i88 



THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



der with the air-chamber ; Fig. 94 represents the 

 strainer ; Fig. 95 the nozzle, showing the arrange- 

 ment for cleaning the same ; and Fig. 96 shows a 

 modification of the discharge-pipe. 



"The letter a represents the reservoir for holding the poi- 

 sonous liquid ; b is the pump-cylinder In which the piston c Is 

 worked up and down by means of the lever d. The lower end 

 of this cylinder is made funnel-shaped, and to It Is fastened 

 the rubber tube e which connects It with the stralnery". This 

 strainer is made in two parts for the introduction of a strain- 

 ing-cloth, ^, and for convenience in cleaning. The lower end 

 of the strainer is perforated, and, If desired, any additional 

 straining matter may be placed between the perforated bottom 

 and the cloth, so as to make sure that no substances shall be 

 forced Into the sprinkler to clog its action. To the lower end 

 of the cylinder is secured the discharge-pipe /;, upon the top 

 of which Is formed the air-chamber /. Upon the outer end of 

 the discharge-pipe is placed the sprinkler /, which is round 

 and flat, as shown, and perforated about one-half round. 

 Upon the top of this sprinkler is screwed the cap or cover w, 

 secured to which is the brush n. The handle of the brush is 

 bent at right angles, as shown, and is secured to the cap in 

 such a manner as to form, as it were, a part thereof, so that as 

 the brush is moved around to clear away any obstructions 

 which may have a tendency to close up the fine perforations 

 in the edge of the sprinkler, the cap turns with it. By means 

 of this screw-cap the brush can be adjusted up and down at 

 will, so that after cleaning off the perforations the brush can 

 be depressed down below the level of the holes, so as to be out 

 of the way. 



' ' Instead of a single nozzle, there may be two or 

 more used by simply changing the construction 

 of the discharge-pipe, as in Fig. g6, which repre- 

 sents one made for the use of three nozzles. 



[Fig. 93. 



[Fig. 94.] 



" Several other machines of this class have been 

 patented, but as they are mere repetitions of those 

 already described, and the patents have been 

 obtained on slight changes in the pump and in 

 the arrangement for cleaning the nozzles, it is 

 sufficient to merely mention those that have come 

 to ray knowledge. Mr. J. C. Melcher, of Black 

 Jack Springs, Tex., has constructed one, and 

 obtained a patent for the nozzle January 18, 1879. 

 It is of the same shape as that of Mr. Ruhmann, 

 but without the brush, and the cleaning is done 

 by unscrewing the upper cover of the nozzle. 

 Another of very similar nature is the improved 

 sprinkler of Mr. G. Yeager, of Flatonia, Tex., for 

 which a patent was applied for last April. 



" If the pump of these machines is made of 

 good material, so as to give and stand a good 

 deal of pressure, and il the nozzle is of sufficient 

 size, or if several smaller nozzles are used, a fine 

 and efficient spray can be thrown over from five 

 to seven rows of cotton when the wind is favorable. 

 In this way about 40 acres can be sprinkled in 

 one day. The price of these machines ranges 

 from $6 to .fg, and they do good work, the prin- 

 cipal difficulty being found in keeping the nozzles 

 clean. 



" The Johnson Spray Machine. — This sprink- 

 ler, invented by Judge Jehu W. Johnson, of 

 Columbus, Tex. (patents No. 145,571, December 

 16, 1873, 3nd No. 145,572, of the same date), is 

 not only the oldest one on record for the appli- 

 cation of liquid poison on a large scale, but pro- 

 duces the spray in a novel and peculiar manner. 



" The accompanying sketch represents this 

 machine in operation. It will be seen therefrom 

 that it consists of a tank placed upon a two- 

 wheeled cart. The pump secured to the top of 

 the tank is a common double-acting force pump, 

 and with the discharge-pipe is connected a trans- 

 verse pipe. These parts need no furthur descrip- 

 tion, and nothing new or peculiar is claimed for 

 them. The claim for the second patent mentioned 

 above is based upon the addition of a self-acting 

 pitman, the arrangement of which can be seen in 

 the sketch, and which is more fully illustrated at 

 Fig. 97 The letter A represents the tank, B the 

 platform of the cart, which is provided with the 

 two wheels, C. These are much smaller than 

 ordinary cart-wheels, in order to give the required 

 number of revolutions necessary to the successful 

 operation of the pump. In order to place the 

 cart-bed at such an elevation as to pass over the 

 rows of plants, it is raised by means of vertical 

 bars, as will be seen in the sketch. One of the 



[Fig. 97.] 



Johnson's Sprav Machine : — top view. 



wheels C has a crank pin, c, attached to it, at a 

 suitable distance from the centre, and to this 

 crank-pin is attached the lower end of a pitman, 

 the upper part of which is attached to the pump- 

 lever G. The discharge-pipe of the pump is 

 provided with a valve to regulate the How of the 

 liquid. With the transverse pipe before men- 

 tioned are connected, by means of screw-joints, 

 branch pipes K, which in the sketch and in the 

 diagram are five in number. 



"These branch pipes are made of cast metal, 

 and on their inner surface, at the lower end, 

 grooves, /, are formed, either during the process 

 of casting or by planing or cutting them out after- 

 wards. In the lower end of these branch pipes a 

 plug made of rubber or cork is inserted, and a 

 rod extends from the plug to the upper end of the 

 tube k, where it engages with a nut by which the 

 plug may be tightened or loosened. It will be 

 seen that the liquid passing through this pipe 

 must escape by way of the grooves and assume 

 the form of spray, and that by tightening or 

 loosening the plug the size of the grooves is 

 increased or diminished. 



