and at the end of the other side is a hook, which taking hold of the bottom edge of the auger enables it to be drawn up. 240 2516. The triangular claw (fig. 240. k) is used when loose stones lie at the bottom of the hole, which are too large to be brought up by the cylindrical auger, and cannot be conveniently broken. The internal notches of this instrument take hold of the stone, and as the tool rises it brings them up. For raising broken rods a tool () is sometimes employed, which has an angular claw that slips under the shoulder of the rod, and holds it fast while drawing up. (Newton's Journal, vol. viii. p. 247.) 2517. Other tools connected with the subject of boring for water, also invented by Mr. Good, will be described when the operation of boring is treated of, in Part III. Book III. Chap. III. (See Contents.) 2518. Busby's borer for quicksand (fig. 241.) consists of a tube called a sludger, from five to six feet in length, made of plate iron, with a valve at its lower extremity, made partly of iron and partly of leather, which 241 works upon an an iron hinge, and a hole at the top (a) through which it is emptied. In boring through quicksands a metal pipe is inserted into the borehole, and the a sand is withdrawn from it by the sludger, which, by means of the valve at its lower end, acts as a pump. A second metal pipe is added to the first, and so on to any depth. (Trans. High. Soc. vol. vi. p. 611.) 2519. The peat-borer (fig. 242.) is a larger sort of borer, employed in peaty soils that are boggy, for the purpose of removing wetness. It has been used with advantage in some peat-mosses in Lancashire, by Eccleston. 2520. The blasting auger, timber measure, and other scientific instruments, not in general use in agriculture, will be best described in treating of the departments in which they are applied. 2521. The only essential scientific instrument is the common level, which may be wanted to level drains and water furrows, adjust the surface of roads, &c. SECT. III. Utensils used in Agriculture. 242 2522. The principal agricultural utensils are sieves, baskets, corn-measures, and sacks. 2523. Sieves are textures of basketwork, wire, gut, or hair, stretched on a broad wooden hoop. Sometimes, also, they are formed of skins or plate iron pierced with holes, and so stretched. They are used for separating corn, or other seed, from dust or other extraneous matters. There are different varieties for wheat, beans, oats, rape-seed, &c. 2524. The corn-screen (fig. 243.) consists of a hopper (a), with a sliding board (b) for giving more or less feed; slips of wood (cc) fixed on pivots to prevent the grain from passing too quickly down; and the screen, which is composed of parallel wires (d). 2525. Baskets are made of wickerwork, of different shapes, but generally forming some section of a globose figure they vary much in size; those in most general 244 245 a 243 use in agriculture are from twenty inches to two feet in diameter, and are used for carrying roots, chaff, cut straw, &c., from one place to another in the farmery. A very good substitute for a basket for filling sacks (fig. 244.), formed of iron, is in use in Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, and other counties. (Gard. Mag. vol. v. p. 674.) 2526. The seed-carrier or seed-basket (fig. 245.) is sometimes made of thin veneers of wood, bent into an irregular oval, with a hollow to fit the seedsman's side, and a strap to pass over his head, and rest on his shoulder. In some places, a linen bag of a shape adapted to be borne by the right shoulder, and to suspend the seed under the left arm, is used for the same purpose. 2527. The feeding tub or trough may be of any shape and size; it is used for giving short or liquid food to swine, sheep, and other live stock. 2528. The pail is used for carrying water, or other liquid food. 2529. The turnip tray is a shallow movable trough or box, used to prevent waste when sheep are fed upon turnips. 2530. The corn bin, or corn chest, for containing oats or other grain for horses, may be an oblong box of any convenient size. Sometimes it is placed in the loft over the stable, and the corn is drawn out by a hopper below; but for a farm stable this is needless trouble: there it is commonly placed in the broad passage behind the horses, or in any spare corner. It should be stout, and have good hinges, and a safe lock and key. 2531. The flexible tube, for relieving cattle that are hoven or choked, consists of a strong leathern tube about four feet long and about half an inch in diameter, with a leaden nozzle pierced with holes at the insertion end. It 246 should be kept in every farmery. There is a similar one, on a smaller scale, for sheep, which should be kept by all shepherds. Both will be found figured and described in Part III. Book VII. 2532. Jones's kiln-drying apparatus (fig. 246. section) consists of two concentric cylinders about six feet in diameter, and is from the bottom to the top of its cones twelve feet high. The outer cylinder may either be perforated with small holes, or made of wire gauze. In the centre of the inner cylinder are a fire-place and chimney. The grain to be dried is admitted between the cylinders through a hopper at top, and distributing itself round the internal cone, it is discharged through a spout into a sack or receiver. In passing the grain becomes heated, and the moisture evaporates, and passes off through the perforations of the exterior cylinder. (Newton's Journal, vol. vii. p. 214.) 