MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 33 



process of grinding, and of liberating those portions of the flour 

 which are sufficiently ground before reaching the peripheries of the 

 stones. By this contrivance, it is asserted that a much larger pro- 

 portion of gluten is retained in the flour, consequently, there is 

 much less waste ; and the same quantity of wheat is capable of being 

 converted into a larger quantity of food. This saving is stated to 

 exceed 5 per cent. 



Moffat's Patent Grain Thresher and Cleaner. This machine, 

 invented by ]\Ir. ]Moffat, of Piqua, Ohio, has some novel features of 

 construction. The cylinder is 30 inches long and 16 diameter. It is 

 made of eight flat bars of iron, ^ inch by 2 inches, fastened upon iron 

 heads with four strong iron bands. In each of these bars are 1 7 flat 

 teeth, fastened by nuts on the ends, on the back side- of the bars. 

 The teeth pass between one row of teeth in the concave, which is 

 made of bars of iron, open so the grain may fall through. The shaft 

 of the cylinder is 34 inches above the ground, and is driven by a 

 spur, wheel on the left hand side of the machine, which works into a 

 pinion on the cylinder shaft. On the right of the machine is a bevel 

 pinion, upon the end of the shaft which supports the spur-wheel, 

 which is driven by a wheel set at right angles upon a short shaft, to 

 which the power is connected by a universal joint. The width of the 

 frame is 40 inches; height over top of cylinder, 42 inches; height of 

 straw carrier at extreme end, 6^- feet ; extreme length of machine, 19 

 feet. The straw carrier is made of round rods and iron links, so as to 

 form an endless band. Underneath the straw carrier, there are two 

 screws 6 feet long, and 8 inches diameter, running in sheet-iron troughs, 

 which carry up the grain and chaff that falls through the concave and 

 short of the straw carrier, and drops it upon the screen of the fan- 

 ning-mill, which is under the back end of the machine. On the left 

 side of the frame there is another similar screw on the reverse angle, 

 which brings back from the fanning-mill the unthreshed heads, and 

 drops them into a spout which leads them back to the threshing cylin- 

 der. There is another screw running across under the fan-mill screen 

 which brings the clean grain out through a spout on the right side of 

 the frame, to which a bag may be attached. There is a wheel over 

 the straw-carrier that assists to push up the load. The fanning-mill is 

 in the usual form, similar to those constructed to work by hand. 



Zimmerman 's Threshing Machine. This machine differs in some 

 respects from the other recent inventions. It has a spiked cylinder, 

 30 inches long, 18 inches diameter, made of six wooden bars, with 

 13 spikes in each. The concave has 45 teeth, which are movable, so 

 as to allow part to be taken out. The cylinder is 5 feet above the 

 ground, and the edge of the feed-apron 6 feet, rendering it necessary 

 for the feeder to stand on a platform, which is suspended by rods. The 

 fanning-mill is placed under the cylinder. The straw-receiver is a 

 level board 1 2 feet lono;, 3 feet 3 inches wide, bored full of holes, and 

 made to shake like the sieves of a fanning-mill ; the grain falling through 

 the holes is received in a zinc trough, and carried back to the fanning- 

 mill. The grain is all shaken out of the straw while it is on the carrier, 



