1 
 
 i 
 
 630. 15 
 
 W85wa WOOD (WALTER A.) MOWING 
 AND REAPING MACHINE CO. 
 
 THE WALTER A. WOOD SELF-BINDING 
 HARVESTER
 
 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL SURVEY,
 
 SELF-BINDING HARVESTER CIRCULAR. 
 
 la'za. 
 
 ESTABLISHED 1863. 
 
 IBT^S- 
 
 tr^" ——■■-■*■ f "Ti —rr. 
 
 Mowing & Reaping M achin e Co., 
 
 Exclusive Manufacturers of the 
 
 WORLD-RENOWNED 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
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 'litlir 
 
 ill 
 
 UlS*!' 
 
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 HoosicK Falls, N. Y 
 
 GENERAL WESTERN OFFICE: 
 
 No/ 80 Taylor Street, Chicago, Illinois. 
 
 Address WALTER A. WOOD, President. 
 
 :fo:e^ sale by 
 
 ANDEESOU & HOLLEHBECK 
 DELEVAIT, ILLS. 
 
 S' 

 
 FOR THE HARVEST OF 
 
 WE SHALL OFFER TO THE FARMING COMMUNITY: 
 
 Wood's Improved Iron Mower for Two Horses, 4 ft. 3 inch cut 
 
 Wood's Improved Iron Mower for Two Horses, 4 ft. 6 inch cut, 
 
 Wood's Improved Iron Mower for One Horse, 3 ft. 6 inch cut. 
 
 Wood's Mower, with Manual Delivery Reaping Attachment, 4 ft. 6 inch cut. 
 
 Wood's Improved Sweep-Rake Reaper, Senior, 5 ft. 6 inch cut. 
 
 Wood's Improved Sweep-Rake Reaper, Junior, 5 ft. cut. 
 
 Wood's Mowing Attachment, for Sweep-Rake Reaper. 
 
 Wood's Improved Chain-Rake Reaper, 5 ft. 6 inch cut. 
 
 Wood's Improved Chain-Rake Reaper, 6 ft. cut. 
 
 Wood's Mowing Attachment, for Chain-Rake Reaper. 
 
 Wood's Self-Binding Harvester, 5 ft. 6 inch cut. 
 
 Wood's Self-Binding Harvester, 6 ft. 6 inch cut. 
 
 For the Two Horse Mower, 4 feet 6 inches cut, we build the wide frame used for Mowers built for the European 
 market. This frame is five inches wider than the frame of the Mower with 4 feet 3 inches cut, and the other parts 
 are correspondingly increased in size and strength. The Manual Delivery Reaping Attachment can be used only with 
 the 4 feet 6 inch Mower. 
 
 The only genuine " WOOD MACHINES" are those manufactured and sold by this Company, they having the exclusive 
 right to build and sell these Machines throughout Ihe whole World. 
 
 ALL OTHER MACHINES, UNDER WHATEVER DEVICE THEY ARE PUT ON THE MARKET, AND PRO- 
 CLAIMED AS "WOOD'S," ARE SPURIOUS. 
 
 The genuine WOOD MACHINES are stamped with our Trade Mark, which was registered December 28, 1875. 
 
 The genuine WOOD MOWERS also have our Trade Mark, "Wood," in raised letters on the iron frame. • 
 
 BI^^^l>Tan OFFICES : 
 
 NEW YORK CITY, - - _ 34 Liberty Street. 
 
 CHICAGO, ILL., -----...- 80 Taylor Street, 
 
 LONDON, ENGLAND, - - - - - - __.56 Worship Stri^f, 
 
 MADISON, WIS., - - 13 King Street, Fuller, Johnson & Co., General Agents. 
 
 ST. LOUIS, MO., - - 945 N. Second Str'iet,J. E. Hayner & Co., Ge^ieral Agents. 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO, CAL., - 349 Market Street, Frank Brothers & Co., General Agents. 
 
 BUENOS AYRES, S. A., _ - _ Thomas Drysdale & Co., General Agents. 
 
 VALPARAISO, S. A., - . - _ _ Rose-Innes S Co., General Agents. 
 
 Note. — Letters of inquiry for prices of our different Machines and terms of sale, and applications for 
 Agencies and the address of Agents, should be addressed to our office nearest to your place of residence. 
 All inquiries will receive prompt and careful attention.
 
 c/ 
 
 U' • ' •— ' 
 
 Vi/ SS'vJCL. '~k( 
 
 ISTS. 
 
 The Walter A. Wood Self-Binding Harvester, 
 
 ITS UNRIVALED RECORD. 
 
 Looking back upon the record made by our Self-Binding Harvester, we find the most flattering encour- 
 agement for the future. From all sections of the country where they have been introduced, we are constantly 
 receiving letters, from agents and customers, speaking in unqualified terms of praise of their performance, 
 and predicting an immense increase this season in the demand. This prediction is already being verified by the 
 receipt of large numbers of positive orders, some of which orders are made by farmers who purchased last 
 season, and who purchase again this, they having increased their acreage of grain for the coming harvest, owing 
 to the economy found in the use of this machine. The evidence of its success, and of its unrivaled superiority 
 in merit and public favor, does not rest on any bare assertions of ours, but UPON FACTS, and these facts 
 incontrovertible. Over three thousand were in use the past harvest, and it now has an established market 
 reputation, founded upon a field record, in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, South America and 
 all the grain-growing regions of the United States. 
 
 The best possible proof of the merits of this machine is the testimony of the farmers who have used it, 
 for which reason we print in this circular as many of the large number of letters received from purchasers 
 as our space will permit. Those given are confined, with but two or three exceptions, to the territory controlled 
 by our Chicago office — in which territory this circular is intended for distribution — but, to all interested in the 
 record made by the Wood Self-Binding Harvester in other parts of the West and Southwest, we will, on appli- 
 cation, send the circulars of our Madison (Wis.) and St. Louis (Mo.) branch offices, containing a very large 
 number of most flattering letters from purchasers in the sections under the supervision of those offices. 
 
 We trust that all the letters herein given will receive a careful reading, and we would call particular atten- 
 tion to that of Oliver Dalrymple, on the next page, and do so from the fact of his prominence as the largest 
 grain grower of the Western World, and of his two years' thorough experience with a very large number of 
 these machines. Since Mr. Dalrymple's letter was written, he has given hLs order for THIRTY-FIVE MORE 
 Walter A. Wood Self-Binding Harvesters, his entire success with the forty-one purchased in 1876 and 1877 
 having encouraged him to largely increase his acreage of grain for the coming harvest. The simple fact that 
 Mr. Dalrymple, after his long and thorough experience, relies exclusively on the Walter A. Wood Self-Binding 
 Harvester for safely gathering his immense crop of over twelve thousand acres in the harvest of 1878, speaks a 
 grander testimonial to their excellence and their reliability than any encomium we can utter, or than has ever 
 before been awarded to any make or style of harvesting machinery. The fact, also, that we are manufacturing 
 more than double the number produced last season speaks emphatically of the confidence which we, as manu- 
 facturers of long experience, repose in the intrinsic merit of these machines and their enduring hold upon 
 public favor. 
 
 That we shall continue to build machines which will command the approval and patronage of discerning 
 farmers is, we think, assured by our past record and our long standing and success as manufacturers. 
 
 Walter A. Wood Mowing and Reaping Machine Company. 
 
 :r t\m »■*-
 
 2 " HAS NO EQUAL." 
 
 F o i^ TT ir - o ]ve: 
 
 Walter A. Wood Self-Binding Harvesters cut 7,500 Acres of 
 
 Heavy Grain in the Harvest of 1877 on the largest 
 
 Grain Farm in the Western World. 
 
 St. Paul, Minn., August 20, 1877. 
 Walter A. Wood, President, Hoosich Falls, »yV. Y. : 
 
 Dear Sir — Justice requires that the wheat-growers of 
 the West should express to you the gratitude I have no doubt they 
 share with me, for the enterprise and perseverance you have mani- 
 fested in bringing out a Self- Binding Harvesting Machine that may 
 be depended on. I used ten of your Binders last season, harvesting 
 1,280 acres with them, and this year / bought thirty-one more, 
 and have, with the forty -one Binders, harvested about 7,500 acres 
 of good heavy grain, and have done it in good season, so that none 
 has been over-ripe or wasted. I have never seen so excellent bind- 
 ing or so c lean work as these Binders do ; there is literally nothing 
 lost. The grain saved over hand-binding more than pays the cost 
 of wire. 
 
 You have tahen a great burden from our shoulders, as the 
 expense and vexations attending a large harvest were so great that 
 m^any were deterred from^ grain-raising. 
 
 I suppose I have used and seen used nearly all styles of har- 
 vesting machines, including other makes of binders, and have made 
 the most careful inquiry about all leading machines. I am firmly 
 convinced that yours has no equal. The demand for them must 
 inevitably increase very rapidly in all grain sections. 
 
 Truly yours, OLIVER DALRYMPLE. 
 
 Since writing the above, Mr, Dalrymple has given his 
 order for tliirty-five more Walter A, Wood Self-Binding 
 Harvesters, as he has very largely increased his acreage of 
 grain. Seventy-six Self- Binding Harvesters all in use on 
 a body of land controlled by one man will afford a sight 
 never before witnessed in tJie annals of grain-raising, most 
 forcibly illnstj^ating the important part tvliich the Walter 
 A, Wood Self- Binding Harvester is taking in securing the 
 grain crops of tJie world.
 
 WOOD'S PREMIUM HAB VESTING MACHINES. 
 
 The Walter A. Wood Self-Binding Harvester. 
 
 To this Company exclusively belongs tlie proud distinction of having been the first to develop and 
 introduce a practical and reliable Self-Binder. Having first devoted to this object several years of practical 
 experimenting, we commenced manufacturing them for sale in 1874. building a sufficient number in 1874 and 
 1875 to give them a thorough test at the hands of leading grain-growers, and laying the foundation for largely 
 increased sales. 
 
 In 1876, we manufactured and sold over 1,000 Binders ; in 1877, nearly 2,500, and shall build at least 5,000 
 to meet the demand in 1878. In the short space of four years, our Self-Binding Harvester enterprise has grown 
 from infancy to maturity, surmounting the difficulties necessarily incidental to the introduction of a new 
 machine — particularly one calculated to bring about so great a change in the harvesting of grain — and so 
 revolutionizing the methods of harvesting and binding, in the heavier grain-growing sections, that our only 
 difficulty as yet has been to supply the demand, as our agents and customers will readily testify. 
 