2533. Corn measures consist of the lippie, peck, and bushel, with the strike or rolling pin to pass over the surface, and determine their fulness. The local measures of every country are numerous; the imperial bushel is now the standard corn-measure of the three kingdoms. 2534. Corn sack or bags are strong hempen bags, calculated to hold four bushels; and in Scotland four firlots. 2535. Other utensils, as those of the dairy, poultry, and cider-house, will be described in their appropriate places. 2536. The essential agricultural utensils are the sieve, basket, seed-carrier, tub, pail, corn chest, flexible tube, corn measure, and corn sack. SECT. IV. Hand Machines used in Agriculture. 2537. Agricultural hand machines are generally portable; some are exclusively put in action by man, as the wheel-barrow; and others, as the straw-cutter, sometimes by horses, water, or other powers. moving earth or stones; the dung barrow (fig. 249.) for conveying 248 2538. The common ladder is the simplest of manual machines, and is in constant use for forming and thatching ricks, and for other purposes; with or without the use of trestles and scaffolding. 2539. The wheel-barrow is of three kinds : the new ground work barrow (fig. 247.) used in barrow (fig. 248.) for the farmyard; and the corn corn from the stackyard to the barn. The body of the latter (b) may be made to separate from the frame and wheel, and by means of levers (a) to be carried like the hand-barrow. 2540. Barrows for hay and straw may be variously 249 constructed, and near towns (figs. 250, 251.) may be used for wheeling light packages. is a pair of low wheels: it is a convenient machine for moving sacks in a granary or barn floor, from one point to another. a 252 2542. The Normandy wheel-barrow (fig. 252.) is said to be exceedingly useful on a farm. The handles or trams (aa) are nearly fifteen feet in length, by which, when loaded, nearly all the weight is thrown on the axle, so that the man has almost nothing to carry, and has only to push. He is thus saved from being bent down while at work, and consequently from acquiring a habit of stooping. A shoulder strap (b) is commonly used, by the operator. (Morel Vindé, and Gard. Mag. vol. vi.) a 2543. The truck (fig. 253.) is a machine of the barrow kind for conveying compact 253 heavy weights, such as stones, metals, &c. 2544. The hand-barrow is of different kinds (figs. 254, 255, 256.), and is in frequent use in various departments of agriculture, where the soil is soft, or the surface uneven. Its bottom should be close and strong for carrying stones; but may be light and open for dung or corn. 2545. The winnowing machine, originally introduced from Holland to East Lothian by Mr. James Meikle of Saltoun, father to Mr. Andrew Meikle, the inventor of the 254 255 256 threshing machine (799.), is in use for cleaning corn in most of the improved districts. There are different forms, but the best are those founded on the Meikle or Berwickshire winnower, which, instead of one screen, has a set of sieves put in motion by the machine, by which means the corn comes out, in most cases, ready to be meted up in sacks. A highlyimproved form of this machine, and the most perfect, we believe, at present in use (fig. 257.) is manufactured by Weir and Co. of London. 2546. The hand threshing-machine (fig. 258.) is worked by two men and one woman, and is sometimes used for threshing the corn of a small farm, or for threshing clover or other small seeds. The advantage consists chiefly in the completeness in which the grain is separated from the straw; there is no saving of human labour, unless the power of horses or water is applied. 258 2547. The potato cleaner is a hollow or perforated cylinder or barrel, with a wooden axle through its long diameter, and a handle at one end, by which it is turned like a barrel churn. A hinged board forms an opening for putting in and taking out the potatoes, which fastens with an iron hasp and staple. It is filled 'one third with potatoes or other roots, and then placed in a cistern of water, by means of a crane or otherwise. In this state, being two thirds immersed in the water, and one third full of potatoes, it is turned round a few times, when the latter are found cleaned, and the barrel is lifted out by the crane, emptied, filled, and replaced. 