In 1836 Hussey was invited by the Maryland Agricultural Society for the Eastern Shore to exhibit his machine before them. On July 1 he did so, and made practical demonstration of its working to the society at Oxford, Talbot County, and again on July 12 at Easton. On the following Saturday it was shown at Trappe, and it was afterwards used on the farm of Mr. Tench Tilghman, where 180 acres of wheat, oats and barley were cut with it. The report of the Board of Trustees of the society was an unqualified commendation of the practicability, efficiency and value of the machine, and a handsome pair of silver cups was awarded to the inventor. The report was signed by the following well-known residents of the Eastern Shore: Robert H. Goldsborough, Samuel Stevens, Samuel T. Kennard, Robert Banning, Samuel Hambleton, Sr., Nichol Goldsborough, Ed. N. Hambleton, James L. Chamberlain, Martin Goldsborough, Horatio L. Edmonson, and Tench Tilghman.
Hussey made and sold his machine for years. In the _American Farmer_, of October, 1847, an agricultural journal printed at Baltimore, the advertisement of his machine appears with full price lists of the different sizes of machines, and also of an improvement in the manner of disposing of the grain, which was the invention of Mr. Tench Tilghman, and was adopted by Hussey on his reaper.
[Illustration: FIG. 151.--THE McCORMICK REAPER OF 1847.]
While Hussey was at work at his reaper, McCormick also was busily engaged with his, and he took his second patent January 31, 1845, No. 3,895. This related to the cutter bar, the divider, and reel post. McCormick's next patent was dated October 23, 1847, No. 5,335, and in this the raker's seat was to be mounted on the platform as shown in Fig. 151. McCormick's last named patent also covered the arrangement of the gearing and crank in front of the drive wheel, so as to balance the weight of the raker. In the same year Hussey took out his patent of August 7, 1847, No. 5,227, for the open top and slotted finger guard, which is an important part of all successful cutter bars.
[Illustration: FIG. 152.--THE MANN HARVESTER OF 1849.]