 The experience of the pa.st harvest, with its abundant crops, has demonstrated the capacity and economy of 
 our Self-Binding Harvester in a most remarkable degree. Purchasers have found that it does most excellent, 
 rapid and cheap work. The cutting is neat, the binding is excellently done — much better than when done by 
 hand ; the field is left perfectly clean, and the bundles being large and compact, the shocking and stacking are 
 done rapidly and well, and in case of wet weather they (ky out better, as moisture is not retained by the band.
 
 WOOD'S PREMIUM HARVESTING MACHINES. 
 
 It is unnecessary to enlarge upon the advantages of the Self-Binder. When one man, with a team of two 
 or three horses, can cut and bind twelve to eighteen acres per day, and do it better and cheaper than when done 
 by hand, the advantages are manifest. Those who have used the Wood Self-Binder are absolutely unanimous in 
 the assertion that the grain saved more than pays for the vxire. 
 
 Leading Points of Kxeellenee 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Walter A. Wood Self-Binding Hanrester. 
 
 1. Separating the Grain. The lack of this feature is not a serious objection when the grain is in 
 fine condition for binding ; but in lodged, crinkled and tangled grain it is indispensable. The separation 
 of the bound from the unbound grain, as also the delivery of the bundle, by our Self-Binder is perfection 
 itself. There are no scatterings, no interlacing and hanging together of ^the bundles, and no difficulty in shock- 
 ing and stacking. 
 
 2. Compressing the Bundle. The compressing of the bundle is accomplished by the pressure 
 
 of the iron arms, iasfcead of by the wire itself, a feature uot practically Carried out by any 
 
 other Machine. By means of it the grain is packed closely together, and a compact, well-shaped bundle 
 is formed. 
 
 3. Tight Binding. The compressing being done by the iron arms, which are regulated by a heavy 
 rubber spring for binding large or small bundles, there is no liability to break the bands, and consequently the 
 bundles are always well and tightly bOUnd. Others endeavor to compress the bundle by means 
 of the wire, which, in consequence, is liable to break ; the result is that the operator, in order to avoid 
 breakage, must loosen the tension, causing poor and loose binding ; or he must bind small bundles, and thereby 
 consume a largely increased amount of wire. 
 
 4. Size of Bundles. — The driver, from his seat, can regulate the size of the bundles, making them 
 large or small, at will ; and, owing to the compressing being done by the arms, it excels all other attempts 
 at mechanical binding in its capacity for making large bundles, and binding them tightly, thus saving labor.in 
 shocking and stacking, besides effecting an important saving in the amount of wire used. Observe that a bundle 
 two feet in circumference contains more than four times aS mUCh grain as one one foot in circumference. 
 
 5. Amount of Wire Consumed. — As itis not practicable with other Binders to make as tight 
 or as large bundles, a considerably greater amount of wire is consumed by them. Every farmer will reacfily 
 comprehend the important saving of wire in making good-sized and tightly-bound bundles over the amount used 
 in making small and loosely-bound bundles. It may safely be assumed that this feature alone makes our Self-Binder 
 well worth at least one hundred dollars more than any other, in a few years' use, even if it were not superior in
 
 WOOD'S PREMIUM HARVESTING MACHINES. 
 
 every other respect. Again, some binders have been devised to feed the wire from tWO spools instead of 
 one, each band being in two pieces, and thereby requiring tWO twistS, or knots, for every band, 
 a decided disadvantage, as one twist is better than two, and takes leSS Wire J they also leave the ends 
 of the twists in such shape as to tear the Clothlng and flesh of those who have occasion to handle 
 the bundles. The Wood Binder makes but one twist, or knot, and leaves the ends of the wire in such shape that 
 they cannot do any injury. 
 
 The Binder will make a bundle at every revolution — once in about every ten feet — if allowed to work 
 automatically ; but by simply pressing a treadle under his foot the driver can arrest its motion until a sheaf of the 
 desired size is gathered. 
 
 The driver, without leaving his seat, and while the machine is in motion, can, by means of a lever, instantly 
 move the Binder forward or back, so as always to have the band in the center of the bundle, no matter what 
 the length of the grain. i 
 
 It is remarkably free from complication, and simple in its operation. As the Wood Binder uses but 
 one spool and makes but one twist, the mechanism for holding the end of the wire and forming the twist 
 is simplicity itself. The machinery in the Binder moves very slowly, so that there is but little friction, hence, 
 little liability to wear or breakage. 
 
 Owing to the novelty of the Self-Binder, and the precision with which it binds and delivers the bundles, 
 farmers are liable to lose sight of the fact that the success of the Binder is attributable, in a very marked degree, 
 
 to the superiority of our Harvester over every other in its cutting and elevating quali- 
 ties. The arrangement of the cutting apparatus admits of running it considerably closer to the ground than 
 
 wich other harvesters— an important advantage in lodged, tangled or short grain. 
 An iron cutter-bar is used, the guards being of malleable iron, and fitted with steel plates, 
 
 of the same temper as the sections. The guards are open under the back of the knife, and are firmly bolted 
 to the cutter-bar. 
 
 The elevating of the grain is accomplished by a series of separate belts, running upon a plain surface. 
 
 In this respect it is more simple than any other harvester, has much greater elevat- 
 ing capacity, can be run more slowly, and, abDve all, will not shell grain. 
 
 A tilting-lever, convenient to the driver, enables him, while the machine is in motion, to 
 instantly raise or lower the entire cutter -bar and reel for long or short, down or tangled grain. The platform and 
 cutters can also be raised or lowered perpendicularly, thus adapting them to the average height of crop to be cut 
 in any particular field.
 
 6 
 
 USEFUL INFORMATION 
 
 OF 
 
 THE WALTER A. WOOD SELF-BINDING HARVESTER. 
 
 The durability of a machine depends on the number of its 
 parts, their motions and relation to each other, the material 
 used, the workmanship, and, to a great extent, the intelligent 
 care of the operator. 
 
 There is no other machine made which performs the same 
 amount of work, doing it so well, which contains as few parts 
 as the Walter A. Wood Self-Binding Harvester. It possesses 
 every feature calculated to add to its efficiency, but avoids all 
 features which do not have a practical use. The Binder por- 
 tion, though admirably performing a difficult class of work, is 
 nevertheless very simple and readily comprehended. The 
 materials throughout the entire machine are of the best qual- 
 ity, and so proportioned as to insure great strength ; and 
 careful workmanship is applied without stint, with a view to 
 the easy and correct working of the wearing parts and to the 
 greatest possible durability. 
 
 Our emphatic assurances as to the strength and lasting 
 qualities of this remarkable machine are powerfully corrob- 
 orated by the unanimous verdict of the farmers themselves, as 
 expressed in letters which we print in this circular, and which 
 we are constantly receiving from purchasers. 
 
 Not Liable to get out of Order 
 ^A/'ith Proper Usage. 
 
 So evident and so great are the advantages derived from 
 the use of a machine which, with the aid of a single operator, 
 harvests the grain ready for the shock in better condition than 
 can otherwise be accomplished, that the public are interested 
 in learning if these advantages are attained at the expense of 
 simplicity and reliability. Regarding this point, we invite 
 careful examination of the machine itself, and, also, an atten- 
 tive perusal of the views of those who have used it, knowing, 
 IS we do, by experience, that its simplicity and the correctness 
 of its mechanical principles bespeak universal praise. 
 
 Although any man who can run a Reel-Kake Reaper success- 
 fully can run the Walter A. Wood Self-Binding Harvester, 
 without trouble or annoyance, nevertheless all machinery will 
 run better and work more satisfactorily with reasonable intel- 
 ligence and care in handling, and the better care you take of 
 your machine, the more it will do for you. 
 
 It is to the mutual interest of both manufacturer and far- 
 mer that the latter accord common-sense attention to the 
 printed directions for running and keeping the machine in order, 
 and this is necessary to the proper efficiency of any machine. 
 The farmer soon learns to take a deep interest in this invalu- 
 able labor-saving machine, and it soon wins his favor and 
 invites his intelligent care. An infallible guide is found in 
 our printed directions, furnished with every machine sold. 
 
 WARRANTY. 
 
 The Walter A. Wood Self-Binding Harvester ia 
 WARRANTED to be well made, of good materials, and, with 
 proper management, capable of cutting and binding in a work- 
 manlike manner, doing the binding at least as well as is usually 
 done by hand. The purchaser shall be allowed one day's use 
 to give the machine a fair trial, and if it should not work 
 well, immediate notice must be given to the agent from whom 
 it was purchased, and reasonable time allowed to get to it and 
 remedy the defects, if any (the purchaser rendering necessary 
 and friendly assistance), when, if it cannot be made to do 
 good work, it shall be returned, free of charge, to the place 
 where received, and the payments of money or notes will be 
 refunded. Failure to give notice, as above, shall be deemed 
 conclusive evidence that the machine fills the warranty. 
 
 ORDER EARLY. 
 
 Although we built some 2,500 Self-Binders in 1877, that 
 number did not supply more than one-third of the demand 
 we had for them, and from the fact of our Binders proving 
 such an unqualified success last season, it is absolutely certain 
 that the demand for the coming season will be greatly increased. 
 Our facilities for the manufacture of the Binder have been 
 largely increased, notwithstanding which we cannot hope to be 
 able to fully supply the demand. 
 
 Intending purchasers should bear this in mind, and hand 
 in their orders to the nearest agent early in the season. 
 
 USE GOOD, PURE LARD OIL. 
 
 IT IS ALWAYS THE CHEAPEST. 
 
 ; Our attention is constantly being called to the great injury 
 ! done to farm machinery, by the use of cheap " machine " 
 oils, " black " or petroleum oils and other miserable lubrica- 
 tors. These (so-called cheap) preparations are almost inva- 
 i riably sticky, gummy and gritty, soon become hardened 
 I in the bearings, and, instead of fulfilling the purpose intended, 
 they cause the machine to cut and wear out quickly and to run 
 extremely hard. In the end they prove the dearest oils a 
 farmer can possibly use. 
 I Good Lard Oil can always be obtained, and farmers will 
 save money, horse-flesh and much annoyance by its use. 
 
 Ask for pure lard oil, and take no other.
 
 AND SEASONABLE SUGGESTIONS. 
 
 SUPPLIES or WIRE-ORDER IT EARLY. 
 
 Farmers now owning Wood Binders, and those who 
 purchase for the coming harvest, should order their season's 
 supply of Wire early and thus make sure not only of having 
 it on hand when needed, but save the extra expense of having 
 it sent by express. Knowing how many acres they will have 
 to cut, farmers — particularly those who purchased last season 
 — can readily determine quite closely as to the amount they 
 will need. Farmers run no risk whatever in ordering early 
 and liberally, as Wire well seasoned, if kept dry, is better than 
 that fresh from the mill. Some of the most experienced 
 wire-makers even claim that wire that has been made for a 
 considerable time is 25 per cent, better than that freshly made, 
 and that it should be manufactured at least three to six 
 months before using, and will continue to improve in quality 
 for a year. Care must be taken, however, that it is kept dry. 
 
