Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1874-08-14

Last Saturday afternoon We accepted
an invitation from Mr.: Luther, of the
Wigwam, to ride tut to field two OF
three miles north Of the Poor Farm, be-
longing to p. French, there to witness the
workings Ut an automatic grain-bindcr
being exhibited about the country under
the auspices of Messrs Fuller& Williams,
of Madison, Wis, General Agents for the
invention for the States of Wisconsin
Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and Dakota
The binder with the harvester to which
it is attached, is tile invention of S. D.
Locke, of GAINESVILLE, Wis, and was only
brought to its present state of perfection
after years of intense study and laborious
experiment, besides the expenditure of a
considerable fortune. 1t has been the
subject of twenty different patents, sccur-
cd at different cras in its approach to Il
perfect succcss. We had no time to ex-
anime it in such manner us would cnl-
bic us to describe It infinitely. The har-
vcster can be used with Ur without the
binding apparatus, and the latter can be
attached or taken off in the space Of few
moments. The harvester cuts and Gle.
Yates the grain much after the general
plan of the Marsh Harvester and other
machines of the kind. 1t is when the cut
grain reaches the trough, that the ingcn-
ious machinery of the binder comes into
play. This consists of rotating arm,
carrying light, flexible wire which comes
over one side of the bundle, and is met by
COMPRISING arm revolving in tho oppo-
site direction, grasping the shcaf much as
the hands of II giant-not much of gi-
ant either-wodld span the waist of a
wasp-like beauty. While held for mo-
ment in this position an ingenious ARRANGE
ment cuts off the wire and twists tho two
ends together, retaining the released end
in the grip of the rotating arm to be car
ried around the next bundle. When the
operation is complete a movement of the
machinery suddenly propcls the bundle
some six or eight feet away from the ma-
chine. This operation was repeated as
fast as quick team could haul the har-
vester and every time with unerring pre-.
cisiOn. 1t should be said also that the
grain was light and filled with short weeds
at the bottom; SO on this occasion the
binder did its work under the most disad-
vantageous circumstances. This is all
done, too, by one man and a pair of hors-
es, no other help being required to cut
and bind as much as with other machines
would require team and five or six men.
Estimating the wages of binders at $2, 80
or 81 per day our farmer readers can cas-
lily see where the profits of the self -bin-
der come in. The wire, furnished on spools
ready for the machine, is estimated to cost
from 20 to 30 cents per acre
A large number of our citizens and
farmers witnessed the operation of the
binder and all were pretty thoroughly
convinced that it furnishes the long
sought for solution of the problem of
cheap harvesting The only drawback
that we could possibly suggest against it
would be that in the hands of persons de-
void of mechanical idea, men who to
avoid disaster in the harvest field require
a reaper that would pull stump out by
the roots, it might not be a safe or profit
able tool, But az farmers are naturally
as mechanically gifted as any other class,
and as their great profit would be invol-
we'd i'll the mastering the details of its
we presume the self-binder
would soon come to be as intelligcntly
and safely handled as any of the farm ma
chinery now in use.
The Wallace A. Wood Manufacturing
Company, of Hoosack Falls, N. T., are
the sole manufacturers of the Locke Har-
vestcr and Binder. Only enough have
been manufactured this year to exhibit,
and bring them to the notice of the farm
ing community of the northwest. 1t is
the intention of the company next year to
manufacture large number for sale So
confident are the manufactures of its sue
cess that they are contemplating the
abandonment of the manufacture of the
Woods rcapers, SO that the whole rcsour-
ces of the factory may be employed in the
manufacture of the new machines.
The price of the Harvester alone is
5000. The Binder costs 800.