THE REAPER AND BINDER.

Clutha Leader, Volume IV, Issue 188, 15 February 1878, Page 6

THE REAPER AND BINDER.

An interesting trial of the reaper and hinder, manufactured by the rival American firms Wood, M'Cormick, and Osborne, took place on Thursday last, on Mr E. Parnham's farm, Kaiapoi, under the auspices of the Kaiapoi Farmers' Club.. The Lyttelton Times, in. giving a long and interesting account of the trial, says a' first prize of -£5 ss, and a second of £2 2s were offered for the machines which should be considered by those present to he the best adapted for the colonies. Three entries were received — Mr R. Wilkin entering the same machine which took first honours at the trial at Riccarton ; Mr Isaac Wilson entering one of his own, which has been at . work in the Kaiapoi district during the present harvest, manufactured by Walter A. Wood ; and Mr E. Hack, of Pap-mui, entering one of Messrs M'Cormick's machines. The field, though in itself a magnificent crop of Hunter's whire wheat, calculated to yield at least 60 bushels of good sound wheat to the acre throughout, turned out to be rather heavier on the machines than any crop this season could be expected to be, and consequently when a start was made at ten o'clock in the morning several unexpected mishaps happened, which prevented a definite commencement being made rill noon. About three acres ol crop were allotted to each machine. During the whole of the time of the competition the matter was warmly and eagerly discussed, and many opinions were expressed on the working of the machines. The one general expression was, however, that the invention would be one of the greatest importance to the neighbourhood and to the country generally, added to one of satisfaction at the introduction of such a valuable labour-saving machine. There : could not have been less than 500 persons on the ground during the day, the principal portion of whom were farmers, and as it had been decided to have the decision taken by ballot of the farmers only, the ActingSecretary, Mr J. Lowthiah Wilson, distributed during the day suitable ballot cards with full instructions how to proceed. There were 186 tickets distributed, and at the conclusion ofthe trial the tickets were re-collected, and the result was made known as under. As regards the machines it may be said that they all did their work well and left the ground clean, the remark being made that, the cutting alone was superior to anything ever done by any kind, of reaper yet seen, and there can be no doubt that this is the case. During the afternoon ' a test of the draught was made by -a suit-able dynamometer. The result was as follows : — Wood .. .. ..4 cwt. M'Cormick . . . . 4A cwt. -.._.' Osborne . . ..... 5" cwt. : A protest was entered by the owner of the latter that the test was not a correct one, hut the Committee having met,. 'it was decided .on a majority of votes not to put them to the" test again. The time taken by the respective machines* was' as follows' :— - Osborne ... 3h 25m M'Cormick ... ... 3h 29ra "Wood ..; ... ... ... 4h4Bm . At the conclusion of the trial the members of 'the Farmers' Club adjourned with, the ballot box to the Kaikainui Hotel, where the cards were carefully examined, and the following was the official declaration of the result pf the, examination .:--- --' . ; , : -M'Cormick's Machine : , ■ First prize tickets . 161 - Second; prize iickefs ... ... H „'.*: ;.. -7. Mood' a Machine; First prize tickets 7 • Second -pviy.h tickets ...- ... 100 *'-.;-. . -a A Osborne's Machine: ; First, prizo, tickets* ; 8 *: Secoml^metickets ... ... 46 ;Thusit; appears that; out of 186 tickets which; .wjem.issued to farmers, 176 were returned t to the ballot-box, and ifc was 'snpppsed/'tp^Jt^r^mpjniiig ten persons left the: -field * .before-r the tickets we're p'ollected;- The decision was received ajnidloiid' cheers*. " '"' „