53° 



Jo'.irnal of Kii^ricidture. 



[9 Sept., 1907. 



Another form of the buckscraper which cannot be used on skids and 

 consequently is only of ser\'ice with a short "lead," that is, where the dis- 

 tance the earth has tO' be transported is not great, is the " Perkins " scraper, 

 a Victorian invention. As will be seen from the description of its use, 

 it is made as light as possible, the face-boards being i-in. Oregon only, 

 fastened to i|-in. angle iron braced to the shafts with half-round iron. 

 The shafts are long, and have two handles coming over the hind cross- 

 bar. The draught chains are attached to the angle irons by a trace link at 

 the bend. A strip (3 inches) of \-m. steel is attached to the lower face- 

 board tO' form a cutting edge. As the essence of this scraper is in the 

 backing, saddle and breeching are required for the horse and travellers 

 on the shafts. The mode of using is as follows: — The ground to be 

 shifted is first ploughed, shallow for preference. The multifurrow- plough 

 i;: the most economical as the scraper will not cut much more than 

 3 inches deep at a time. One horse only is emploved, and a separate driver 

 is required. The man working the scraper puts his weight on the handles 

 to press the cutting edge into the ground and the horse moves forward. 

 When filled, which means about -^-th of a cubic yard, only sufficient weight 

 is kept on if to prevent it rising above the dirt. At the end of the lead, 

 the man turns round, grasps the handles, lifts the scraper — the w'eight 

 being about 60 lbs. — and walks back to the ploughed ground the driver 

 backing the horse at the same time, and the operation is repeated. As 

 many as five trips a minute can be made with a short lead. The vvork 

 is difficult and not effective in cloddy ground or with steep slcjpes. The 

 sandy soils of the mallee afford this scraper it's greatest field. An im- 

 provement is the substitution of a light steel plate for the Oregon boards, 

 as the implement will then take a deeper cut. It is, however, harder 

 work for both man and horse. 



The non-riding type has many forms, ranging from the section of a 

 round log to the somewhat more elaborate form figured herewith. The 



A USEFUL SCRAPER. 



I 



