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10th. There is undoubtedly a vast difference in the milk of different cows as to quality.

11th. My cows are mostly a cross of Shorthorn on the native stock.

12th. As to the breeds most valuable for the dairy, I am unable to say which is the best, that depends upon circumstances, whether near market or not, for beef and calves when fatted generally command a high price. For my part, I am not disposed to condemn any breed of animals, whether cattle, sheep, horses, hogs or goats. I believe nothing is made in vain, and that the different breed of animals, without a doubt, are all good in their places.

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185 00

hay on hand $250, grain other products $233, 483 00
farm implements on hand....
wagons, harness, &c., on hand

Amount received for horned animals sold....

for barley

for corn sold...

140 00

365 00

109 00

168 00

358 00

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January 25, 1864. On this day personally appeared before me and made oath that the foregoing statement or return by him subscribed is just and true according to his best knowledge, information and belief.

M. GOODRICH, Notary Public.

MALLORY & SANFORD'S FLAX MACHINE.

The special committee on flax machinery report:

That they carefully examined the machine presented by Messrs. Mallory & Sanford, New York, and tested it under a great variety of circum

stances.

Experiment 1st. Ten lbs. 3 oz. of unrotted straw, precisely as it came from the field, was passed through the braking machine. The time occupied was 2 min. 50 sec., and the weight after braking was 6 lbs. 3 oz. The scutching process occupied 6 minutes, and it weighed after scutching just 2 lbs.

Experiment 2d. Ten lbs of half rotted flax (dew rotted) were passed through the braking machine, the time occupied in the process was 2 min. 50

sec., and weighed 5 lbs. It was scutched in 9 min. 20 sec., and weighed 2 lbs. 3 oz.

Experiment 3d. Twenty-one lbs. 1 oz. of thoroughly rotted (dew rotted) flax straw were passed through the machine in 3 min. 50 sec., and weighed 9 lbs. The broken straw was scutched in 8 min. 30 sec., and weighed 4 lbs. 14 oz.

Four men were assisting at the time of the trial of the braking and the scutching machines, but two of them were required in consequence of the crowd about the machines, which made it almost impossible to receive the straw and deliver the flax without assistance. In the absence of a crowd, and with the ordinary facilities of a factory, two men could do with ease what it required four men to do at the trials.

The average work of the machine during the three trials was 1.158 oz. per second; which, at ten hours of work per day, would be equivalent to 2,668 lbs. of flax straw.

The total weight of broken straw in these three experiments was 20 lbs. 10 oz., which was scutched in 23 min. 50 sec., which is equal to 0.772 oz. per second. Running steadily for ten hours a scutching machine will dress 1,737 lbs. of broken flax straw.

It, of course, would be difficult to work the machines regularly as fast, or to do as much work with them as was done at these trials; but we have no doubt that the brake could run through 2,000 lbs. of straw daily, and that two scutching machines would dress the flax as fast as it was broken by the first machine. Six horse power would probably be amply sufficient to run the brake and the two scutchers; this could be obtained anywhere

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by one of Ericsson's caloric engines, and the shove detached from the straw would furnish fuel enough to give the power required.

The unrotted flax, in these experiments, yielded 18.9 per cent. The half rotted yielded 21.9 per cent. The well rotted yielded 23.1 per cent. of dressed flax.

The day devoted to these experiments was a very rainy one, and the straw had lain upon the ground for several hours; it had, therefore, imbibed much moisture, and was in a very bad condition for dressing. If the experiments had been made in a dry, clear air, much better results would have been obtained.

The experiments were made in the presence of many distinguished officers and members of the Society, and of a large number of men who had extensive experience in dressing flax by machinery and by hand. We believe that all of them concurred fully with us in our estimate of the value of the machine. At all events we publicly requested all present to offer any objection that might occur to them respecting the machine, but none was offered, and very many of them expressed their conviction that it was very far ahead of anything that they had ever seen.

We are of opinion:

1st. That the machine of Mallory & Sanford does more work with less power than any other.

2d. That it detaches more of the worthless from the valuable portions of the straw than any other.

3d. That it wastes less of the fiber. On a careful examination of the shove, after the experiments, we could not detect a single particle of the fiber.

4th. It is cheap and durable, and not dangerous to either life or limb. The cost of the largest machine is $355, the second size $255, the third $155. 5th. It does not require skilled labor to operate it. This remark applies to the brake and not to the scutchers.

6th. It requires but a very small space-the largest size occupies but four feet square, and weighs 1,100 lbs.

We have no hesitation in expressing our conviction that the invention of this machine constitutes an era in the history of flax culture, almost as important as the invention of the gin, by Whitney, was to that of cotton. Without being in posession of all the data necessary for an exact calculation, we are of opinion that the saving effected by dressing the flax crop of the present year by this machine, over all others with which we are acquainted, will equal if it does not exceed one million of dollars.

