496 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



its under side. A central shaft passes from top to bot- 

 tom of the cylinder, carrying at intervals corresponding 

 with the position of corrugated ledges, a series of circular 

 plates, the upper surfaces of which are curved and cor- 

 rugated, so as to correspond with the curve of the ledges 

 of the rings. From one plate to another a series of 

 vertical rods pass, these forming a circle of nearly the 

 same diameter as the plates ; the plates carry also on 

 the under sides small fan-blades. By the arrangement 

 adopted of beaters and fans, a very large amount of 

 scouring surface, and by the use of, the projecting ledges 

 a repeated action on the grain, is secured. The space 

 between the rods forming the outer case admit of the 

 passage of all impurities as soon as they are generated, 



by the immediate action of the fau-bladts. The action 

 of the machine is thus : On the grain entering the top 

 chamber, itf alls upon a revolving corrugated plate, re- 

 ceiving a thorough scouring between it and the corru- 

 gated surface of the ledge. The angular set of this 

 ledge throws the grain towards the centre of the appara- 

 tus, and causing it to fall on the middle of the second 

 corrugated plate, in its passage downwards receiving 

 the beating action of the fan-blades and of the vertical 

 iron-rods v;hich pass between the plates ; the impurities 

 being expelled by the action of the fan. These pro- 

 cesses are repeated in each of the chambers, till the 

 grain is finally delivered clean and free from smut at 

 the lowest and last. R- S. B. 



THE VINEYARDS OF LA BELLE FRANCE. 



We are now oflP to the vineyards of Gascony and 

 Guienne. From the terminus in the Boulevard de 

 I'Hopital, near the Jardin des Plantes, the ti-ain soon 

 throws us through the valley of the Seine, whose vine- 

 clad slopes afford a very pleasing picture. Had we 

 made our way to Orleans by the old road, wc should 

 have crossed the waving corn fields of the famous 

 plain of La Beaunee, an object of interest to an Eng- 

 lish farmer. Passing the site of " the Battle of the 

 Herrings," and that of the flight of Sir John Falstaff 

 from the pursuit of the Prophetic Maid, we reach the 

 declivity of the Valley of the Loire, where is situated 

 Orleans, in the neighbourhood of fossil remains of 

 gigantic quadrupeds discovered in the freshwater lime- 

 stone. Getting into conversation hei'e with an agree- 

 able, well-informed companion, he tells ns that the 

 prices of land in vineyards varies considerably through- 

 out Touraine. At Petivicrs, for instance, which lay 

 on our left, the price per English acre is ^35, and the 

 produce ^8 per acre ; at Chambord £25 per acre, and 

 the produce £8 8s. ; while at Amboise the produce 

 usually reaches £5 12s. per acre, and the price of land 

 ^43. At Chambord, involving a convenient little ex- 

 cursion from Blois, we find about two thousand acres 

 of vinery, and all under the eye at once, upon a blow- 

 ing sand. Quitting Orleans— more celebrated for its 

 historical traditions in connection with the wonderful 

 Joan d'Arc, whose inspiration should always be insisted 

 upon by the English for obvious reasons, than for its 

 present commercial enterprise — the railway conducts 

 us, to our great satisfaction, along the right bank of 

 the Loire. The valley is broad through which we run, 

 varied by moderately high hills, and the scenery to 

 Tours is charmingly sunny. The separation of breeds 

 of cattle made by this river strikes the stranger as re- 

 markable. They are cream-coloured and blackish, 

 with Norman mix ture. The land is worked by horses. 

 Respecting the implements used in a climate in which 

 the sun has power to burn up weeds with only a scratch- 

 ing of the soil, and in a territory wh*re harsh, obsti- 

 nate, churlish clays are almost unknown, great mecha- 

 nical powers of tillage are not so necessary as in our own 



country. The beams of the clunasy-Iooking wooden 

 ploughs are attached to a sort of curricle, running from 

 saddle to saddle, which is a miserable way of employ- 

 ing horse-power. A good deal of marling done here. 



The slopes to the Loire are covered with vineyards ; 

 and its waters being thrown into strong currents here 

 and there by the presence of islands, has hollowed out 

 into caves, &c., the yellow cliffs that confine them. 

 The best wines produced in the Orleanois are to be 

 found near the St. Ay station on our route. Leaving 

 Blois, with its historic castle, impregnable on one steep 

 slope, and passing Amboise, whose plain was ma- 

 nured by the victims of that massacre which formed 

 the prelude to the terrible tragedy of St. Bartholomew, 

 the eye, wandering over a dead level, is attracted by 

 what appears to be the towers of a vast cathedral, rising 

 alone and solemnly. The imagination becomes active ; 

 and at last a city fills the space, which to our fancy 

 had seemed the precincts of a solitary temple. It is 

 Tours ; and as we look about amongst its stately 

 streets, we are reminded of what we have read of this 

 cradle of the French monarchy. 



Proceeding to Poictiers, it is noticeable that the lands 

 are cultivated by oxen in pairs, without either driver or 

 reins. The oxen are red-coloured, with a dash of black 

 about the liead. Poictiers is a picturesque town, 

 abounding with antiquities, and in the autumn with 

 pilgrims too, who had better be cultivating their fields, 

 and making their homes happy, than spending their 

 earnings in fattening an obese lazy priesthood, and 

 kissing the marble sarcophagus of St. Radcgondc. On 

 we go, through vine-clad slopes and fertile country, 

 yet well manured by many a gallant army massacred 

 in the name of ambition or religion ; run very near to 

 tlio thriving Angoul6nie, jicrched upon hill top ; cross 

 the Dordognc, a large tidal river, at Liburne ; intersect 

 the tongue of land entitled " Entre Deux Mers," which 

 is a fertile district chiefly laid out in vineyards and 

 corn-fields, and scattered over with country seats; and 

 finally glide into Bordeaux along the right bank of the 

 Garonne, the wooded and vine-clad heights of Floirac 

 forming a striking picture. 



