A horse-machine of the greatest powers, with the appendages of rakes and fanners, may be erected for 150/. ; and, when wrought by v, Intl, for 300,. independent of the buildings and 11.iture:, which are required. It would be unfair, however, to charge these to the account of the thrashing machine, as, even upon a middle-sized farm, a much greater extent of building is required foi barn-work, when the corn is separated front the straw by the flail, than when the operation is performed by the thrashing machine.
Front the most minute attention hesl owed on this sub. jest, we are confident that an extra quantity of corn. equal, in ordinary years, to 5 Jo C(77/. will be given by the thrashing machine, more than by the flail ; besides innumerable other advantages which accompany that machine. Indeed, the loss by the flail has long been proverbial, and the best of farmers were obliged to sub• mit to losses of this nature, because they could not be remedied ; but, with the thrashing machine, no corn need be lost, as every particle of grain is scutched off when the machine is constructed upon right principles.
The expense of horse labour, from the increased value' of the animal, and the charge of his keeping, being an object of great importance, it is recommended that, upon all sizeable farms, that is to say, where two hundred acres, or upwards, of corn are sown, the machine should be wrought by wind, unless where local circumstances afford the conveniency of water.
Wind machines were, till lately, exposed to danger Otisaccidents, as the sails could not be shifted when a brisk gale suddenly arose, which is often the. case in the variable climate of North Britain. These disagreeable circumstances arc now effectually prevented, by the in ventive genius of Mr ; and the machine may be managed by any person of the smallest discernment or attention.
The whole sails can be taken in, or let out, in half a minute, as the w ind requires, by a person pulling a rope within the house, so that an uniform motion is preserved to the machine, and the danger from sudden squalls prevented.
Where coals arc plenty and cheap. steam may be ad vantageously used for working the machine. A respect able farmer in the county of East Lothian. works his machine in this way ; and, being situated in the neigh bourhood of a colliery, lie is enabled to thrash his grain at a trifling expense.
The quantity of grain, thrashed in a given time, muss depend upon its quality, on the length of the straw, upon the number of horses, or strength of the wind, by which the machine is N% rought ; but, under favourable circumstances, front 70 to 80 bushels of oats, and from 30 to 50 bushels of wheat, may be thrashed and cleaned in one hour. But it is from clean dry grain only that much will be done in that period.
In a word the thrashing machine is of the greaze... utility to the farmer ; and from it the public derives a vast additional quantity of food for man and beast. L five per cent. is added to the national produce, it is as great a gain to the public, as if the national territories were increased one-seventh more than their present size ; for this additional produce is gained without any other expense, than the money laid out in erecting the ma chines no more seed is sown than formerly, nor mere labour employed, and these articles hate oh\ ays been estimated as equal to two-fiEhs of the produce.
As a farmer's capital ought never to be laid cut it, expensive building, or works of an extraordinary kind, we are of opinion, that the sums nem— ary far erecting machines should, in the first instance, be e:.pended the 1„lliffel, acrd the tenant bound to leave them in a c.'wAwfilr eGiolh'Irm at his departure. 'Many farmers inlet; ( apitals stiff( i..nt lot und, rtakings of this kind ; but the gee ,t Dolly of profession w oult1 he injured by such an expense, as they would thus be deprived 01 the means of improving their Lunn; in other respects. Be ides, as every improN CM1111., at the long con, centres it, the pocket of the proprietor, it is but fair and rs:ttson ab.e nu should contribute his moiety of the expense: ltdd out in procuring it ; and, in many cases, he tNUllid be benefited, in the first instance., by the erection of thrashing machiites, particularly where new NS fal in-stead tugs are to be built, as fewer buildings would, of course, be necessary.
We shall now offer some calculations relative to the probable amount of the sat ings which might accrue to the public, if thrashing machines were universally used. We do not affect accuracy in these calculations, which cannot be e xitected before facts are suflichmtly ascc rtain cd ; but, to borrow the words very properly used by the p•tsident, in his speech to the Board of Agricul ture, July 29, 1794, " to be enabled to form some gene ral idea of the natmc and extent of public improvement, is a great step gained." The extent of gi (Ald, annually employed, in Great Britain, in the raising of corn, may be computed at seven millions five hundred thousand acres, and the average produce of the different grains at three qua• ters per acre, as below that increase no fainter can raise it with profit. We obserse in the president's speech to parliament, when he moved the establishment of the Board, that he supposed, there were only lite millions of acres annually employed in raising of grain. But there is reason to think, that this is a mistake ; for, if the population of the island be ten millions, the pro duce of these acres would be far below what is required for the support of that number of people, independent of what is necessary for the feeding of horses, and sowibg the next crop. We also, in the re p•intuu Survey of tile. County of Stafford, a pretty just calculation of the number of acres annually sown in that county, amounting to one hundred and fifty thousand acres. Now, as Stafford is not a corn county, much latitude is not taken in fixing it to average the whole counties of England ; this would make the total quan tity sown in that kingdom amount to six milllions of acres. The remaining one million five hundred thousand acres we suppose to be sown in Scotland and AVAes, which makes their produce only equal to that of ten English counties.