been continued at all under circumstances in which practical harvesting would have been out of the question. However, after a short lull in the rain, the machines of Mr. Wood, Messrs. Samuelson, and the McCormick Harvesting Company went into the wet barley. The machine of Mr. Wood worked most rapidly, but the clinging of the sheaves and the failure to bind were again very apparent. The stubble left by this machine was the shortest and most even of the three. The machines of Messrs. Samuelson and the McCormick Company left a very ragged, long, and uneven stubble in this trial, though the delivery and binding of the sheaves seemed to be as good as in the oats trial. The binding in the former was rather too tight. The remaining machines, with the exception of that of Mr. King, then attempted a trial; but Messrs. Howard's machine having too smooth a face to the driving wheel, was unable to drive all the gear in the wet condition of the ground. The damp weather had no doubt tightened up the canvas carriers, and thereby added to the work to be done; but this was the only machine that was found incapacitated through the action of the rain. Unfortunately the plots assigned to this machine and to the Johnston harvester were in juxtaposition, so that the latter machine was blocked by the former, and could not proceed, and that of Messrs. Aultman alone went through with its work. There was no improvement in the separation of the sheaves, and the misses were rather more frequent than in the trials among the oats. The sheaves, too, that issued singly were somewhat wanting in neatness. The whole of these barley trials must be looked upon as unsatisfactory, on account of the condition of the crop, and it is to be hoped that before the investigations are brought to a conclusion all these machines may have a more favorable opportunity of demonstrating the advantages which are claimed for them. It may be here said that throughout these trials there has been as yet no wind at all, which, as the investigations are in other respects to be so thoroughly carried out, is a matter of regret. Probably Messrs. Howard's machine was as well protected from the wind as any other of the seven competitors. The following are the awards of the judges, which were made known on Wednesday evening: Gold medal--Messrs. McCormick & Co. Silver medals--Messrs. Samuelson, Messrs. Johnston & Co. Highly commended--Mr. H. J. King, for principle of tying and separating sheaves. The only gleaning binding machine which entered the field was that of Mr. J. G. Walker, made by the Notts Fork Company, but no official trials of this were made.--_The Engineer_. * * * * * THE CULTURE OF STRAWBERRIES. Messrs. Ellwanger & Barry, of the Mount Hope Nurseries, at Rochester, give the following directions for setting out and cultivating strawberries, the result of long and successful experience, in their recently issued Strawberry Catalogue: