Part 12

"I wish you all possible success in cutting hemp in the 'Great West.' It must be very desirable to cut that valuable plant instead of pulling it up by the roots, and I cannot doubt that your reaper has ample power for the process.

"Most respectfully, yours, etc.,

"W. H. ROANE.

"Mr. Obed Hussey, Baltimore."

"We are not advised at what precise period subsequent to 1843 and previous to 1847 (when C. H. McCormick patented the raker's seat), that he changed the arrangement of his wheels, etc., so as to admit a seat for his raker without 'tipping up the machine' as was unavoidable previously. From evidence deemed fully reliable, he was not the first even on his own machine, to provide a seat for the raker, "and all take a ride.' It is laborious enough to test fully the endurance of the most powerful and muscular man, to ride and rake; but to walk and rake is even more barbarous than the old time ball and chain to the leg of the felon. The considerate and feeling farmer would certainly 'wait for the wagon' to be better fixed before thus undertaking to reap his grain fields if himself or his hands had to ride in this sort of style.

"We have a letter from Isaac Irvine Hite, Esq., now of Clarke County, Va., which throws some light on the subject; he says (italicised by the writer):

"In 1842 my father, by my request, purchased for me of C. H. McCormick and Father, a reaper at $110, which was drawn by two horses, and it was raked off to the right hand side by a man on foot. The father of C. H. McCormick stated to me at the commencement of that harvest, that it had been nine years since they had first operated with it, in pretty much the form it was then constructed. On a recent visit to Messrs. McCormick, who then resided on the line between Augusta and Rockbridge Counties in this State, the old gentleman stated to me that he had been at odd times at work on the reaper for many years; and either he or his son stated to me that C. H. McCormick had been improving, changing or inventing various parts until they had (as they thought) perfected the machine. * * * I disliked the labor imposed on the hand who had to walk and remove the wheat from a platform seven feet in width, and urged Messrs. McCormick to attach another contrivance so as to enable the raker to ride and perform his arduous task; the old gentleman contended that that could never be accomplished, but that a self-operating appendage could be constructed to remove the grain, but that would be uncertain, and entirely unreliable. During my visit, he pointed out to me one or more fixtures they had tried for the raker to ride on. I think one was on one wheel, and the other on two.

I yet contended that it could be accomplished; if by no other means, by changing the construction of the machine, and remarked to him, if I were a mechanic, and understood the construction of the machine well enough to venture to alter its parts, I was certain I could so arrange it, and requested him to urge his son to make the effort; he replied that it would be useless; that they had tried every imaginable way or plan before placing the machine before the public, and that they regarded it as an impossibility, successfully, and properly, in any other way than on foot, and said it was necessary for the heads to be brought round to the right, in which I fully agreed; but contended it could be done while the raker was riding or standing in an erect position.

After this unsatisfactory interview I returned home, and at the close of the next wheat harvest I had a small carriage, about 3 feet by 3-1/2 feet, constructed on two wheels, and connected underneath the platform, by means of shafts to the back part of the head of the machine; this during the cutting of my oat crop answered every purpose, so far as the raker was concerned, but there was a difficulty in turning. C. H. McCormick came to see this combination sometime during the year, and condemned it in toto. But by the next harvest I had it so constructed, as to be drawn by an iron bar so shaped, appended and supported on the underneath part of the carriage, as to admit of the machine turning in any direction, and the carriage would follow just as the two hind wheels of a wagon do; the carriage had a seat behind, and a thick, deep cushion in front, for the raker to press his knees against while removing the grain from the platform to his right hand, which he was enabled to do with apparent ease with a rake of peculiar shape;--(it cannot be done with a rake of ordinary shape).

The working of the first carriage was witnessed by many gentlemen who approved of it; and the combination of the second carriage I applied for a patent for. The model carriage can now be seen in the room of the Patent Office, containing models of all rejected patents. After this, I heard of McCormick making experiments at one of his Western factories--I think it was at Chicago; and finally he addressed me a letter, stating he had changed the construction of his machine, and had it so constructed that the raker could ride on the machine and remove the grain."

We think the foregoing letter--for it carries truth on its face--clearly shows that the idea of "changing the construction of the machine," and permit the raker to ride, did not originate with the McCormick's father or son; for "they had tried every imaginable plan or way before placing the machine before the public, and that they regarded it as an impossibility for the wheat to be so removed regularly, successfully and properly, in any other way except on foot."

At the trial referred to at Hutchinson's, and the late Senator Roane's in 1843, it was demonstrated that a raker could ride and rake, and as was also done by Hussey many years before, at various places, and delivering the grain at back or side. But we have still better evidence than the above--C. H. McCormick himself.

