
Of land each-about an acre and q
half Every machine had its section
to cut. All the sections abutted upon
a pasture, 80 that the machines all
started in line, the line being half a
mile long. They drew lots for position
and went to work at about the came
time, in the following order from south
to north:
l. johnson Harvester-made by
johnson Harvester Company, Brock
port, N. Y.
2. Buckeye Reaper-Adrisnce. Platt
& Co.. N. Y.
3. johnson Combined Reaper and
Mower-Johnaon Harvester Company,
Brockport, N. Y.
4. The Wood Reaper-Walter A.
Wood, Hoosick Falls, n. Y.
5. The Hofherr Reaper-A Vienna
machine.
6. Kirby Combined Reaper and
Mower-D. NJ. Osborne & Co., Auburn,
NY.
7lBurdick Resper-D. NJ. Osborne
& Co., n. Y.
s. Hubbard Combined - Hubbard
Agricultural Works, Rochester, n. Y.
9. Woods Reaper-(new automatic
chain rake )-Walter A. Wood, Hoosick
Falls, N. Y.
10. W. Siederslehen g. Co.'s Reaper
-Anhslt, Germany.
II. Excelsior Combined-J. F. Sic
berling d Co., Akron, Ohio.
II and l3. Two German machines,
came makers as No. 10.
IA. Buckeye Revolving Rake-Ault-
man, Miller & Company. Akron, Ohio.
Is. Mccormick Combined-McCor-
mick Il Brothers. Chicago.
l6. Buckeye Seniors-(Table Rake)
-Aultmau, Miller l. Company, Akron,
Ohio.
| II. Kirby Resper-D. N. Osborne &
Co., Auburn, n. Y.
18. Champion Combined-Warden,
Mitchell Il Company, Springfield, Ohio.