39S 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



volving hopper, and to be kept ia contact with the cut- 

 ting edges. The bottom of the hopper is formed with 

 stationary plates, the surfaces of which are planed and 

 polished truly, and form planes of difTerent elevation, 

 thus^ 



As the roots lying on the part a are brought up by 

 the action of the revolvinsr hopper to the edge d, 

 which is sharpened to act as a knife, they are caught by 

 the edge, and slices taken oft' them corresponding in 

 thickness to the space between the two plates a b, c 

 d. Whilst the larger parts of the roots are carried on 

 to the action of the next cutting edge, the parts cut pass 

 along the plate a, b, and jmss out at the part c b, 

 and fail into a vessel placed beneath to retain them. 

 The line of cutting edge ff/> is not right-lined, that is 

 radial from the centre to the circumference of bottom 

 plate, but is curved in outline : this facilitates the cut- 

 ting action of the edge, giving to it a double action, 

 lateral as well as direct. As thus arranged, the 

 machine acts as a " turnip-slicer for cattle," the breadth 

 of the slices being regulated by the diameter of the 

 root being cnt. To cut narrow strips from the turnips 

 ■—or " fingers" — for sheej), the following simple ar- 

 rangement is all that is necessary : " Let the lines" — 

 and here we quote from an article furnished by us, to 

 the October number of the Journal of Agriculture — 

 " a df c d, represent a side-Tiew of the upper and lower 

 a b 



d 



plates of the bottom of the hopper, of which a b h the 

 cutting edge. The breadth of the slices passing out 

 from below these will obviously be regulated by the 

 size of the turnip, or cross-section which it presents at 

 the time it is being cut ; but suppose a series of cutters 

 to be placed so that the space between a b, c d, is filled 

 up at intervals with the edges of cross-cutters, as shown 

 by the vertical lines, it is evident that the pieces will be 

 cut into breadths corresponding to the distance between 

 any two of the vertical knives. These vertical cutters 

 are attached to a plate hinged at one end to a point be- 

 low the bottom of the hopper, and which, by means of 

 a cross-liandle outside the framing of the machine, is 

 easily lifted up, so as to fill up the space in the manner 

 shown in the last diagram, being retained in this position 

 by a catch-bolt. On withdrawing the bolt, the plate 

 falls down, leaving the machine ready to cut the roots 

 into large slices. The change from cutting large to 

 small pieces, and vice versa, is thus made instantly." 

 In this machine now described, the great desideratum 

 of " cutting the last piece" is obtained with very simple 

 means. All pieces passing through between the plates 

 a b, c d {1st diagram), must of necessity be equal to 

 the space between the plates ; and this space is equal to 

 the thickness of slice desired. Some may be thinner, 

 but none can be thicker, than this. 



A disc root-pulper was exhibited by Mr. B. Samuel- 

 son, of Banbury, the invention of Mr. T. Brewer, of 



the same place. The roots are first cut into slices by 

 the revolving disc cutters, and are afterwards made to 

 pass through rectangular apertures in the disc. They 

 are, on passing through these, taken up by projections 

 on the back of the disc, and forced through between a 

 series of cutting edges, or knives, and by this means re- 

 duced to a pul|). The disc is partially covered by 

 shields, which have also projections provided to their 

 inner surfaces. The projections upon the revolving 

 disc pass through those on the shield. 



The following is a statement of the results of the 

 trials of the turnip-cutters and root-pulpers ; time of 

 trial, 3 minutes : 



TURNIP-CUTTERS. 



Exhibiters. Quantity cut. Revolutions. 

 Rausonies aud Situs — 



Small cutter 93|lb3. 23,500 



Large cutter 145|lbs. 16,030 



John Warner aud Sons 167^1bs. 25,400 



Bernbard Samuelaon — 



Large cutter 116 lbs. 9,220 



Small cutter 37 Jibs. 5,790 



Hugh Carson 138Jlbs. 14,700 



Barnard and Bishop 142|lbs. 11,520 



Picksley, Sims, and Co 97ilb8. 9,300 



ROOT-PULPERS. 



Ransoraea and Sims 79 lbs. 



B. Saiuuelson 36 Jlba. 



W. Goulding aud Co 100 lbs. 



E. H. Bentall 72 lbs. 



B. Samuelson 62 lbs. 



S.Woods 52|lbs. 



Barnard and Bishop 89 lbs. 



A. aud S. Fry 80iibs. 



22,195 

 11,470 

 30,420 

 23,100 

 30,150 

 24,000 

 31,945 

 38,400 

 R. S. B. 



STALL OR HOUSE-FEEDING SHEEP 



VERSUS 



WINTERING THEM WITHOUT SHELTER 



Sir, — If memory serves me right, seven years back, at the 

 great Christmas Cattle Market in Londou, and at the Rum Tun, 

 Smithficld, I met with a plaiu-dressed highly talented low- 

 country Norfolk farmer, who had tried an experimeut twice 

 with a light-woolled sheep and a heavy-woolled Lincoln ; both 

 were house-fed from Christmas to the 6th of April, when the 

 light-wcolied sheep had gained above lOlbs. the most weight ; 

 the short-wooUed sheep cut 6 Jibs, of wool, and the Lincoln 

 cut 171b8. of wool. It is plain the Lincoln was over-heated, 

 8ud lost part of his weight in sweat. He tried the experi- 

 ment a second time, and partly sheared the Lincoln, leaving 

 two inches of wool upon him ; both were house-fed the same 

 length of time as before, when the Lincoln gained, through 

 losing his wool, lOlbs. the most weight. " I tried," said tbe 

 farmer, " another experiment with four fat sheep, two Lincoln 

 and two light- woolb, from Christmas to the 1st of April, upon 

 a piece of rich gray raarsh-land near the sea fenced with 

 dykes. The bleak north-east winds cut up the short-wools so 

 much, that when weighed alive the 1st of April the short- 

 wools had lost 121b3. each sheep, whUst the Lincolns had kept 

 their full weight of mutton." A great deal of useful informa- 

 tion may be taken from the above ; and thut all heavy- 

 woolled sheep ought to be shorn before the weather u too hot. 



Milljield, Pulerborough, Samuel Arnsby. 



Oct. VZth, 1858. 



