THE NEW M'CORMICK HARVESTER.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3633, 8 October 1890, Page 2

THE NEW M'CORMICK HARVESTER.

Tho Mem Machine of Stool, [By OcßAoaioroiOßii, Rbpomek,] (Royrintei from the Ckristchurch WeoMj Press, October 3,1890, Messrs Morrow, Bassett ami Co., and their numerous ogontsaronow offeriug to lb farmers and groin growers tho now " ■ i■ MoCormick reapor and binder. APropot of this, it will he interesting .to note that it is now within a few months Vi six uecados sinco tho MoCormick liarveking machine was first introduced : to the nSRoo .of the American grain growor. At that timothe implement was regarded as a triumph of mechanical skill, as well as ono ' of the most valuable labor-saving applianoe3 ■ that has oTcr been thought of since ■ the "[J. ! history of grain-growing began. During r*-' those past sixty years ..something liko s ' 100,000 maohinos have been' built by the MoCormick Harvesting Company, and sent out into almost every part of tho civilised world, Tho first year's output was a success, even beyoni the inventor's most sangumo expectations; but Cyrus H, ' McCorraickhad no thought of going to sleep on that success, On tho contrary, ho ' became very muoh wide awako, and each tuuehosawlusmachineputiuto'a crop • he conceived some now idea. llapidlythosouiaohinesgrewin popular ! lavor, and year alter year tho output had to be largely inoreased, Year after yeac also important improvements werocffecH andthofomoof the MoCormick m'aohino spread in a most marked and eminently satisfactory degree. So great and BQ radical havo been tho changes made that the machines of oven fifteen years ago were vcritablo heaps of lumber compared with the beautifully made and exceedingly simple constructed reaper and binder of to day. The old ponderous wooden frame and wkeols havo given place to steel and mallcableiron; manyof the original■ and truly marvellous mechanical complications for cutting, elevating, tying and delivering the grain havo been entirely dispensed with, and the machine of to-day is about as light, durable, easy of dialt, and as near perfection as it Beoms possiblo for msohanioal ingenuity to deviso. The last!je» maining link that connected tho old fib the now idea has been broken, tho M<iP inickmachine no longer knowing, oven its familiar friend tho sway-bar. Tho aim. of tho makers has been to produce a machine • that tboavorago farm hand can tako into •. tho field and work with all through the sfev harvest without any annoying stoppages " or loss of valuable time, It has taken numberless experiments and sixty years' ot hard thinking to accomplish this, but thosowhooarefullypxamino the machina that Messrs Morrow, Bassett and Com. panyaro offering the former this soason will acknowledge tho ond in view has been triumphantly attained. Tho machine has boon thoroughly and successfully tested at a number of private trials. Mr Bassett had one out at the end of last seasojn, and out 130 aorcs ot heavy crop without a hitch. In ono paddookat TaiTapu.on the farm of Mr ThosLoatham.thorowas a great milium of wild turnips and rank undergrowth amongst the grain crop,. bat the new machino cut it all and tied ovory sheaf MrLoathamandhbjsonß stating at tho' time that they had novor seen a maohino do its work more easily and with lcsa strain on the horses, Tho MoCormick has gaiued many high honors, Amongst • those may bo mentioned tho Grand Prizo at the Paris Expositions in 1855, 1867, 1878, and 1889. Tho MoCormick has been truly a great victor, having won moro than 245 first honors m Australia alone, tho greatest triumph there, being • at Dookie, Victoria, at a great field trial held under the joint auspicesof tho Government Experimental Farm and College, and toA Agricultural Society. She has, too, <?fy many a keen contest in New Zealand h? vest fields, besides taking tho only first prize and special mention at tho New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition held in Duncdiu in 1889-00, Hitherto, the supply of those machines, has never been equal to - the demand, and on all the thousands of k farms on winch they have beon given a M ' place thejr have praotically afforded urii- ' "" versal satisfaction, Tho McCormick has beon the farmers' true and trusty friend ; throuhgmanyaharvest,and nonamein the household has ever been more deservedly or more pleasantly familiar, . Tho material used.ir, thenevr maohino is, with tho exception of a few hardened cast iron pieces, mainly composed of ' special ffli'n> of steel and malleablo iron, and whllo the whole structuro is stiffer, stronger, .and more durable oven than tho ' machine of last year, its weight is 2001bj less, The foundation is a sauatetuboalecl frame, so closely jojuled a'nd so'securely braced as to keep it perfectly rigid, and preventing the elevators or any other parts i getting out ofatruo line while handling any conditioned crop, or while going over the roughest of ground, Tho old and often ; troublesome sway-bar has been disoarded, and in its place has been substituted a most economical device for transmitting the necessary power direct from tho main wheel to the knife, with the least possiblo amount of friction.- The machine has been made to cut even lower than formerly, ' and in prder to allow for this'tho elevatora i have been widened live inches, bqt glased ; at the rep wp specially, forced sheet , steel elevator guides; All tho bearings, (oji ■ , tho >o)lcrs havo fee'en, fitted with, easily removable brass bushings, and all oil holea, ! placed on the outside,' thus dbinjj away "' , with any excuse for the' driver allowing the t gudgeons to get dry'or cut fiut, as has,.not \y. , infrequently been th,e case'during the 1 rush of harvest'work. Special care'has -,j ■ J heeri taken, in.. th.o {onstrujljon. o| (he, - $$