 Wire can be obtained from any of our Agents by ordering 
 it in timely season, or from our nearest Branch Office. 
 
 THE COST OF WIRE. 
 
 The price of wire will be 11^ cents per pound, delivered on 
 cars at Cleveland, 0., or Chicago, 111. Purchasers must pay 
 freight from Cleveland or Chicago, but the freight on wire is 
 low, and will not average over half a cent to one cent per 
 pound (unless it has to be sent per express). No charge is 
 made for spools and they are not included in the weight 
 charged for. It is quite generally conceded by farmers who 
 have had experience with the Self-Binder that it saves grain 
 enough to pay for the wire, thus setting at rest any 
 objection that can possibly be raised upon the point of cost. 
 
 WIRE-BAND CUTTERS. 
 
 We are prepared to furnish a new and improved pattern of 
 Band Cutters, which retain one end of the band if de- 
 sired ; so that, if preferred, the bands can be withdrawn in 
 threshing, and kept separate from the straw. These Band- 
 Cutters are an improvement over those we made last season, are 
 stronger and more serviceable, and will hold the end of the band 
 without fail, if desired. They can be purchased at any of our 
 Branch Offices or of our agents. 
 
 THE WALTER A, WOOD SELF-BINDING HARVESTER 
 
 may be had on application by letter, when we will give the 
 address of our agent nearest the residence of the applicant. 
 Should there be no local agent near, a machine will be shipped 
 direct from our nearest distributing point upon receipt of an 
 advance of money sufficient to cover freight and expense. All 
 letters of inquiry will be answered with full information, and 
 we invite the correspondence of farmers, whether it may re- 
 late to prospective purchases or otherwise. 
 
 CHEAPNESS OF REPAIRING. 
 
 In the selection of a Harvesting Machine of any style, 
 cheapness of repairing is a very important matter for consider- 
 ation, and one to which far too little attention is generally 
 paid. In deciding what machine to buy, many farmers allow 
 themselves to be governed by the cost price at the time of 
 , purchase, without examining into simplicity or thoroughness 
 of construction, or stopping to consider the probable future 
 cost of keeping the machine in repair and the certainty of 
 being able to readily obtain duplicate parts, should the neces- 
 sity arise. 
 
 A single " break-down " will oftentimes cost, in loss of time 
 and damage to crops — not to mention the cost of the repairs — 
 more than the difference in price between the best and an 
 inferior machine. 
 
 The Wood Machines are constructed with a special view to 
 durability, reliability and economy in use. They are so simple 
 in construction as to be readily understood and kept in order ; 
 and, as they have fewer pieces and wearing parts than 
 any other make of machines, they are more durable and less 
 liable to "break-downs." 
 
 The prices for Extra Parts for all our different machines are 
 made very unusually low. 
 
 DUPLICATE PARTS. 
 
 We have always kept up a perfect system of 
 duplication, and any person who has ever purchased a 
 machine made at our establishment can, at all times, procure 
 from us or our agents any extra parts that may be required, 
 and at extremely reasonable prices. Duplicate parts for all 
 our different styles of machines are kept constantly on hand 
 at our works, at our branch offices and with our agents. 
 
 HINTS. 
 
 Within the past few years, the demand for Scythes, Sickles 
 and Sections has increased so rapidly tliat a number of fac- 
 tories have been started for the sole purpose of supplying 
 these articles for the different machines in the market. Hav- 
 ing no interest in maintaining the reputation of any make of 
 Harvesting Machines, and looking for profit to these goodg 
 alone, these manufacturers have not been and cannot be 
 expected to be, as partioular in the quality of their goods as 
 the manufacturer who has the reputation of his machine 
 directly affected by the quality of the cutting apparatus 
 furnished. 
 
 We manufacture our Sections from the very best quality of 
 English steel, and our Scytlie and Sickle-Backs from the best 
 cold-rolled Norway iron, and guarantee their quality. All 
 genuine "Wood" Sections have the impress "Wood" upon 
 the steel. No machine can do good work with an inferior or 
 dull knife. i^se only the " Wood" Sections, and keep them 
 sharp. 
 
 All Genuine Wood Sections are stamped 
 in the Steel with our Trade Mark, thus :
 
 8 THE GOLDEN GRAIN. 
 
 THE WALTER A, WOOD SELF-B NO U HARVESTEfiS ON THE GREAT WHEAT FARMS 
 
 OIF THE n5roie/Ti3:"WEST. 
 
 « ♦ < 
 
 Perhaps the very strongest proof of the excellence of the Wood Self-Binding Harvesters is the experience with them 
 in the large grain fields, where their operation and management must necessarily be entrusted to hired men, who often have 
 had no experience even with ordinary Reapers, and none at all with Binders ; yet it is on such farms that the advantages 
 of the Self-Binder are most manifest. It enables the grain-grower not only to do his harvesting at a fractional part of the 
 cost under the old method, but the work is done in a vastly superior manner, as the binding is all well done, no bundles 
 coming loose, even when roughly handled. As the bundles are large and compact, the cost of shocking, stacking and thresh- 
 ing the wire-bound is far less than with hand-bound grain, when the bundles are often small, many come apart, and there are 
 scatterings at every stage of the work, not only causing waste of grain, but a great waste of time. 
 
 Again, the grain can be cut in time. There is no occasion for allowing it to become over-ripe, when one man, with 
 two or three horses, can cut and bind twelve to eighteen acres per day, and do it in the most excellent manner. 
 
 We briefly mention a few of the large farmers who use the Wood Self-Binders : 
 
 Oliver Dalrymple, of St. Paul, controls some 75,000 acres of land in the Valley of the Red River of the North, 
 in Dakota Territory. In 1876, he had 1,280 acres in grain, and used ten Wood Self-Binders to harvest it. In 1877, he 
 had 7,500 acres in grain, and used forty-one Binders. How well he did the work, we leave for himself to say. Next 
 year, he will have 12,000 acres of grain. The great farm or farms — or more correctly speaking, body of land — which Mr. 
 Dalrymple controls is nowhere excelled in fertility. The valley in which this land is located will average about fifty miles 
 in width, and the fertile part is some three hundred miles long, extending a considerable distance into British America. 
 This valley will, in a short time, if we may judge from the great rush of immigrants during the last two or three year?, 
 and the amount of land being purchased and broken up by enterprising capitalists, soon become one vast wheat field. Prep- 
 arations for breaking new land next year are being made on a scale never before known in this country, one company 
 alone asserting that they will break up 20,000 acres in 1878, which will be ready for seeding in the Spring of 1879. Mr, 
 Dalrymple has, with the aid of the Self-Binder (without which it would be almost impossible to raise so vast an amount of 
 wheat at a profit), demonstrated that such large operations can be very successful, and he deserves great credit for his 
 sagacity and enterprise. 
 
 It is not only the Red River Valley that is fertile and suitable to raising grain. The land on either side, for great 
 distances, is equally good, or very excellent land. 
 
 The Sunny Side Farm, near Sheldon, in O'Brien County, Iowa. 
 
 This is a very fine farm, with some 3,500 acres in grain, under the management of Gen. J. W. Bishop, of St. Paul. 
 No land can be better. Most of the land on the line of the St. Paul & Sioux City Railroad is equally good. Settlers are 
 rushing in with great rapidity, and no section in the West will excel it when it becomes settled. Gen. Bishop commenced 
 sowing wheat in 1875, when he used six Wood Self-Binders. He increased to sixteen, in 1877, and as to how he likes them 
 we refer to the accompanying letter from him. He has tested them thoroughly, and that, too, before they had attained 
 their present perfection. Gen. Bishop is also General Manager of the St. Paul & Sioux City Railroad, and no man ranks 
 higher in the community than he. 
 
 Gen. Canfield's Farm at Lake Park. 
 
 About fifty miles east of Fargo, at Lake Park, on the Northern Pacific Railroad, is Gen. Canfield's farm of from 4,000 
 to 5,000 acres. This land is gently rolling, but in no way inferior to the Red River Valley. It is well watered, and 
 adapted to grain or stock raising. About 1,200 acres are under plow, which were sown to wheat in 1876, when he bought 
 five Wood Self-Binders. In 1877, he bought two more, which fact amply attests his good opinion of them.
 
 THE GREAT WHEAT- GROWERS USB THE WOOD SELF-BINDER. 
 
 9 
 
 Clark 6l Jefierson's Farm, near ITew Richmond, St. Croiz Co., IXTis. 
 
 This farm contains about 1,000 acres of most excellent land, and is all being placed under cultivation. They bought two 
 Wood Self-Binders in 1875, and in 1877 three; showing the views of these two enterprising and successful men regard- 
 ing the Wood Machine. 
 
 Taopi Mill Company's Farm, at Taopi, XHower Co., nXinn. 
 
 This is a farm of about 4,000 acres. The land is of .the best quality and 3,000 acres were in grain in 1877. They had 
 a full supply of the old styles of harvesting machinery, but nevertheless gave an order for eight Wood Self-Binders, but so 
 late in the season that they could get but four. They then bought six of another make of binders. To show what they 
 thought of the two makes it is only necessary to state that later in the season, when they could get three more Wood's Self- 
 Binders, they took them and laid aside their old style machines entirely, and have at this writing engaged all their new 
 harvesting machines for 1878 of the Wood make. 
 
 Tohn Frank has a fine farm near the above-named Taopi farm. He had two Wood Self-Binders and raised 600 to 
 700 acres of grain in 1877. Has three of another make of hand-binding harvesters, but got so disgusted with them that he 
 laid them aside and did nearly all of his harvesting the past season with two Wood Self-Binders. 
 
 The Farm of Benry BK. IXTilliams, 
 
 near that of Dalrymple, had over 1,000 acres in grain, and used six of Wood's Self-Binders in 1877. His land is of the 
 same excellent character as that of the Dalrymple farm. 
 
 The Farm of IMEr. Badwin 
 
 is not far from the Dalrymple farm. He used three or four Wood's Self-Binders. He has a large amount of land under 
 cultivation, and is opening still more. 
 
 The above is surely sufficient to show what the large farmers, who are most gravely interested, think of the Wood 
 Self-Binders. It is such parties who are certain to make the most careful inquiry and examination before purchasing. 
 
 "AMONG THE REAPERS." 
 
 Special Staff Correspondence of the St. Paul and Minneapolis 
 Pioneer-Press, Aug. 31, 1877. 
 
 EXTRACTS. 
 
