Il66 FARM BUILDINGS 



285 821. Sieve with alternate conical depressions on each side. 



285 890. Horse feeding apparatus. 



286003. Automatic feeding apparatus especially for pigs. 

 286035. Clockwork device to scare birds by shooting. 



286 0/0. Device for controlling vermin, especially earth-fleas. 

 Olive crusher. 



Machine for extracting essential oil from limes and oranges 

 Appliance for protecting growing strawberries. 

 Sugar cane mills. 



Collapsible cloche for horticultural purposes. 

 Apparatus for cutting and slicing vegetables. 

 Alfalfa mill. 



I 182 104 — I 182 883 — I 183 123. Tractors. 

 I 183 381. Traction engine. 

 I 183 669. Caterpillar tractor. 



FARM go2 - NbW Method of Fire proofing Wood (i).— Eni^inecring Record, Vol. 72, Xo. 24, p. 717. 



BUILDINGS. >^-ew York, December 11, 1915. 



This method of fireproofing shingles was tested in the Forests Products 

 Laboratory at Madison (Wisconsin, United States). It is based on the for- 

 mation of an insohible salt, borate of zinc, which melts at a high tempera- 

 ture and covers the fibres of the wood with a protective coating. 



The air-dried shingles are first impregnated with.a watery solution of 

 borax, then stove-dried until their percentage of moisture does not exceed 

 10 per cent. After this they are impregnated with a solution of zinc 

 chloride, once more dried in the stove, and are then ready for use. 



The two solutions must be applied under high pressure, which necess- 

 itates the use of strong plate reservoirs, pressure pumps, standardised re- 

 cipients and other comparativeh^ expensive contrivances. Consequently 

 this process can hardly be used to advantage except where large quantities 

 of wood are to be treated. 



The experiments have shown that the shingles treated by this process 

 and immersed in running water for two weeks had not lost their fire proof 

 properties thanks to the insolubility of the zinc borate 



When exposed to a fierce fire the shingles treated burn, it is true, but 

 without flame, which is an important qualit5% because it prevents the fire 

 spreading from one part of the roof to another by the falling sparks or 

 burning brands. 



903 - Fencing-poles with Rot-proof Feet. — Plumley G. l,., in American As.riculturist, 

 Vol. 96, Xo. 22, p. 6. Xew York, Xovember 27, 1915. 



Bj' the following comparatively inexpensive method, fencing poles 

 may be provided with a rot-preventing cement foot. 



Along each pole from i to 2 angle irons are fixed which project out- 

 ward from the pole by an amount equal to the length of the foot to be fixed 

 in the ground ; this free end is placed vertically in the middle of a varnished 

 terra-cotta drain (or 2 superposed drains), after which the empty space is 



(i) See fi. 1914, Xo. 462. (Ed.) 