2548. A locomotive steam threshing-machine, capable of propelling itself and a man, has been constructed in the county of Northumberland. It is intended for the small farmers, as it can be moved from one farm to another, and thus enable them to thresh out their corn expeditiously and perfectly clean. The steam engine is not intended to be confined to threshing, as, by particular arrangements, it may be applied to the drawing of waggons, pumping of water, breaking of stones, &c. 2549. The maize-sheller (fig. 259.) is composed of a thin vertical wheel covered with iron on one side, made rough by punctures; which wheel works in a trough, and separates the grains from the stalks by rubbing. The ears or spikes of corn are thrown in by hand one at a time; and while the separated grains pass through a funnel below, the naked stalk is brought up at the end of the wheel opposite to that at which it was put in. The wheel may either be made rough on both sides, or on one side, according to the quantity of work required to be done, and the force to be applied. 2550. Mariott's improved maize separator (fig. 260.) is the most perfect machine of this kind at present in use; it has not hitherto been much used in England, but a good many have been exported to America and the colonies. A machine for the same purpose, by Cobbett, will be figured and described in Part III. Book VI. 2551. A hand flour-mill (fig. 261.), for grinding Indian corn, consists of one wheel and pinion, a fixed French burstone, and a similar stone in motion over it. The corn passes through a hopper in the usual manner, and comes out from the stones fit for the bolting machine. The hand flour-mill is chiefly used for Indian corn; but it will also grind wheat and other corns into meals of tolerable fineness. It requires two men to work it, and the price in London is from ten to sixteen guineas. 2552. A hand boltingmachine (fig. 262.), consists of a half cylinder of wire with cross brushes (a), enclosed in a box (6) about four feet long by twenty inches on the sides. It may be considered a necessary appendage to 2553. The furze-bruiser (fig. 263.) is an ingenious and most useful machine where furze is either grown or found naturally. The shoots are bruised and cut into short lengths by hammers 263 2554. The bone-breaking machine (fig. 264.) consists of two rollers grooved and indented, and with pinions on their ends, by which they may be moved either by animals, water, or steam power. The surfaces of the rollers are filled with indentations and strong teeth, which penetrate and break the bones to pieces. This is accomplished by employing separate cast-iron wheels placed side by side upon an axis, to compose the rollers; the wheels have coarse teeth similar to those of a saw or ratchet wheel; each a a wheel of the lower roller is an inch thick; and they are placed at distances of an inch and a half asunder, having circles of hard wood or iron placed between them, which are two inches less in diameter. The bones should be supplied rather gradually to the machine at first, to avoid choking it, and the rollers should then be adjusted to a considerable distance asunder; but when the bones have once passed through in this way, the rollers are screwed closer by screws placed for that purpose, and the fragments ground a second time. The pinions (a a) must have deep cogs to enable them to take deep hold of each other, when the rollers are set only half an inch distant to grind fine, and without the cogs being liable to slip when the centres are separated so far as to leave a space of one inch or one inch and a quarter between the rollers, for the passage of the large bones the first time. The rollers will act most effectually, if the different wheels are fixed upon their axles in such a position that the teeth will not correspond or form lines parallel to the axes, and then no piece of bone can escape without being broken by some of the teeth. The bones which have passed through the rollers slide down an inclined board, and collect at the bottom in a large heap. When all the stock of bones are thus coarsely broken, a labourer takes them up in a shovel and throws them again to the hopper to be ground a second time. (Supp. to Encyc. Brit. Art. Agr.) In a modification of this machine to be impelled by horse power, manufactured by Weir of London (fig. 265.), the bones, after passing through the rollers, are conducted by the hopper (a) into a revolving screen (b), which is driven by a bevel wheel (c) working into a pinion on the screen shaft (d, e). 2555. The oil-cake bruiser is composed of two rollers ground and toothed like the rollers of the bone-mill, but it is on a smaller scale so as to be worked by one man. The object is to bruise the oil-cake to a dust or powder. Below the rollers is a screen for separating the grosser pieces which are set apart for feeding cattle, and |