 On our return, the Superintendent took us to a section [of 
 the "Cass Farm"] where the wonderful Harvesters were at 
 work. Sixteen of these machines were industriously em- 
 ployed, and certainly it was a remarkable sight. The great 
 procession moved by in a steady, almost noiseless manner, 
 truly a "march of progress." Each was drawn by three 
 mules or horses, and they proceeded, one behind the other in 
 a diagonal line, cutting a swath one hundred feet wide into 
 the sea of wheat. They were the famous Harvesters of Wal- 
 ter A. Wood, provided with the ingenious Locke Self-Binder 
 It was amusing to see the automatic arm of the Binder throw 
 out the sheaves in a spiteful manner, as if exclaiming, " Get 
 out of here ! " Eighteen of these bundles were thrown out 
 each minute, the driver graduating their size at will, and the 
 shockers, of which there were two to each machine, found 
 plenty of occupation in keeping up with the work. Occasion- 
 ally a harvester would require a new reel of wire, when it 
 would drop out of the line and the ranks would close up 
 in soldier-like order. In a moment the wire would be in 
 place, and the intelligent machine would fall in behind. On 
 inquiring of the superintendent of the farm, a man who has 
 had long experience in the use of Harvesters, I was informed 
 that they could get no other machine that approached the 
 " Wood ■' in all details. One great point of the efficiency was 
 promptness, as harvest-time was a critical period in farm 
 
 work. If the machine lacked in any particular, its weak 
 point was sure to be discovered just when it was most needed. 
 In so extensive a work as cutting 4,000 acres of wheat, which 
 must be done in just such a time, every implement used must 
 be reliable, for if even one is laid up the loss will be great. 
 
 From my observation of the Wood Harvester, I can imagine 
 nothing more perfect. The drivers all say that they are very 
 easily managed. The horses swing them along without ap- 
 parent exertion. It cuts low down in the grain, thus securing 
 every stalk, and it does its work so thoroughly that the Ruths 
 and blackbirds find their occupation as gleaners entirely gone. 
 The Binder is also a a great institution, saving the labor of six 
 men, and at the same time doing the work much better. 1 
 learned from Mr. Johnson, of the firm of Fuller, Johnson & 
 Co., Madison, Wis., the general agents of the Harvester, that 
 they could scarcely fill their orders this year, and certainly it 
 is not to be wondered at when such educated farmers as those 
 operating these farms select them after having tested all other 
 kinds. 
 
 On another immense farm, located thirty miles down the 
 Red River, north of Fargo, there are twenty-five of the Wood 
 Hjtrvesters and Binders, of which 1 have spoken, and then 
 come eleven of the well known Buffixlo Pitts Steam Threshers, 
 very reliable and rapid working machines. These are each 
 supplied with a portable engine, of approved make. Seventy- 
 five strong farm wagons, and a great number of small imple- 
 ments, make up a list of tools that would do the work for en- 
 tire counties in the " down east" States.
 
 10 WOOD'S PBEMIUM HARVESTING MACHINES. 
 
 TESTIMONY FKOM PURCHASERS 
 
 OF 
 
 Walter A. Wood's Self-Binding Harvester. 
 
 We print the following testimony from farmers who have used the Wood Self-Binding Harvester, in order 
 that intending purchasers may read the verdict rendered by their brother farmers who have had practical 
 
 field experience with these machines, and who, therefore, know whereof they speak. It will 
 
 be noticed that we give the post office address in each case, and we ^ ould suggest to intending purchasers that 
 they write to any of the parties named for more detailed information (which, we feel sure, will cheerfully be 
 given), or that, if opportunity offers, they consult with them in person. 
 
 A large additional number of letters will be furnished, if desired. Those given are selected with reference 
 to localities rather than to the contents, and our many friends who have so freely written in praise of the Wood 
 Self-Binder will plea.se accept our thanks for same and pardon their omission, from want of space, in this circular. 
 
 In reading the following letters from purchasers of the Wood Self- Binding Harvester, note how uniformly 
 they speak 
 
 OF ITS GRAIN, TIME AND LABOR-SAVING QUALITIES. 
 
 Mote what is said ahout ^' cost of wire," " amount of repairs," number 
 of acres harvested per day," "ease of draft" and "facility of manage- 
 ment," and, above all, observe the spirit of general and uniform satisfac- 
 tion pervading all these letters. 
 
 It will be noticed that wherever, in the following letters, reference is made to another machine for similar work, 
 we have left the name of such machine blank. We do this as a matter of courtesy to competitors, and, also, 
 from the fact that we do not seek to make capital for our machines out of the misfortunes of others. 
 
 SIXTEEN 
 
 WALTER A. WOOD SELF-BINDING HARVESTERS Cut and Bind 2,600 
 Acres in the Harvest of 1877, on the Sunnyside 
 
 Farms, Minnesota. 
 
 From J. W. Bishop, St. Paul, Minn., Sept. I, \^77.— In reply to your letter of 
 inquiry, I take pleasure in saying that the Wood Harvesters with Self- Binders attached 
 purchased from you have done our ivorh efficiently and in every way to our satisfaction. 
 We have this season used Sixteen of them on our Sunnyside Farms, cutting av^d binding 
 ahout 2,600 acres with them, ail in good time and without accident or failure. 
 It is, by our experience, quite impossible in this country to successfully worh a large grain 
 farm without reliable machinei'y for cutting and binding. We have found yours to fully 
 answer the purpose in both hinds of worh, and I am unable to suggest any improvement 
 on your machines of 1877 . Mow that it has been demonstrated that the growing of grain 
 in large tracts can be successfully and profitably conducted as a business, I thinh you 
 should provide for a very large increase in the demand for your machinery in the near 
 future.
 
 LETTERS FROM PURCHASERS. 
 
 11 
 
 SIX 
 WALTER A. WOOD SELF-BINDING HARVESTERS harvest I, GOO Acres on 
 the large farm of the Messrs. H. & IVI. H. Williams, 
 at Fargo, Dakota Territory. 
 
 August 22, 1877. — We have finished cutting our 1,000 acre field, with six of your Wood Harvesters and 
 Binders. We are abundantly satisfied with the working of the machines in every particular. They have done 
 their work well. That six men, with your machines, should harvest 1,000 acres of wheat (cut and bind), is 
 indeed, one of the marvels of this nineteenth century. 
 
 Prominent Advantages over other Binders. 
 
 Prom John H. Smith, Elkhart, Ind., Aug. 28, 
 1877. — I congratulate you on manufacturing a machine which 
 is King of the Harvest. I have this season cut and bound 
 my crop with one of your 54 ft. Self-Binding Harvesters, doing 
 the work in splendid shape for the condition of the grain. 
 The tornado of July 2(1 had tangled my wheat very badly. 
 No other Machine could have equaled yours in elevating 
 and saving it. It elevates wet, dry, tangled and straight 
 grain all the same. Allow me to mention a few advantages of 
 the Self-Binder: 1st. The separation of the bound bundle 
 from the unbound grain following it. 2d. The greater 
 tightness of the band than that made by any other Binder. 
 3d. The binding of the sheaves of any required size, with 
 four inches less wire for a sheaf than the ***** or * * * * 
 machines, as it twists the band in but one place and does not 
 drop an extra piece of four inches of twisted wire for each sheaf 
 bound. 4th. It does not draw the bundle tight by means 
 of the wire, but by means of the pressure of the arms, there 
 being no strain on the wire until after the twist is completed. 
 5th. The great convenience of adjusting the bands to the 
 center of the sheaves in any length of grain by means of a 
 simple lever. I might mention many other most important 
 advantages, did space permit. My machine does not seem to 
 run heavier than a dropper, even on wet, soft ground. I cut 
 15 acres in one day. My wire cost me about 20 cents per acre. 
 The shocking of the wire-bound bundles is less labor than the 
 straw-bound, as the bundles are firm, and being larger, require 
 less shocks. In threshing, I cut the bands and fed them into 
 the thresher with the straw without the slightest bad effect. 
 I will give $100 a head for all the cattle that die from eating 
 the wire. My neighbor, Mr. Smiley, and others, fed the wire- 
 bound straw to their stock last year, and have no fears on 
 account of it. 
 
 In buying one of your Self-Binding Harvesters, a farmer 
 bids good bye to much of his past annoyance, and starts anew. 
 Counting usual harvesting expenses, a machine will pay for 
 itself clean in cutting 200 acres, to say nothing of the grain 
 saved by clean work. 
 
 From J. K. Smith, Plattville, 111., July, 1877 — 
 
 The Walter A. Wood's Harvester and Locke's Self-Binder that 
 I purchased of your agents (Haigh Bros., Yorkville, 111.,) last 
 year, is a success in every respect. My son Thomas cut and 
 bound sixty-five acres in all (rye, timothy, and oats), forty. five 
 acres of which were cut and bound in three days and a half, 
 and it was all cheaply and satisfactorily done. I have 
 threshed all my grain, cut and bound by this machine, and 
 find no inconvenience whatever. The wire does not break up 
 in short pieces aa some suppose, but passes through the ma- 
 chine in one piece. I can cheerfully recommend them, and 
 would say buy W. A. Wood's Harvester with Self-Binder. 
 
 Prom Edwin Blackman, Plattville, 111., July, 
 1877. — I have threshed all Mr. Smith's and Mr. Tallmadge's 
 grain, bound by Self-Binder, and found no difficulty in thresh- 
 ing it. All the grain bound by Self-Binder came to the ma- 
 chine in better condition than that bound by hand. 
 
 Fifteen Years' Experience with the Wood 
 Machines. 
 
 Prom R. D. May, Edwardsburg, Mich., July 
 23, 1877. — Having used your Harvesting Machines for fif- 
 teen years, I think myself qualified to speak of their merits. 
 1 had the first Self- Rake of your make in this county, and when 
 it was worn out purchased another, and, after using it three 
 years, laid it aside for your Harvester and Binder. I always 
 claimed you made the best Self-Rake Reaper in the market, and 
 now claim the same for the Harvester and Binder. It is all you 
 claim for it, doing its work well — better than can be done by 
 hand. I have stacked wheat for nearly twenty years, but never 
 stacked any that was as well bound as mine was this year, only 
 three bundles coming unbound in stacking sixty-five acres, and 
 those on account of faults in the wire. The draft is not much 
 greater, if any, than of a Self- Rake, and for ease of manage- 
 ment I prefer the Binder to the Raker. The farmers' wives of 
 this country owe a debt of gratitude to Locke and yourselves 
 for inventing and manufacturing a machine that saves them 
 many hours and days of hard work. My "better half says 
 it does not seem as though we had any harvest this year. I 
 cut sixteen acres in one day, and the Binder did not "bush" 
 nor complain of the " grub"' nor ef fast driving. Wishing you 
 success, I remain the friend of the Walter A. Wood Self-Rake 
 Reaper and Harvester and Binder. 
 