We have spoken in very strong terms of the value of this machine, and we have no disposition to qualify the praise we have awarded to it, but we do not wish, by what we have said, to assert that there is not still room for improvement; on the contrary, we think that Messrs. Mallory & Sanford ought still to direct all their inventive faculties to the still further perfection of their machine. We were in possession of a very superior specimen of Dutch hand-dressed flax at the time of the trial, and it was our opinion, confirmed by that of all the flax experts present who expressed themselves on the subject, that the flax dressed by Mallory & Sanford was

superior to the Dutch. Still their sample exhibited some of the shove and some dirt adhering to the fibers. In order to determine the amount of this foreign matter still adhering to the fiber, we took 24 grains, selected at random from the bundle, and dressed two or three fibers at a time with a knife; owing to our want of skill in manipulation, we were unable to detach all of the foreign matter which could be felt and seen, but the loss of weight was two grains or 16.66 per cent. A small portion of the fiber was scraped away with the dirt and shove, which we could not recover, but, allowing for this, we think that 15 per cent. of foreign matter, which could be mechanically detached, still remained after it had passed through Messrs. M. & S.'s machine. We think that this can all be separated by improvements yet to be made, and we have no doubt that these gentlemen who have shown so much skill and ingenuity will ultimately perfect it.

We award the special premium of $100 to Messrs. Mallory & Sanford, for their flax dressing machine.

JOHN STANTON GOULD,
MARTIN D. DYER,

Committee of award.

REPORT OF COMMITTEE UPON IMPLEMENTS FOR WORKING THE GROUND, PUTTING IN CROPS, &c.

CLASS IV-NO. 43.

To Hon. B. P. JOHNSON, Secretary:

Your Committee examined one hundred entries. Of this number fourteen were awarded premiums, and eight recommended to the favorable notice of the Executive Committee.

The great discrepancy in numbers between premiums awarded and entries made, is principally owing to the fact that for a large proportion of articles entered no premiums were offered.

Without noticing those entries to which premiums were awarded, the remainder may be classified as follows: First.-Articles for which no premiums were offered. Second.-Those to which for lack of merit no premiums were awarded.

Of the first class, horse hoes, as distinguished from simple cultivators, were exhibited by Remington & Co., Ilion; J. S. & M. Peckham, Utica; M. Alden & Co., Auburn; and John Field, Claremont, N. H. The necessity so long felt for some implement adapted not only to cutting weeds and stirring the earth, but also to hilling, gave rise to the horse hoe, and its great utility in the cultivation of nearly all hoed crops, has secured for it general favor with those who have used it, and ought to claim for it at least a place in the premium list of the society.

The broadcast plaster and seed-sower, exhibited by S. P. Hubbell, Unadilla, possesses considerable merit on account of simplicity of construction and arrangement for pulverizing lumps which are liable to collect in the hopper.

Remington & Co.'s subsoil attachment can be adjusted to any plow, and in land free from stones would probably obviate the necessity of a separate plow, although requiring an additional team.

S. E. Southland, Jamestown, N. Y., exhibited a patent cattle fastener, resembling the common stanchions, one stationary, the other sliding at the upper end, so as to receive and confine the animals head but differs from those in having the whole frame work hinged at the top, which allows the bars to swing inside the manger, and gives the animal greater freedom in lying down and rising. Those advocating 'this general mode of confining cattle in prefernce to chains or the Scoth tie, will find the new contrivance at least an improvement upon fixed stanchions.

John E. Morgan, of Deerfield, N. Y., exhibited the model of a liquid manure distributor, consisting of a tank and sprinkler, which can be placed in any ordinary cart or wagon.

The corn and bean planter exhibited by Whiteside Barnett, of Brockport, has considerable merit, both on account of its principle of construction and good workmanship.

The farm gate exhibited by E. C. Leonard, of Binghamton, is opened and closed by means of a cord connected with the gate, and passing to an outer post, from which it hangs so as to allow the rider or driver to open and close the gate without dismounting. The convenience and utility of the gate for certain localities we do not doubt, but as a "farm gate," liable to be opened any number of times daily by careful men or careless boys, we should prefer something simpler and less liable to injury.

The orchard whiffletrees exhibited by J. D. Weaver, of Penfield, differ from those of ordinary construction in having the trace passed around the end of the whiffletree, instead of being attached to the end. By this simple contrivance the trace alone is liable to rub against a tree, as the whiffletree cannot come in direct contact with the bark.

Under the second head, viz: Those articles to which for lack of excellence no premiums were awarded, we would notice the premium offered by the Society for a "plow with newly invented principles of arrangement." Three exhibitors claimed to have discovered at least some of these very desirable and novel principles, but your committee were unable to discover in either of the plows of this class anything that could be dignified by the term "newly invented principles."

The plow for ditching and tile draining, exhibited by S. Walrath, of St. Lawrence county, simply loosens the earth. In tenacious clay soils it obviates the necessity of picking, except the bottom spit, and for such lands will undoubtedly prove of great advantage. But in soils where the ditcher can drive in his spade fifteen inches, probably nothing would be gained by this plow.

L. A. Aspinwall, of Albany county, exhibited a potato planter, which although properly entered we could not see tested, and consequently were unable to award it a premium; indeed the examination of many implements which were tested was far from satisfactory, owing to lack of time and suitably prepared ground. And your committee would respectfully suggest the impossibility of rendering justice either to exhibitors or themselves, in being obliged to pass judgment upon articles, which, from their very nature require thorough and intelligent examination of their work in the field. You would not purchase a horse before seeing his action, nor a carriage without trying its springs, yet cultivators and horse-hoes, corn

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