The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1898-02-12
A Pea Harvester.

following bulletin from the Louis
ana Experiment Station:
"q) 1t is a nitrogen gatherer;
y it shapes the soils in summer,
yeeping them in condition most
aitable to the most rapid 'nitri-
tication' and leaves them friable
and loose, in the best condition for
a future crop: (3) it has a large
root development and hence
pumps up from great depths and
large areas the water and with it
the mineral matter needed by the
plant; az its adaptabllity to all
kinds Of soils, from stiffest clays
to the most porous sands, from
fertile alluvial bottoms to the most
barren uplands; (5) it stands the
heat and sunshine of Southern
summer; (6) Its rapid growth en-
ables the farmer in the South to
grow two crops year on the same
soil; (7) sown thickly, it will, by
its rapid growth and shade, effec-
tually smother all weeds, and
thus serve as a cleansing crop; (S)I
it is the best preparatory crop
known to the Southern farmer,
every kind of crop grows well
after it; (0 on the alluvial lands
of the Mississippi bottoms, it
seryAs to numn off excessive
water, evaporsting it through its
! great foliage, thus keeping the
soil in condition for most rapid
nitrifcation during the entire
growing season; Qo) it furnishes
most excellent food in large |
quantities for both man and ami
mails.
with all of these advantages,
it is no wonder it is called the
"clover of the South" and were
it used regularly throughout the
South as one of the crops in a
regular but short system OF rota-
tion, the soils OF this section would
soon rival in fertility their primi-
tive conditions.
The harvesting OF the crop,
especially in the Della, has al
ways been expensive and trouble
some, being accompanied by much
waste, and is particularly difficult
on the rich ailuviaf lands, because
of the rank growth of the vines
which form dense mass several
feet high, almost laperwous to
the cutter, and shattcr ng badly IN
The ordinary mcthud 81 harvesting.
The recent invention OF a machine
for the express purpose OF harvest
ing this crop will be hailed with
: atifcation, and Professor Stubbs,
Of the same experiment station
cited above, endorses the new in
in the following unquali-
fed terms:
By the use of the picker refer ,
red to above, Louisiana will save
from 100000 to 100000 annu-
ally, the amount of money that
has heretofore been sent to other
States for the purchase of this {
food. The picker referred to is {
an invention that appears to have
reached perfection. Unlike tho
cotton picker and other inventions
of this character, all obstacles to
its practical operation appear to
have been overcome, and it is said
that the machine will accomplish {
all that has been claimed for it. ;
II is light, runs easy, and meets all
The Times Democrat, in a long /;
article on the subject, has the fol-
lowing to say:
As soon as farmers over the !
as far North as Ohio, are :
assured that a machine has been
invented that will enable them to
gather peas economically, that G
,rop will be enormously increased,
md peas will in time be handled
or export as wheat and corn are
low bY the use of elevators. Peas
re one of the most valuable food Y
,rops In the world and are issued
.s rations in the armies Of the b
lifferent nations. The only draw v
,ack to their cultivation has been =
hat of cost. An expert picker :
annot with his hands gather more D
han one bushel of clean peas in a 81
ay, whereas the machine referred B
0 will gather over 100 hushels II
ep day, or rs much rs 100 men. :
This machine has been thor. "
ughly tested through three years "a
+ trial, and during the last bar tC
est season it was IN charge of I'll b,
xpert mechanical engineer, who :;
diusted its tests to strength, -
Teight and simp ioity. 1t was - -
effected under his management, b
nd after several weeks Of trial III p'
elds of peas it vas pronounced 3
erfect in its wo-ki z, as it neve, ii
ailed to gather 81 per cent OF !.
.anding and ripe peas, and fre- ~
uently gatbered ~ per cent 1t p
as little woodwork and it is con 5,
5ruoted of angle steele; its total "A
q