 Prom Chas. E. Ells, Carmel, Eaton Co., Mich., 
 Aug. 16, 1877. — I purchased this season of James Gallery, 
 Agent at Eaton Rapids, one of your Harvesters and Self-Bind- 
 ers, and having cut sixty acres of wheat, oats and barley, have 
 thoroughly tried it in all kinds of grain. It has cost me about 
 twenty-seven cents per acre for wire. I have never done 
 my harvesting so nicely and so easily as this 
 season, three men doing all the harvest of sixty acres, besides 
 thirty acres of haying, in a short space of time. No paying 
 $2.00 and $2.50 per day for help, and then perhaps not having 
 them when wanted. The Harvester is always ready, and with 
 one man to set up, a large harvest can be got through with 
 easily and cheaply. Farmers, if you contemplate buying a 
 harvester and binder, nothing will give the satisfaction that 
 this one will, as the * * * * and * * * Binders have been 
 tried in this vicinity and failed. 
 
 Prom James E. Gould, Dowagiac, Mich., Aug. 
 10, 1877. — I thought I must write a few lines to let you 
 know how my Harvester and Binder worked this, my second 
 season. They worked well ; I cut 100 acres of wheat in seven 
 days, and I had from ten to twenty men to see it work every 
 day I was cutting. They all pronounced the Binder perfect. 
 There will be a chance to sell machines here next season. 
 
 Prom John Engle, E. R. Somers, George 
 Thorpe, Jr., and Wm. Thorpe, Minonk, 111., Aug. 
 2, 1977. — This is to certify that we bought of your agent, H. 
 A. Christians, a Self-Binder, and have used it in cutting over 
 one hundred acres of grain without paying one cent for re- 
 pairs, and without having any trouble, and it is still working 
 well. We recommend it to all in want of a Binder.
 
 12 
 
 LETTERS PROM PURCHASERS. 
 
 Any Machine made by Walter A. Wood Worthy 
 the Confidence of Farmers. 
 
 Prom Oscar Cline, Sherwood, Mich., Sept. 1, 
 1877. — I bought of A. R. Barrett & Bro., the agents at Union 
 City, one of your Harvesters and Self-Binders, and have cut 
 and bound with it 80 acres of wheat and 13 acres of oats, using 
 only two horses on the machine. I do not think the draft ex- 
 ceeds that of a Self-Rake Reaper cutting the same width of 
 swath. My entire expense in harvesting will not exceed $50. 
 I am satisfied the Harvester and Binder will do the work bet- 
 ter and cleaner than is usually done by hand. I prefer wire- 
 bound bundles to those bound with straw, as they do not come 
 apart in handling. I have threshed my wheat and find the 
 wire gives no trouble ; in fact I would not ask for better bands. 
 I also bought of the same parties one of Wood's Iron Frame 
 Mowers, which, I am happy to say, fills the bill in every par- 
 ticular. I used one of your Chain-Rake Reapers and Mowers 
 coirbined for nine years, and, from my experience, can recom- 
 mend any machine made by Walter A. Wood as being worthy 
 the confidence of farmers. 
 
 Prom Mrs. S. W. Brown, Littleton, Col., Aug. 
 21, 1877. — I wish to add my testimonial to that of my hus- 
 band in praise of the Walter A. Wood's Harvester and Self- 
 Binder. I think that farmers' wives can congratulate Mr. 
 Locke for his invention, as it does away with so much work in 
 the house during harvest, which this year has passed away 
 without my hardly knowing it ; but previous to our purchas- 
 ing the Wood Harvester and Self-Binder I was reminded of it 
 every day and all day long, and I can hardly " speak the joy 
 I feel " now that my household labors are so greatly lessened 
 by this most justly named labor-saving invention. 
 
 Saves Labor to the Tune of $8 per Day. 
 
 Prom J. Preston, South Dixon, 111., Aug. 16, 
 1877. — In regard to the working of the Wood Harvester and 
 Binder which I bought of you, I would say that it gives 
 most perfect satisfaction. It does its work perfectly, 
 and the draft is as easy as that of an ordinary Harvester, 
 being handled with ease by two horses. The manage- 
 ment is as easy as that of any reaper. We are certain that it 
 will work where any reaper will in any kind of grain. It is 
 as durable as any machine in the market, and in construction 
 is without a fault. The wire cost us between thirty and forty 
 cents per acre, and all who saw the work done by it were of 
 the opinion that the saving of gi'ain and board of help more 
 than paid for the wire. It cost sixty cents per acre, including 
 team, driver, wire, etc. The condition of the grain to shock 
 and stack was very much better than that of ordinary 
 hand-bound grain. It will save over ordinary reapers at 
 the present price of labor, eight dollars per day ; and the 
 saving of grain and board of men more than pay for the 
 wire. I hardly see how it can be improved, and am quite 
 sure no farmer can aiford to raise any considerable amount 
 of grain and do without it. 
 
 Works Equally Well in Heavy or Light Grain. 
 
 Prom Leander Millard, Ionia, Mich,, Sept. 24, 
 1877- — I purchased one of your Harvesters and Self-Binders 
 the past harvest, and wish to say that it seems perfect in all 
 its parts and in its working. With one span of horses I cut 
 72 acres of wheat in six days, the work being better and 
 cleaner than I ever saw before. Most of the crop was 
 very heavy. The machine worked with equal satisfaction 
 to me whether the grain was heavy or light. 
 
 Prom Lucas Bros., Piqua, O,, Jan. 1, 1878. — After 
 thorough experience with your Harvester and Self-Binder, on 
 our farm, the last harvest, we pronounce it a complete success, 
 and all who saw it work declare it the " Boss machine." It 
 cannot be beat for neat, clean work. The saving of time and 
 grain is immense. The Self-Binder makes us quite independ- 
 ent of extra hands in harvest, and it is a genuine comfort to 
 have your grain all in shock as fast as cut. 
 
 Perfectly Satisfied. Saves Labor, Time 
 and Grain. 
 Prom John Clark, Hunter's Creek, Lapeer Co., 
 Mich., Aug. 16, 1877. — Having purchased one of your 
 Harvesters with Self-Binder last harvest, I will say that I am 
 perfectly satisfied with it, and do not see how it could 
 be improved. When I started the Binder the first day at 9 
 o'clock, we had cut but once around a fourteen-acre field, and 
 we finished the field the same day, besides stopping to exhibit 
 it to about two hundred visitors. I also CUt in seven 
 hours thirteen acres of wheat, yielding thirty 
 bushels per acre. I started my Russell Reaper (which I 
 considered a good one) in the field with the Binder, and I dis- 
 covered that the Binder did not waste one-flfth as 
 much grain as the Russell, and the Binder did i-ts work 
 much the best. I harvested this year with the Binder 
 about one hundred and twenty acres of grain, and I did my 
 harvesting in less time and cheaper than I have ever done it 
 before. My men handled the machine-bound grain and stacked 
 it with more ease and in better shape than the hand-bound. 
 If I should succeed this Fall in getting in as much wheat as I 
 expect to, I shall purchase another Binder next year. I have 
 not threshed, but I do not anticipate any trouble with wire. 
 
 Prom Stephen D. Poster, Tama City, Iowa, 
 Aug. 18. 1877. — Last season, I bought of your agents one 
 of your Harvesters and one of your new Iron Mowers. I have 
 cut each year ninety acres of grain with the Harvester, 
 averaging 10 acres per day, in good shape, with ease to the 
 team, and have not had a breakage on it yet. It runs light, 
 cuts well, elevates square, handles easy, and gives perfect sat- 
 isfaction. The Mower is just as good as the Harvester. Have 
 cut with it in badly lodged grass and through rough sloughs, 
 and it does not clog. I cut about fifty rods in heavy grass, 
 with no neckyoke on the pole, proving that there was no side- 
 draft. I think it the best Mower built. 
 
 Not a Single Band Broken. Saving Illustrated. 
 
 Prom Thomas and George Hitter, Circleville, 
 Ohio, Aug. 16, 1877. — We wish to say that our Harvester 
 and Binder gives full satisfaction in every respect. We have 
 this season cut and bound sixty-five acres. It does better 
 work than any machine we ever used. Have worn out several 
 machines of other makes, but the Wood Harvester does the 
 best work of any of them. It is very easy draft and easy of 
 management. We have averaged 12 acres of wheat per day 
 this season, in a very heavy crop. We consider that it is as 
 satisfactory in all kinds of grain as any reel-rake Reaper. 
 We had some very bad down grain, but saved it all. We worked 
 three men, and, taking into consideration board, wages and 
 everything, to cut, bind and shock, our wheat did not cost us 
 more than 60 cents per acre. Our grain is a great deal better 
 to ! stack than the hand-bound wheat. In hauling, pitching 
 and stacking we did not find a single band broken, as in 
 hand bound wheat. We consider that we saved the labor, 
 board and wages of six men over the nsnal mode of 
 gathering our grain. 
 
 Prom Jonathan Smith & Son, Hamilton, O., 
 Aug. 25, 1877. — The Wood's Self-Binder we purchased of 
 you works to perfection, and gives us perfect satisfaction. We 
 cut and bound 54 acres of barley in three and three-fourths 
 days, and can truly say we never before had as good a job of 
 cutting and binding done on our farm. No set of hands with 
 an ordinary reaper can possibly do as nice, clean work. Our 
 crain was very heavy, but we had no trouble whatever, the 
 machine cutting it all, and binding in good, tight sheaves, 
 leaving no litterings and no waste. We think we saved enough 
 grain over the ordinary reaper to pay for all the wire we used, 
 and wages of shockers besides. We recommend farmers to 
 buy the Wood Harvester and Binder. We would not take $500 
 for our machine and be without one.
 
 LETTERS FROM PURCHASERS. 
 
 13 
 
 The Best and Cheapest. 
 
 From Aaron W. Tabor, Mt. Carmel, Franklin 
 
 County, Ind., Aug. 20, 1877. — Yours received, inquir- 
 ing how I like the Wood's Self-Binder I bought of you in June 
 last. I will say I think it the Best Harvesting Machine ever 
 offered to the farmer, and far the cheapest. It saves $10 per 
 day. This estimate offsets cost of wire, board and pay of 
 hands. Wire. cost me 30 cents per acre in very heavy grain. 
 The quality of binding is far superior to hand-binding. I 
 hauled in 25 acres of barley and only had two loose sheaves 
 in the lot. In threshing there is no more trouble with wire 
 than with straw bands. I had one man cut bands and he did 
 it as fast and as easy as straw bands could be cut with a knife. 
 We threshed 600 bushels of barley in five hours with no trouble 
 from wire. The threshermen said they preferred those sheaves 
 to any other, as they are more uniform in size, bound tight and 
 •handle easier. My machine is 6 ft. 6 in. cut; draft is light 
 for three horses, we never had occasion to change teams, and 
 we cut fifteen acres per day. It does better and cleaner 
 work than any other kind of machine in standing grain, and 
 just as good as any other in down, tangled grain. Cost of 
 repaii's nothing. 
 
