New-York tribune., 1873-07-28
THE UNIVERSAL EXHIBITION.
TRIAL OF REAPERs AND MowERs.l

iFROM THE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRlBuNEt
VIENNA, July 10.-We Americans, who have been
under cloud since the opening Of the Exhibition,
may be pardoned for feeling jubilant over the com
pcte success of mowers and reapers. The history
of our department has been such dismal and sick
ening tale of mistakes, disappointmentS, failures
and scandals that a complete and recognized trl-
uusoh for our exhibitors in a single field of cOmpe-
tition reioices us all exceedingly. Such triumph
was expected by most Judges of machinery who had
visited the Agricultural Halls, but no one thought
that the apparent superiority Of our ma
chimes would make European exhibitors 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 boaSed
of the working facilities of their clumsy implements.
The French had been running reaper by steam for
six weeks in their hail. TO show the play of the
knives and the working of the rake When 1t came
the competitive trial in the grain field, however,
neither French nor English could be found. They
mcde some pitiful excuses about the great expense
of the trial-the only expense being the hire of
team and Of two or three men. Now the proof OF a
reaper is in the reaping, and of mower in the now
ing-at least that is our American rule. The En-
glish and French appear to think otherwise and will
no doubt 20 on talking about the superiority of their
machines until the end of the Fair in face of their
disgraceful failure appear at the trial yesterday
A single German firm was on hand with three reap
ers, and a Vienna reaper and mower competed. All
the other machines were American.
The trial took place on the fat, sultry Danube
plain about hours ride by rail eastward from the
city, and almost IN sight of the battlefield of
Wagram. No doubt the French and Austrian col
umns tramped over the ground they did fight upon
it. Hero is a chance for some poet or preacher to
point moral on the progress of civilization. The
DAY was the hottest of the season. and the black dirt
of the plain absorbed and held the heat like stOne
The color and richness of the SOIL and the monOtOn-
Gus hatness of the country reminded some Ameri-
cans of an Illinois prairie, others found resemblances
TO the valleys of the Sacramento and the San JOa-
quin 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, naturalized here for their
rapid growing quality. By standing on the railway
embankment we could half dozen villages
scattered over the plain. Ranges of low, misty
mountains bounded the prospect on the north and
west. The estate embraced two three square
miles Of land should say, and the fields stretched
out from the chateau and village on one side like
segments Of a half-circle After tedious delay the
reapers were set at work about II o'clock. The gram
was rye toleIaby stout and thick in part OF the
field but small and thin in another. The heads were
poorly filed and the kernels small The field had
been divided into sections of an Austrian Joch OF
had its section to cut. All the sections abutted
upon pasture so that the machines all started in
line the line being over half q mile long. They
drew iots Tor position. ana went work at about
the same time in the following order, from south to
north:
l. johnson Harvester-made by Johnson Harvester
Company, Brockporr n. y.
. Buckeye Reaper-Adriance Platt & Co., New-York
s. Johson Combined Reaper and Mower-JOhnsOn Hlr-
vester Company, Brockport, n. Y.
4 The Wood Reaper-Walter A. Wood Hoosck Falls,
NY.
8. The Hofherr Reaper-A Vienna machine.
G. Kirby Combined Reaper and Mower-D. NJ Osborne
d Co, Auburn, y. \.
T. Burdck Reaper-D. ". osborne Co.. Auburn. ". Y.
8. Hubbard Combincd-Hubbard Agricultural Works,
Rochester, n. Y.
O. Woods Reaper-(new automatic chain rake)-Walter
A. Wood, HoOsCk Falls, y Y.
10. W. sederseheu d Co.'s Reaper-Anhalt, Germany.
H. Excelsior Combined-J. F. seberling and Company.
Akron, Ohio.
IA ana 10. Two German machines, same makers No.
TO-
H. Buckeye Revolving Rake-Aultman, Miller Com
pany, Akron, Ohio.
l5 Mccormick Combined - McCormic & Brothers,
Chicago.
1s Buckeye Seniors Table Ratel-Aultman, Miller
Company, Akron, Ohio.
H. Kirby Reaper-D. NJ. Osborne & Co., Auburn,
NY.
IS. Champion Combined-w Warden, Mitchell & Com
pany, Springfield, Ohio.
The arrangements were very bad-there was no
programme, no system. There appeared to be no
rule about the number of men who should accom-
panv machine. Some machines were worked by a
single man, while others had man on the seat,
another driving leading the horses, and two OF
three more walking beside 1t, punching the animals
with their umbrellas and pulling out the straw
when the knives got clogged. Most of the teams
were unused TO the work and gave q good deal of
trouble. Some were IMMENSE powerful stations
and Others wretched raw-bOned beasts that could
scarcely pull the machines. Then the grain differed
greatly in different parts Of the field. So the trial.
with the conditions so unequal was test far as
sneed was concerned. All the American machines
did good work, except one of Woods, which broke
down al she start-throughn no fault of the machine
lint through the stupidity Of the drver-and did not
eut the section assigned TO IT, The Austrian reaper
also worked WELL and was among the first to com
plete its task. The German machines were too
heavy for the horses. One of them broke down and
was left iu the field. The other two were the last
out The johnson Reaper was the first out, cutting
its Jock in sc minutes the Buckeye Senior second III
5s minutes; the johnson Combined came third IN
LOS, and five minutes later the Wood and three or
four others were through. The rest of the Ameri-
cans followed close after. The arrangements were
10 stupidity defective that it almost impossible
TO get the time of any reaper except from personal
observations which could not extend over the whole
field. After the trial. followed an interim of two
hours for lunch There was tent for the jurors
one for the general public who were hungry enough
20 pay a high price for warm beer and sandwiches
and a third where the Buckeye" agents spread
hospitable table for their countrymen Then we
iolted across the lots in country 10 the
ing QTOuud which was no meadow, but field of