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THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



t'orming each wheel. The planters receive and deliver 

 the seed as they roll along. Each planter is provided 

 with a piston, which is placed between the side-pieces 

 or tongues of the planter. The piston has a recipro- 

 catory motion imparted to it by appropriate mechanism, 

 and its end or termination is of such a size as to fit exactly 

 the orifice of ihe planter, which is about |ths of an inch 

 square. The length of the planter is about 9 inches, the 

 depth or thickness is ^ths of an inch throughout, but 

 the width tapers from this size to about double the width 

 at the root. The pistons arc connected in pairs by 

 connecting-rods extending across the centre of the wheel, 

 so that the piston of one planter is connected with the 

 piston of another planter on the opposite side of the 

 wheel. The length from point to point of the two 

 pistons is 4 inches less than the diameter of wheel, or 

 the extent from mouth to mouth of one pair of planters ; 

 the extent of play, or reciprocatory movement of the 

 pistons, is therefore equal to 4 inches. At the root or 

 widest end of each planter a hopper is formed, the 

 mouth of which opens in the direction of the planter 

 point. When the mouth of the hopper arrives at a ver- 

 tical position, the seed drops into it, and is conveyed to 

 the root cr seed-bed of the planter, where it remains 

 till the point descends near to the earth, when the seed, 

 by its own gravity, falls to the point of the planter ; and 

 after the hole is made by one planter in the earth, the 

 piston is pushed down and opens the point of the 

 planter. The seed then drops iato the earth, the piston 

 pushing it before it until it leaves the machine; the 

 piston then closes up the orifice of the planter, prevent- 

 ing the entrance of earth, which would otherwise choke 

 or stop it. While the piston of the bottom, or under- 

 planter, is thus falling outwards, the piston of the top, 

 or opposite one, connected to it, is falling inwards, the 

 point of the planter being at the same time closed. The 

 pistons of these two planters remain in the same position 

 until, by the half-rotation of the wheel, the bottom 

 planter takes the place of the top one. The planters in 

 that part of the periphery of the wheel which is moving 

 upwards, are all open, with the ends of the piston flush 

 with the ends of the planters ; while in those in that 

 part of the periphery of the wheel which is descending, 

 the pistons are withdrawn, and the planters closed, 

 ready to enter the soil. Knives or scrapers for cleansing 

 the sides and points of the planters are fixed on the hoop 

 between the sides of the wheel. As before stated, the 

 planters are placed in the periphery of the wheel, and 

 are of such a form as to give the wheel a saw or serrated 

 periphtry. The method by which the orifices of the 

 planters are opened and closed is simple and ingenious. 

 Each planter has two sides or tongues ; one of these ig 

 fixed and bent at an angle — the angle being in a position 

 near the centre of the length of planter — the other 

 tongue moves on a centre, and is provided with two 

 curved arms. The face or extremity of one of these, 

 when the orifice of the planter is closed, rests against 

 the face of the extremity of the fixed tongue ; but when 

 the piston is pushed outwards, its end comes in con- 

 tact with the curved end of the movable ton;jue which 

 rests on the fixed tongue ; the two are thus forced out 



of contact with each other, and the orifice of ihe planter 

 opened. On the piston, on the contrary, being thrown 

 inwards towards the centre of the wheel, it comes in 

 contact with the other curved arm of the movable 

 tongue, pushes it outwards, and consequently moves the 

 opposite curved arm inwards, and brings its extremity 

 in contact with that of the fixed tongue when the orifice 

 of the planter is closed. The pistons are moved lo and 

 fro as follows -.—To each is provided a projecting wing 

 or arm ; this passes through a slot in the side of the 

 planter — the length of slot being equal to the stroke of 

 the piston ; this projecting arm comes in contact with a 

 slide at intervals, which forces the piston up and opens 

 a planter on the one side, while the piston of the planter 

 on the opposite side is forced down, and closes the 

 planter. There are other ingenious points connected 

 with this planting or dibbling machine, such as the 

 seed-meter or measure, which space does not allow us 

 to notice. 



" Sigma's" inventions connected with the new method 

 — which has been lately attracting considerable attention 

 — of planting, setting, or dibbling grain, pulse, mangel, 

 Sec, were exhibited at the Show by Charles Powell, of 

 Ticehurst, near Hurstgreen, Sussex. We propose at a 

 future period to notice the system advocated by " Sigma," 

 meanwhile directing our attention to the patent depo- 

 sitor, dibble, or grain planter, of which the following is 

 the inventor's description : — Imagine an angular piece 

 of wood, cased in brass and shod with iron, 4 ft. long, 

 from the angles of which project 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 small 

 steel rods ; if I jerk these by means of an upright handle 

 into the ground, and then draw them up without re- 

 moving the angular piece of wood, every hole will remain 

 open, excepting in very dry sand, and even in this case 

 the steel dibbler, when pushed down again, would thrust 

 any seed that might have been dropped into the hole as 

 far as the dibbler was pressed down ; but to make sure, 

 I have adopted the following plan : I have had small 

 brass nozzles firmly fixed to this angular piece of wood 

 (the flat upper surface of which wood forms the floor of 

 the seed-box), which nozzles penetrate half an inch or 

 so into the holes, and, acting as a guide, cause every 

 seed to be buried, and firmly planted by the small steel 

 dibblers. The action of the implement being thus, it is 

 jerked lightly on the ground, which causes the project- 

 ing dibblers to penetrate up to the angle; the dibblers, 

 by means of the handle, are then withdrawn, the imple- 

 ment being retained in its position by means of the foot 

 placed on a step ; the seed falls into the holes, as many 

 grains as may be thought advisable ; the handle is then 

 pushed down again, when every hole will have its allotted 

 number of grains firmly planted. Thirty-four of these 

 operations can, on an average, be effected in a minute — 

 ?. e., with a 5row depositor, or 170 holes — and the 

 work executed in the most perfect manner." 



The following detailed description of the constituent 

 parts may give a clearer idea of the construction of the 

 apparatus than the foregoin'^ general description. Tha 

 trough or seed-box is angular in form ; in the front of 

 this five perpendicular holes are bored, equidistant from 

 each other ; communicating with these perpendicular 