 From David Swaney, Magnolia, 111., Aug. 16, 
 1877. — The Walter A. Wood Harvester I purchased of you 
 is a captain, and I and my sons think it the lightest draft and 
 best working harvester in down grain we ever saw. And the 
 Self-Binder beats the world. From the time you set the 
 binder on the harvester, until we finished our harvest, we had 
 
 no delays, breakage or stoppage of any kind. My two 
 
 sons did the shocking. The binding and the shape of the 
 sheaf are better than with hand-binding. It will pay a man 
 to own a Walter A. Wood Harvester and Binder, even though 
 he may not raise more than 50 acres of small grain per year. 
 
 No Use for a Horse-Rake after a Wood 
 Self-Binder. 
 From Philip Deyo, Bradford, 111., Aug 22, 
 1877. — In answer to your inquiry about the Walter A. Wood 
 Harvester and Self-Binder, I can express my entire satisfac- 
 tion with the work done all through the harvest of 1877, hav- 
 ing cut 100 acres of wheat, oats, and timothy without loss of 
 time or any expense for repairs. The total cost per acre for 
 harvesting will average about 64 cents, including team, board, 
 wire, oil and driver. My grain dries out under the band 
 quicker than grain bound by hand. I'have no difiBculty with 
 the wire band in threshing or in feeding the straw to stock. 
 I have saved all my grain. I had the horse-rake run over 
 some of the stubble to see if any grain could be found, but 
 could not get a handful of straw in driving the rake sixty rods ; 
 in fact, I never had my harvest done so cleanly or cheaply as 
 with the Walter A. W^ood Harvester and Self-Binder. We did 
 not seem to have any harvest, we did the work so easily. I 
 believe the Binder will take the place of all other kinds of 
 harvesting machines. 
 
 The Record of Three Harvests. 
 
 From John Lightner and B. F. Stoekwell, 
 Tama City, Iowa, Aug. 14, 1877.— The Wood Har- 
 vester and Binder we bought of Parker & Lewis, in 1875, is 
 still doing its work nobly. We cut and bound, in 1875, fifty 
 acres, and last season about 100 acres, and this season 114 
 acres. Its cutting and elevating cannot be equaled by any 
 other harvester, and it is easily adapted to different kinds of 
 grain, and is of light draft. The wire costs us from 20 to 30 
 cents per acre, and we can cut and bind for $1.00 per 
 acre and make good wages. The wire bands cause no 
 trouble. Threshermen say they would rather thresh it when 
 so bound. We have all confidence in the Harvester and Self- 
 Binder. It is apparently in as good condition from wear as 
 when it came from the factory. 
 
 Wire Bands a Decided Advantage. 
 
 From A. S. Marshall, Marietta, O., Aug. 24, 
 1877. — I purchased this year from the Nye Hardware Co,, 
 your agents at this place, one of your Harvesters and Self- 
 Binders, and also a Single Sweep-Rake Reaper, and desire to 
 report to you my experience with both of them. In regard 
 to the Harvester and Self-Binder, I unhesitatingly pronounce 
 its cutting and elevating qualities complete. I 
 would prefer straight grain, but can do a good job when the 
 grain is leaning. I find the cost per acre for harvesting with 
 it to be about $1, including team, wire, shocking, etc. My 
 straw was very heavy, and the yield of wheat was 31.1 bushels 
 per acre. I think that the wire bands have a de- 
 cided advantage in the shock over straw bands, 
 as the grain will not sprout with the former. My threshermen 
 were a little afraid of the wire bands at first, but now, since 
 they have seen the result, they prefer them to Straw, as 
 all the thumping caused by straw bands going through the 
 Cylinder is avoided. In all my crop that was cut 
 with the Harvester and Binder, but one bundle 
 came loose in the entire handling, while that bound by 
 hand with straw was ccgistantly coming undone. 
 
 In threshing grain bound with straw, a great portion of the 
 band does not thresh at all. I believe that the grain lost in 
 that way will pay for the wire, and I also think that the 
 Harvester and Binder will take the wheat 
 enough cleaner off from the field over any other 
 reaper I have ever seen to pay the entire ex- 
 pense of reaping and shocking. 
 
 I cannot speak in too high terms of the Sweep-Rake Reaper, 
 and in down and tangled grain its work is simply 
 wonderful. I congratulate you upon the success of your 
 machines. 
 
 From John Whitten, Milford, Ind., Aug. 21, 
 1877. — I bought, this season, one of your large sized Har- 
 vesters and Binders, and cut 90 acres of wheat with it. One 
 day we cut twenty acres, and we can average 
 that every day if we have good weather. I never 
 had a harvest saved so perfectly. The binding was so perfect 
 that not one sheaf came unbound in shocking and stacking. 
 No loss of time in fixing, as nothing broke ; was not at any 
 expense, except for wire and shocking. My machine is in ex- 
 cellent condition, and ready for another crop. They are a 
 grand success. Could not think of cutting with anything 
 else. 
 
 From J. L. Brown, Greeley, Col., Aug. 11, 
 
 1877.— I have just finished my harvest of over a hundred 
 acres with the W^alter A. Wood Harvester and Binder. I can- 
 sider the Self-Binding Harvester the greatest suc- 
 cess of the age for saving both grain and labor. 
 
 From Wm. Grove, Leesburg, Ind., Aug. 17. 
 1877. — I have finished my second year's work with your 
 Harvester and Binder, and like it better than ever. 1 
 have cut 100 acres with it this season, and, as my boys did 
 the shocking, I have not paid out a dollar, save for wire — no 
 expense for repairs. The machine is apparently in good order 
 for next year's harvest. It does not owe me anything, if I 
 never hitch on to it again. 
 
 From S. W. Brown, Littleton, Col., August 21, 
 1877. — I have completed my harvest. My grain is nearly 
 all in the stack. I used the W. A. Wood Harvester and Binder 
 purchased of you this season, and am more than pleased with 
 it, as my grain is well bound, better than by the old fashioned 
 way. I consider the machine a success as a harvester and 
 self-binder, and, in an economical point of view alone, it is the 
 only way in which grain ought to be cut and bound. The 
 Wood Harvester and Self-Binder have my hearty endorsement.
 
 14 
 
 LETTERS PROM PURCHASERS. 
 
 Three Years' Experience Feeding Wire-Bound 
 
 Straw to Stock, with no Trouble 
 
 of any Kind. 
 
 From H. G. Van Vlack, Cottage Grove, Cass 
 County, Iowa, Aug. 11, 1877.— 1 have been running 
 one of your Self-Binders on my farm for the last three years, 
 cutting about 90 acres per year. It does good, clean work. 
 The draft is easy and light, and the machine is easy to manage 
 and control, elevating in good shape, and is well calculated to 
 operate well in all kinds of grain. It cost me this year 37 
 cents per acre for wire. I regard the Harvester and Binder a 
 perfect success. My grain was very hetvy this year. Re- 
 garding the wire hurting any stock : I have fed the straw to 
 my stock and they do well on it, with no trouble of any kind. 
 I paid §3'25 for my machine, and have already got all my 
 money back in saving of wages and grain. 
 
 Prom P. M. Hearn, Leesburg, Ind., Aug. 20, 
 2^877. — I have one of your Harvesters and Binders, 6 ft. 6 in. 
 cut, with which I have cut and bound 80 acres of wheat and 
 5 acres of oats, doing the work far better than in hand-bind- 
 ing after a Self-Rake Reaper. The sheaves are in much bet- 
 ter shape for shocking and stacking; and there is a great 
 saving of grain, as nothing is left on the ground by the Har- 
 vester. I had to contend with all kinds of grain, 
 and all kinds of weather, and I call the machine 
 
 a perfect success. Mine is in excellent condition for 
 another crop, and I think it a durable machine. The wire 
 bands are not objectionable. My wife calls the Binder a 
 success on the board question. 
 
 Prom Sol. Thomas and Uriah Thomas, Tren- 
 ton, Butler Co., O., Aug. 20, 1877.— The Wood Har- 
 vester, with Binder Attachment, which we purchased of your 
 agents, Hooven & Sons, Hamilton, O., proved to be a complete 
 success. We harvested 80 acres of grain, consisting of wheat, 
 barley and oats. The straw was unusually heavy and badly 
 lodged, which, with the heavy rains that fell during harvest, 
 enabled us to test its merits fully. The work performed by it 
 in standing grain is better than can possibly be done by hand. 
 
 In tangled grain the work is done fully as good if not better 
 than is usually done by hand-binding. The cost of wire per 
 acre was 31 cents, repairs nothing. In threshing, we allowed 
 the wire to pass through with the straw, without impeding the 
 machine in the least; the rate in wheat being 70 bushels per 
 hour. We would not part with our machine for twice the 
 price of it, without the privilege of buying another. 
 
 Prom Luther Sherman, Norwalk, O., Aug. 24, 
 \Sn. — I own one of your Harvesters and Binders, purchased 
 this season, and it has worked to my entire satisfaction, cut- 
 ting and binding 43 acres of wheat and 20 of oats, most of 
 which was done with a small team only weighing 2,000 pounds. 
 I have used heretofore four or five other machines for har- 
 vesting, and my team handles the Wood Harvester and Binder 
 with more ease than either of the others. The Harvester and 
 Binder work in a superior manner, even on rough and uneven 
 ground, cutting a full swath and saving all the grain, and 
 costing me but 25 cents per acre for binding-wire. I have 
 threshed my grain and have not been at all inconvenienced by 
 the wire bands. In many respects I think them an improve- 
 ment over straw bands. 
 
 Prom C. P. Slonaker, Trenton, Butler County, 
 Ohio, August 28, 1877. — I saw one of your Harvesters 
 and Binders work, and I liked it so well I bought one ; I got 
 •ilong very well, and liked it better every day ; I cut 50 acres, 
 and it worked better than any self-rake reaper I ever saw ; 
 and it did it clean, so clean that I thought it wasn't worth 
 while to rake the stubble, while my neighbor raked his field 
 twice, and then it wasn't as clean as mine. I have threshed 
 some of my grain, and we had no trouble with wire. The 
 sheaves are much better to handle than those bound with 
 straw. 
 
 Forty-three Acres of Wheat, Yielding 1,400 
 
 Bushels, Bound with 145 
 
 Pounds of Wire. 
 