His Patent of 1847, covering some four or five folio pages, is altogether to change "the construction of the machine," to admit of, and to patent the raker's seat; the substance of the whole is comprised within the following brief extract from the patent of 1847:

"And the gearing which communicates motion to the crank is placed back of the driving wheel, which is therefore subject to be clogged by sand, dirt, straw, etc.--and in consequence of the relative position of the various parts, the attendant is obliged to walk on the ground by the side of the machine, to rake the cut grain from the platform as it is delivered and laid there by the reel. These defects which have so much retarded the introduction into practical and general use of Reaping Machines, I have remedied by my improvements, the nature of which consists in placing the driving wheels further back than heretofore, and back of the gearing which communicates motion to the sickle, which is placed in a line back of the axis of the driving wheel, the connexion being formed, etc., and also bringing the driving wheel sufficiently far back to balance the frame of the machine with the raker on it, to make room for him to sit or stand on the frame," etc., etc.--"which cannot be done, if the raker walks by the side of the machine, as heretofore."

Now if C. H. McCormick's testimony in his own favor, can be considered reliable, he certainly had not invented a seat for his raker as late as 1845--and not long prior to 1847, when he patented it; and just fourteen years after Hussey had used it every year, successively. The raker's seat therefore was just as original an invention as the reel.

The "straight sickle blade," but cut one way only, and abandoned some 10 or 12 years after its conception in 1831, as he states, appears to be the only original idea--properly belonging to whom it may--in the patent of 1834. As to the "foundation" of the machine, viz:--the platform, cog wheels, crank, etc., etc., they have been used by every projector in reaping machines, for a century.

A machine exhibited at the World's Fair in London, by C. H. McCormick, had the "straight sickle blade," but alternating the cuts every few inches. With such a machine it is impracticable to cut grain, much less grass, efficiently, divested of the reel. That plan has since been changed to a much more efficient blade, the scolloped edged sickle. That it was used in the Northwestern States by others several years previous to its adoption by C. H. McCormick, we believe admits of just as little doubt, as rests with the priority of invention of the Reel, Rakers-seat, etc.

There is one other important feature, patented in 1845 and referred to in the Pusey letter;--an "Iron case to preserve the sickles from clogging;" these we will also take a look into after a while.

Obed Hussey, as appears by the evidence before us, made his first machine in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he then resided, in the spring of 1833, and it was patented the same year.

His principle--the arrangement and construction of the Guards and Knives--was precisely identical with those used by him at the present day, except an improvement patented in 1847, leaving openings at the back end of the slot in the guards for the escape of particles of straw or grass that might get in between the blades and guards.

It was communicated at the time by letter with a diagram to a personal friend now living, and of the highest respectability, from whom we have a certificate, and copy of the drawing. The knives or cutters, for lack of more suitable materials were made out of hand saw blades cut into suitable form, and riveted to a bar, vibrating through an opening or slot in the guards.

Judge Foster, residing within a few miles of the city, and to whom he applied, kindly offered him every facility to test the machine by cutting grain, ripe and unripe, being himself greatly interested in its success. When taken to the field, a considerable number of persons were attracted to the spot; and rather to the discomfiture of the inventor, for it may well be supposed it was an anxious moment to him, and he desired no witnesses to his failure. The machine was started; but owing to some part giving away, or some slight defect not apparent until then, it failed to work satisfactorily. One burley fellow present picked up a cradle, and, swinging it with an air of great exultation, exclaimed, "this is the machine to cut the wheat!"

After the jeers and merriment of the crowd had somewhat subsided, the inventor remedied the defect, and assisted by the laborers present--the horses having been removed--pulled the machine to the top of an adjacent hill; when alone, he drew the machine down the hill, and through the standing grain, when it cut every head clean in its track!

The same machine was directly afterwards exhibited before the Hamilton County Agricultural Society near Carthage, on the 2nd of July, 1833. Of its operation and success, the following statements, and certificates, now in our possession, sufficiently testify. Doctor Wallace as well as some others of the gentlemen, are living witnesses of what is here stated.

Cincinnati, November 20th, 1833.

This may certify that I was present on the 2nd day of July near Carthage, in this county, at an experimental trial with a machine invented by Mr. Obed Hussey for cutting grain. The operation was performed on a field of wheat. The machine was found to cut the wheat clean, and with great rapidity. But owing to its having been imperfectly made, being only constructed for the experiment, some parts of wood which should have been made of iron, and in consequence frequently getting some parts out of order, a correct estimate of the quantity of work it would perform in a given time could not be made. One point was, however, satisfactorily established, that the principle upon which the machine is constructed will operate; and when well built will be an important improvement, and greatly facilitate the harvesting of grain. I would also remark that the horses moving the machine were walked, and trotted, and it was found to cut best with the greatest velocity.

C. D. WALLACE, Secretary of the Hamilton County Agricultural Society.

We, the undersigned, witnessed the exhibition of Mr. O. Hussey's Machine for cutting grain alluded to by Dr. Wallace, and do fully concur with his statement of its performance. We would further add, that notwithstanding its temporary construction, its performance far exceeded our expectations. Cutting the grain clean and rapidly, and leaving it in good order for binding. We are of the opinion that the machine is capable of being propelled at the rate of five miles the hour, and do good work. The machine was worked when the cutters were both in a sharp and a dull condition, and no difference could be perceived in its execution.