v ' - ' " ■ l'*""" ". j' and fittings, Tho guides aro filled i . with inctal boxes containing brass bush i: ings, and maib sufTioionily long to hold n ; liberal supply ot oil. A now and much ; improved reel has becu fitted to tho machine, The veol can bo easily adjusted i '; to forty-live different positions, backwards ,:, and forwards, or up and down, so that any conditioned grain cau bo instantly picked up and placed in tho right spot, Two levers close to tho driver's hand cunblo him to quickly place tho reel in any desired ( position, and a spring balances tho reel so nicely that it cr.n bo adjusted with perfect easo. An improved tilting lever has been . ! fitted to tho maohino, and so arranged that tho drivor can havo no possible difficulty in oporatinx "l"" 1 It most effectually in any condition of crop. To prevent sido draft, and to ensuro caeh horse doing his fair chare of the work, tho pole is fitted with a specially designed neck yoko with a new j evenor, having a direct tounge draft attached to tho main (ramo of tho inaohiuo. Another very important fcaturo in the maohino is its great economy in (ho use of tftnWf'-Tho knotter is tho mo3t simple B'MporfJct" ever known, consisting of ims principal working parts nnd only two moving pieces, thus doing away with tho old plunger bolt and knifo arm, the cause of so much trouble formerly, Tho twino box has been fixed immediately U. bonoath tho drivor's oyo, so that he can see '' at a glanco when it needs replenishing. ' Tho main wlieol is a double spoke spring t;al one, 301b lighter than tho old wheel, d equally as strong and durable in every j respect. Tho chain drive principle has been adopted for transmitting tho power to chain used, with steel pins connecting tho links, and caeh link provided with an oil hole. Tho raising and lowering gear is siraplo and oficctivo, and a neatly made bundlo oarrier, together with easily adj listed transport wheels, help to complete a harvesting machiuc that no farmer can go - wrong in buying. Vory much move might bo written about this universally favored reaper and binder, but the name JfcCormick is sufficient te justify tho assurance that any alterations that havo boon mado ar,e decidedly in the direction of improvements. While tho machine has been lightened in weight and draft, and everything in tho shape of superfluous gearing discarded; due provision has been made to ensure its maintaining its strength and durability, and theso i improvements should still further increase its number of patrons and its scopo of usefulness in tho harvoat fiold, Tho local agent is Mrli; JlcEwen, blao k smith, cto, of Queen-street.