 Prom Daniel Loose, Melmore, Seneca County, 
 Ohio, Nov. 26, 1877.— The Harvester and Self-Binder 
 which I purchased of your agent, F. W. Byrne, of TiflSn, Ohio, 
 has proved a decided success. I cut and bound 43 acres of 
 heavy wheat, 12 acres of it leaning all one way, some nearly 
 on the ground. I cut clear around the piece, cutting, eleva- 
 ting and binding well on all sides. In lodged, heavy or short 
 grain, it works admirably. It is easily adjusted in changing 
 from short to long or heavy grain. It saves all the grain. The 
 Self-Binding Machine is so far ahead of my self-rakes and my 
 dropper that I have set them both aside for good. Your Bind- 
 er, I think, runs fully as easy as a self-rake. My expense for 
 harvesting was nothing but oil and wire. I saved at the rate 
 of $10 per day, not counting board and housework ; and I 
 would not take $500 for my machine if I could not get 
 another. The wire was no bother in threshing, and my cattle 
 eat the straw and leave the wire untouched. It does not harm 
 them. I threshed 1,400 bushels of wheat off 43 acres, and 
 bound it with 145 pounds of wire. 
 
 Prom Lewis Einsel, TiflQ.n, Seneca County, 
 Ohio, Nov. 26, 1877. — I bought one of your Harvesters 
 with Self-Binder the past season, and find it an entire success. 
 I cut 44 acres of wheat, yielding 1,150 bushels, and although 
 my grain was in bad condition, and tangled in all shapes, the 
 Harvester and Binder cut and bound it clean. The cost of the 
 wire was 33 cents per acre. I estimate the saving over hand- 
 binding at $10 per day ; besides, the work is done much 
 cleaner and better. The sheaves handle well in shocking, 
 hauling and stacking — better than after hand-binding. The 
 wire is no detriment whatever. Both the Harvester and the 
 Binder are well made and reliable, and make just the machine 
 for grain-raisers. 
 
 Prom George W. Waldorf, Reily, Butler Coun- 
 ty, Ohio, Sept. 17, 1877.— The Wood Harvester and 
 Binder I bought of you has given me entire satisfaction. I 
 think it the best machine for harvesting purposes I have ever 
 used. In cutting and saving grain it cannot be excelled. In 
 cutting and binding 23 acres of wheat, averaging 20 bushels 
 per acre, the expense was $7.20, cutting from 10 to 12 acres 
 per day. As the sheaves are straight and well bound, it makes 
 it easier for handling them. In threshing, it is far superior to 
 straw bands, leaving no litter. The wire bands do not inter- 
 fere at all, but pass off to the straw stack in full length. 
 Draft very light for three horses. The Wood Seif-Binder is, 
 in my estimation, and that of a host of witnesses, unsurpassed, 
 and I recommend it to all in need of a first-class Harvester and 
 Binder. 
 
 Prom William W. Bowers, Seven Mile, Butler 
 County, Ohio, August 23, 1877.— Regarding the Wood 
 Harvester and Binder I bought of you, I will say, I think it 
 is the machine for farmers ; I cut and bound 50 acres of barley, 
 very heavy, down, tangled, and straw broken. The machine 
 went right through without any trouble. In regard to draft, 
 I think the machine runs as light for three horses as any self- 
 rake does for two, and I have used all kinds ; it cuts well, 
 binds tight, and takes it clean ; we cut 50 acres in five days, 
 at an expense of 40 cents per acre for wire ; we hauled in our 
 grain, and had no bother with loose bands, or with wire in 
 threshing. 
 
 Prom James K. Pugh, Malone, 111., August 15, 
 1877. — The Wood Harvester and Self-Binder I bought of you 
 this season works to a charm, cutting and binding 
 better than could be done by hand. I can truth- 
 fully recommend it to all who wish their grain cut and bound 
 in a cheap, expeditious and eflB.cient manner.
 
 LETTERS FROM PURCHASERS. 
 
 15 
 
 Forty Acres Cut and Bound in Two Days. 
 
 Prom John Moyers, Oxford, Mich., July 23, 
 
 1877. — The Wood Harvester and Self-Binder I purchased of 
 you last week is a grand success, being far ahead of anything 
 I ever imagined could be made, to assist the farmer in securing 
 his crops. My son, a young man of 18, has operated it alone 
 so far, and with perfect SUCCess. He cut in just tWO 
 days a field containing forty acres with one team of three 
 horses, without change, going half a mile to dinner, and taking 
 a good "nooning." The Binder did its duty every time. I 
 can safely say that the Wood Harvester and Binder will save 
 one bushel of wheat per acre over any self-raker or dropper I 
 ever used, and I have at present three on my farm. It is 
 indeed wonderful to see how successfully this machine does its 
 work ; too much cannot be said in its praise. You will have 
 a good Binder trade in this section next year. Johnnie, with 
 his Harvester and Binder, has attracted as much attention as 
 Barnum would with his " what is it." 
 
 King of the Harvest Field. Saved More than its 
 Price in One Season. 
 From C. R. Brown, Harvard, 111., Aug, 13, 
 1877. — Having completed cutting my harvest, I thought 1 
 would write you how I like the machines. As to the Mower, 
 it is simply perfect, and I cannot see how it can be excelled. 
 My Harvester and Binder Jiave given me perfect satisfaction. 
 You can talk about King Corn and King Cotton, but your Har- 
 vester and Binder is surely the King of the Harvest Field. I 
 am well satisfied that the Harvester and Binder does not owe 
 me one cent. I know that they have saved me more than 
 their price in the saving of the grain and the labor of binders, 
 and also in handling, as, so far, not one bundle has unbound 
 or come apart in stacking, and I have stacked about 100 acres. 
 I cut about 150 acres with your Harvester and Binder, and 
 the other hundred acres with the * * * * Harvester, and I 
 could see very easily which I liked the best. 
 
 Prom Leonard Spalding, Sheridan Township, 
 Powesheik Co., Iowa, Aug. 16, 1877.— In 1866, I 
 
 purchased one of your Harvesters and Binders, and cut 
 and bound one hundred and fifteen acres, and put it in 
 the shock with the help of only one man. AH the above 
 work was done in my own grain. The Binder hardly 
 gave me a moment's trouble all through the harvest. This 
 year I have cut and bound seventy-five acres, and, with the 
 exception of the new improvements not being properly put on 
 and thereby causing some breakage at first, it worked as well as it 
 did last year ; and, I believe, is good for fifteen years tO 
 come. The wire costs me from twenty to thirty cents per 
 acre. The bundles hold better than hand-bound grain, and 
 make no tfonble in threshing. We let the wires pass 
 through the thresher, and they come out full length. I 
 think the Harvester and Binder is the cheapest machine in use 
 to do harvesting with, as it takes less help to pay and board 
 and does such clean work. 
 
 No Expense for Repairs in Two Seasons' Use. 
 
 Prom Hem-y Howdyshell, Tama City, Iowa, 
 Aug. 15, 1877. — I cut and bound with my Wood Harvester 
 and Binder, in 1876, ninety acres of grain, and this year 
 eighty acres, averaging as high as fourteen acres per day 
 through the harvest. I believe by changing teams I could cut 
 twenty acres per day. The wire this year has cost me twenty- 
 two cents per acre in grain that will yield from twenty-five to 
 thirty bushels per acre, and I consider this cheaper than the 
 mere board of men to bind it by band. J like the binding 
 
 better than that done by hand, as it is cleaner and better 
 work. I have stacked a large stack without having one 
 bundle come loose in hiindllng. i have been to no expense 
 for repairs on the Hinder for two years' work, and have 
 
 had no breakages, and it is as good as new, and gives mc per- 
 fect satisfaction. It runs light, is easily controlled, and is all 
 right. 
 
 The Boss Machine. Leaves no Grain Uncut 
 or Unbound. 
 
 Prom James Shepherd, Maud's Station, O., 
 Aug. 20, 1877.— The Wood 8elf-Binder we bought of you 
 this season gave us entire satisfaction. We believe we now 
 have the "boss" machine. We cut and bound 115 acres of 
 grain in all conditions, down, tangled, wet, dry, good and bad, 
 and did the nicest, cleanest job we ever had done on our farm, 
 at an expense of $24.40 for wire, or about 21 cents per acre. 
 The machine leaves no grain uncut or unbound. Our neigh- 
 bors say they never saw as clean, nice work as the Binder <Jid. 
 For the amount of work the machine does, it runs very light. 
 It does not sink into wet ground like ordinary reapers, owing 
 to its very broad wheel. Our land is rolling, some of it very 
 rough, but it makes no ditference in the use of the machine. 
 We have cut as much as 17 acres per day ; our average was 14 
 acres per day, and we averaged 25 sheaves per minute while 
 in motion. The capacity of the machine is only limited by 
 the number of hours it is run. In threshing we had no trouble 
 with the wire band. The grain feeds nicer than when bound 
 by hand with straw, as it does not " chug." Our women did 
 not have to work themselves to death this season, cooking for 
 a gang of harvest hands, neither did it take a year's profits 
 to feed and pay them. In this One item we think we 
 saved nearly enough to pay the ditference in price between 
 the Binder and ordinary reapers. Farmers that are wide 
 awake to their own interests should, and no doubt will, buy 
 the Wood Self-Binder. 
 
 Prom J. W, McGinley, A. A. McGinley and 
 James P Douglas, Port Collins, Col., Aug 11, 
 
 1877. — We have used the Walter A. Wood Harvester and 
 Binder this harvest and have cut one hundred and fifty 
 acres, and will say that we believe the Harvester and 
 Binder to be a perfect success — the best machine that we have 
 ever used. We have cut, elevated an<l bound wheat and oats 
 that had sunflowers that stood six feet high, and twenty 
 acres of wheat that was over five feet long and all down and 
 tangled. The machine cut it clean and did a good job, and 
 we will just say that we will recommend the Walter A. Wood 
 Harvester and Binder to all farmers wishing to buy a machine 
 for speed and economy. 
 
 Prom Joel Smith, Milan, Erie Co., O., Aug. 23, 
 1877. — The Wood Harvester and Binder is, in my opinion, 
 the best harvesting machine that the farmer can use. It has 
 done for me better work than the Champion or Hubbard Reap- 
 ers in the same field of grain, about 30 acres of which was 
 standing grain, and 4 acres being oats, tangled in every direc- 
 tion and much of it tiat to the ground. The stubble left by 
 the Wood Harvester and Binder was not worth raking, and, 
 if horses tell, the draft was no more than the others. The 
 Walter A. Wood Mower on my farm seems to do more and 
 better work than the * * * * and the * * * * which I had 
 in the same field on equal ground. 
 
 Prom David Barnes, Big Thompson, Col., Aug. 
 
