INDIANA FARMER.
Vol. VIL]       INDIANAPOLIS, IND., JULY, 1858.
[No. IV.
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Eeaper Trials.
The object of all trials of Keapers and
Mowers is, or should be, to ascertain what
machines, all things considered, are
best adapted to the farmer's wants. Although the common mode of public trials
of Beapers and Mowers in the field, and
the publication of all the facts connected
with these trials, is doing much in dis
seminating a knowledge of the capacity
and merits of the different machines, yet
the time allowed for these annual trials
is necessarily so short, that the questions
of their durability, their liability to get
out of order, and many other matters of
practical importance, can be but imperfectly tested.
This deficiency can easily be supplied
by each farmer who runs a machine, either
a Reaper or a Mower, keeping an exact
account of the amount "cut each day, the
number of breakdowns, the time lost in
and the cost of repairing, the number of
hands and teams used in running it, the
kind of grain, whether light or heavy,
the character of the work done, &e.
Then when harvest is over send us a copy
for publication. If this were done, we
voi. vii.—7.
should have one grand Reaper trial
throughout the State; or rather we would
have the result of these trials, for the
trials are made annually, but no account
ever kept of the result. This can easily
be done by keeping a memorandum book
in your pocket, and noting down each
day's experience. To illustrate what we
mean we will give onr experience with
Reapers:
Bought a Reaper of Rugg's, manufactured at Ottawa, 111., for which we paid
$130 00.
%- a
K
Commenced Cutting.
-a
o
■^ J4
-w a
o*r
<o o
6-W
S3
K
z»
o
H
June 29,
1855,
9
140
"   30,
u
10
30
July   2,
tt
10
100
1
12J
i*
«     3,
ti
11
90
«     4,
u
9
20
1
25
3it
«*     5,
it
13
40
2
50
*t
"     <*-
tt
12
130
"     **-
tt
13
20
"     9,
a
7
1
30
m
"   10,
it
12
Total,
109
90
5
$-,**'-'
of
* Nut Lost.
t Bolt broke J hour; rained 3 hours.
' % Two Nuts lost.
I Bolt and Nut lost.
Making an average of about 11 acres
per day; 2| hours lost by breakdowns,
and $1 17 paid for repairing.
The above was wheat; straw rather
light; averaged about 20 bushels per
acre; ground very rough; work well
done; had one hand to guide machine
and drive, one to rake off, five to bind,
and two to shock. The machine was so
constructed that we could only work two
horses in it at a time, but ehanged horses
every three hours.