Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-06-27

ana OtEeT~ began To experiment IN starch OF
good combined harvester and thresher.
The first to 20 tu work In earnest and rN-
pend money were ". q. and l.. /. Davis /
of MrMnmyilr, Organ. They began work
in >66 and obtained patents in 1861. These
patents are in part the basis of the present
numerous Sucrr~sfu machines Of this class.
The Davis Brothers FIRST mad" two nj
chimes. These were used one five years
and the other six years They cut many
thousands Of acres of grain in the great
Willamette Valley. At the farm residence
of l.. +. Davis | saw an old photograph +
the machine few facts relating to tin
enterprise may interest your readers.
Ten animals and three men were used tO
run these machines. The average cut was
eighteen acres of grain per day.
The C0ntrlVanCe was pull-and-puSh ma
chlnce. Three animals were 0n the left.
and ;hrrr on the right OF the separator, and
four in the lead. The operator stood on
the left Of the S"pator in the rear the sack
rr platform being on the right. The thrrSh
FL was an ordinary belt machIne. and the
patents covered the peculiar and novel con
neCtionS between it and the cutting appaia-
tuS.
The trials. troubles and inSstS of the
| Davis boys would mike a gu,d->lLrd vol
ume. The worst of it is that they could
not shape matters to carry on the business
and retrieve their losses. In 1864 they
went 10 Portland. Undcr contract the
owners of the Portland Iron Works began
| To- construct live machines. for which the
| Davi~p> held farmers contracts. Just as
the machines were ready To run out Of the
works a tire destroyed all tho buildings,
machines and patterns. As they were hot
insured, the Davis boys were left without
means to 20 on with the enterprise. The
castings at that time cost twenty-five cents
per pound, and other work in proportion.
About this time W II. Parish had been
operating with a similar machine with lin
tied success, a. had also }. ii. Robbins y
| Bro. all residing near the scene of the
| first invention. The Davis boys being un-
able tO % on. sold their patents To- Mr..
| Paris and one J. {. Akin. who again sold
to California parties at St0rktOn. Since
then several different kinds of the machines
have been built there. as well As one at
BeuiCia.
Nearly all the California machines of
mark require from eighteen 10 twenty-eight
animals and three or four men. They cut
from twenty Ia forty acres of grain per day.
The Swath cut is from twelve to twenty
eight feet in width. The cost per acre 10
put the grain in the sack with these ma
, chimes l. from nifty to seventy cents per
acre. all told. They leave the straw and
chaff scattered over the ground unless in
cases where ''bunchers" are used for carry
ing the straw and leaving it in piles 50 that
lt farmer can gather il.
In Se machines arr now running in the
great San joaquin valley. saw twenty in
a two days trip. The grain is down and
tangled some. but they got through it easily.
The yield is about nine sacks of y. bushels
per acre for avery large acreage in the mid
die district of the valley. The quality is
fair, and the price at railroad stations is
one cent a pound.
These machines are not at all adapted to
moist countries. They much resemble a
travelling caravan as they rumble through
the vast fields of ripe waving grain. They
will be running in parts of the Golden
Coast for three months yet. and the eastern
tourist Will not find in all the ramble a
grander sight than the California travelling
caravan harvesting outfit.