 27, 1877. — For a second time 1 add my testimonial in favor 
 of tlie working of the Wood Harvester and Self-Bindcr pur- 
 chased of you last season (1876), and I cannot use words to 
 express my thoughts: but can say, the longer I USe it 
 the better it suits me, as it does its work in a man- 
 ner unapproachable by any other machine I ever saw. My 
 harvest is now over, and my Fonr Hundred Acres, cut 
 
 and bound in better condition than any previous crops 
 harvested by me, and with less trouble. The Harvester and 
 Binder purchased of you late this season is perfection itseif. 
 The large amount saveil in expense an<l grain has taught me 
 that no farmer can afford to be without one, as the Harvester 
 and Binder are durable, and with care will last for years. 
 The cost of wire per acre, for my whole crop, thirty-five cents. 
 
 +
 
 16 
 
 LETTERS FROM PURCHASERS. 
 
 No Loose Bundles or Scatterings. 
 
 From Timothy Brown, Stillman Valley, Ogle 
 County, 111., Aug. 24, 1877.— The Wood Harvester with 
 Self- Binder I bought of your agent at Davis Junction, last 
 season, has worked to my entire satisfaction. I have cut and 
 bound, this season, 56 acres of heavy oats and wheat in better 
 shape than could have been done with the best self-rake reaper 
 and bound by hand. The elevating is ahead of anything I 
 have ever seen. It is perfectly adapted to all kinds of grain. 
 The cost of wire per acre is from 28 to 30 cents. The condi- 
 tion of grain in stacking is far ahead of that bound by hand, 
 there being no loose bundles or scattering grain. The cry 
 against wire in straw I consider as perfectly absurd. The 
 threshers who threshed my grain last season are anxious for 
 the job this season, they experiencing no difficulty in thresh- 
 ing. I can cut and bind with three horses, on an average, 12 
 to 14 acres per day — about what could be cut and bound with 
 a self-rake and ci-ew of four to five men to bind. The cost of 
 wire will not exceed the cost of board ; thus, by using the 
 Harvester and Binder, I can save the wages of fivo 
 binders. As to durability, I consider it among the best, as 
 I have run mine through two harvests, and the cost for re- 
 pairs has been only 5>2.50. I would not exchange for a new 
 one, provided I had to draw the new one home and set it up. 
 
 From William M. Knoop, Casstown, Miami 
 County, Ohio, January 21, 1878. — The Harvester and 
 Binder bought of your agent, D. McConnaughey, gave entire 
 satisfaction. My grain was heavy, down and tangled, but was 
 saved better than any other machine could do it and bound 
 better than could be done by hand. My machine was not out 
 of order the entire harvest, and I believe it to be very durable. 
 All spectators pronounced it a success. It is easily managed. 
 My cost for wire was 81 cents per acre. I found no trouble 
 in cutting bands or from broken wire in threshing, letting the 
 wire run through with the straw. I have fed the straw to my 
 horses without injury. The Wood Self-Binder is as perfect a 
 piece of machinery as I ever saw. 
 
 From Joseph Ray, Collinsville, Ohio, August 25, 
 1877. — The Harvester and Self-Binder I purchased from you 
 this season did better work than I thought it could do. We 
 cut some as heavy straw this year as I have ever seen, and the 
 grain was all flat down. But the Binder did better work than 
 could have been done with any other machine, with a set of 
 hands. We cut 34 acres of grain at an expense of 32 cents 
 per acre for wire. We had no use for hands. 
 
 Did More than was Claimed for it. 
 From Phillip Heater, Seven Mile, Butler Co., 
 O., Aug. 20, 1877. — The Wood Harvester and Binder I 
 bought of you this season has proved a success, and has given 
 entire satisfaction. I cut and bound seventy acres of heavy 
 grain, some of it down and tangled the worst kind. I did 
 better and cleaner work than I could have done with any other 
 kind of machine, and with one-third of the expense. 
 The machine runs easily, has little or no side-draft, and is 
 easily managed. We cut from twelve to fifteen acres per day, 
 at an expense of thirty cents per acre for wire. I can, there- 
 fore, recommend it, as it did more than was claimed for it 
 when I bought it. 
 
 From Matthew Budd, Millbrook, Kendall Co., 
 Illinois, January 1, 1878. — With the Wood Harvester 
 and Binder, purchased last harvest, we cut nine acres of wheat, 
 usiag two horses till accustomed to the machine, then putting 
 on a third horse and working it to the best of satisfaction. We 
 next cut twenty-five aci'es of oats, some very heavy, some light 
 and averaging over fifty bushels per acre ; then about fifty 
 acres of timothy, which was quite thin, the Binder doing well. 
 After harvesting and having threshing done for twenty-five 
 years, we can safely say we have never had so little straw left 
 on the field or so little loose stuff around the stacks and 
 thresher. The expense of wire was 25 cents per acre, but 
 most of the timothy being thin, reduced the average very 
 much. No necessity for cutting narrow swaths or waiting for 
 the Binder to rest. Give him good oil and good wire and he 
 will bind all you can cut. 
 
 From James Bowyer, Hamilton, Ohio, August 
 28, 1877. — The Wood Self-Binder I boughtofyou this season 
 cut and bound up in good shape 65 acres of wheat, oats and 
 barley, some of it very badly down and tangled up. The 
 work was done in a very satisfactory manner ; I am well 
 pleased with it ; the machine runs as light as could be expected 
 of a machine that does the work it does ; the bundles are well 
 tied — better than hand-binding ; the machine saves a bushel 
 to the acre over an ordinary machine ; I can recommend the 
 machine to any farmer to buy. 
 
 From J. N. & I. Long, Boone, la., Dec. 28, 
 1877, — We bought, last harvest, from your agent at Boone, the 
 Farmers' Lumber Company, one of your Harvesters and Self- 
 Binders, with which we cut all our grain, about 100 acres, cut 
 and bound in the most perfect manner. We are highly 
 pleased with it, and do not hesitate to recommend it to all 
 farmers who have much grain to cut. 
 
 Additional Testimony In favor of the Wood Self-Binding Harvester. 
 
 ^Our Self-Biadiag Harvester has au extensive sale ia the States of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, 
 Missouri, Kansas, Texas, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska and Colorado and the Territories, and to any one 
 who so desires, we will send circulars containing testimonials from any of the States mentioned, not covered 
 by the letters given in this circular. 
 
 The fame of Walter A. Wood's Self-Binding Harvester is world-wide. 
 
 Now used in Europe, South Atnerica, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, 
 AND ALL THE GRAIN-CROWING SECTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES.
 
 When you order Machines or Repairs, be particular to mention the following : 
 
 1 St. Town, County and State to which they are to be shipped, 
 and by what route. 
 
 2d. Whether by Freight or Express. 
 
 3d. Number and Style of Machine for which Repairs are 
 wanted. Name or Number of the Part wanted, and in what year 
 the Machine was made or purchased. 
 
 4th. Your Post Office Address. 
 
 Repairs for Machines will be kept by our agents, and at our branch offices at New York, Chicago, 111., 
 Madison, Wis., St. Louis, Mo., St. Paul, Minn., and San Francisco, Cal. 
 
 AU orders fm Machines or Repairs will receive prompt attention. Any person who has ever purchased a 
 Machine made at our establishment can at all times be supplied at reasonable prices by us, or our agents, with 
 any Extra Parts they may require. 
 
 In order to facilitate convenience and accuracy in ordering Repairs, we issue a Separate Pamphlet giving 
 Diagrams, Description, Number and Price of every part of our Machines, arranged under appropriate heads- 
 The above mentioned pamphlet will also contain full and complete instructions for setting up and operating all 
 our diflferent styles of Machines. One of these pamphlets is furnished with each Machine, and every agent will 
 have a supply of them to furnish customers, when called for. 
 
 OUR LINE OF MACHINES. 
 
 From it all Classes of Farmers can Select Machines Thoroughly 
 
 Adapted to their Special Wants. 
 
 The addition of the Self-Binding Harvester to our line of machines renders it much more complete than 
 that of any other manufacturer, comprising, as it does, Single MoWGrS, of different widths of cut ; 
 
 Chain-Rake Reapers, Single and Combined, of different widths of cut ; Sweep or Reel- 
 Rake Reapers, Single or Combined, of different widths of cut, and Self-Binding Harvesters, 
 
 of different widths of cut. 
 
 All these styles of machines are sold upon their merits, and are fully warranted. 
 
 Order early, and thus make sure of getting a machine in good season. 
 
 If this circular is sent or given to any one who can more easily read or better understand it in the 
 German, Norwegian, Swedish or Bohemian languages, we or any of our Agents will send a copy in either of the 
 above languages desired, upon application, free.
 
 THE WALTER A. WOOD 
 
 Self-Binding Harvester. 
 
 ITS SUCCESS ABROAD. 
 
 First Frizs Ovsr all Otks liy tli&^ Eo jal %iGultural kist; of En^lacl. 
 
 • 
 
 At the recent Show of the lloyal Agricultural Society of England (the most 
 important society in Great Britain, and whose reputation for its Annual Exhibitions and 
 Trials is world-wide), held at Liverpool, commencing July 11, 1877, the Society offered 
 a PRIZE for the BEST AUTOMATIC GRAIN-BINDER, to be awarded upon a com- 
 petitive FIELD TRIAL, this being the first field trial of Binders for a prize ever 
 had in Europe. " \ 
 
 After a two days' Field Trial, in various kinds of grain, on the 14th and 17th 
 of August, the 
 
 Wiltif 1. losi iiiisf ieseiiei lie Fiiil ?riie 
 
 over all competitors, and was awarded a SILVER MEDAL by the Society, being the 
 highest and only Prize given. 
 
 IN ADDITION TO THE ABOVE, 
 
 THE SELF-BINDING HARVESTER 
 
 Has already been awarded in Europe alone : 
 
 Gold Medal at PRESTON, June 15th, 1876. 
 Special Silver Medal at CORK, August 1st, 1876. 
 
 Special Silver Medal at SOUTHPORT, September 14th, 1876. 
 
 Special Silver Medal at LONG SUTTON, Lincolnshire, September 
 
 20th, 1876; 
 Gold Medal at AYR SHOW, April 24th, 1877. 
 Prize of 50 Gulden, near ALKMAAR, Holland, Aug. 10th, 1877. 
 Bronze Medal at DOBELN, Saxony, September 8th, 1877. 
 Large Gold Medal of the Minister of Agriculture, at VITRY, 
 
 France, September 16th, 1877.
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 
 
 630.15W85WA C001 
 
 „„_ THE WALTER A WOOD SELF-BINDING HARVESTE 
 
 #4 
 
 3 0112 025314524 
 
 iiiiii