120 THE YEAR-BOOK OF AGRICULTURE. 



mouth of a vertical trunk, while the grain falls into a receptacle by its own weight, clean and 

 free from chaff, dust, &c. The machine can also be arranged as to act with equal facility in 

 cleaning grass or any kind of seeds possessing different specific weights from wheat. 



Grain and Smut Machines. The nature of an improvement, patented February 6, 1855, by 

 Messrs. Bean and Wright, of Hudson, Michigan, consists' in combining the grain-separator 

 with the smut apparatus in such a manner that the air, in passing to the fan of the separator, 

 goes through the smut screen, and materially assists in cleansing the grain more perfectly 

 than by other machines. 



Indian Meal Sizing. A patent has recently been issued in England for the employment of 

 finely-ground and bolted Indian meal for sizing, stiffening, and finishing textile fabrics, such 

 as cotton and linen goods ; that is, for the use of corn flour as a substitute for wheat flour for 

 stiffening goods. 



Home's Improved Corn-Sheller and Winnower. In this improved corn-sheller, patented by 

 J. V. Home, of Magnolia, Illinois, the ear passes between a toothed cylinder and a concave 

 plate, whereby the grain is instantly stripped off ; the corn and cob then fall into a revolving 

 screen, which conveys the cob away out of the machine, while the corn falls through the 

 meshes of the wire on to a concave receiving-pan. The winnowing is done by a fan which 

 sends a blast of air lengthwise through the screen. The grain is elevated high enough for 

 bagging by means of miniature elevators. 



This improvement combines all the conveniences that could possibly be desired in a corn- 

 sheller viz. it shells, separates the cob, cleans and bags the grain, all by the turning of 

 one crank. 



Improvements in Grinding Mills. 



Felton's Improved Mill. An improvement in mills for grinding feed has been made by Amory 

 Felton, of Troy, New York, which consists in the employment or use of a corrugated cylinder 

 and a concave and cap having spiral flanges and reciprocating teeth. The grain to be 

 ground is placed in a hopper above the corrugated cylinder, and is made to rotate when the 

 grain passes between the concave described and the cylinder, and is crushed between the 

 spiral flanges of the concave and the corrugations on the cylinders, and is then discharged, 

 ground, by an opening in the end of the concave. This mill is now in use, and grinds four 

 bushels per hour by one-horse power. Scientific American. 



The following figures represent an improved hominy mill, recently invented and patented by 

 B. Bridendolph, of Clearspring, Md. Fig. \ is perspective view of the mill. A is the hopper- 

 box ; B is a metal cylinder with projections on its inner surface ; C is the hulling-shaft, 

 working in cylinder B. It is of a compound spiral shape ; it has a spiral face and spiral 

 edges on its threads. This shaft revolves in the cylinder B by the bevel-gearing u P. The 

 shaft of the bevel-wheel u is rotated by hand by a crank lever, or it may be driven by any 

 other power, /is a fan which is rotated by a band from pulley w passing around pulley d, 

 on the shaft of the fan. The corn is put into the inside h of the hopper-box, and the shaft C 

 being rotated, the corn passes gradually from the hopper down through the cylinder B. The 

 spiral threads of the shaft C beats the corn against the rough interior surface of the cylinder, 

 carries it down, and at the same time packs it in a mass at the bottom, while the spiral edges 

 (which run reverse to the spiral of the threads) act so as to strip the hull from the grain, and 

 break and take the eyes out of it. 



The outlet of the hollow grinding cylinder is regulated by a small vent-gate at the one side 

 at the bottom, which allows it to escape just as fast as the mill hulls it. It then falls upon 

 a sieve s, (fig. 1,) and the hulls, eyes, and other impurities are there separated from it by 

 the blast from the fan /, when it passes down and out in a clear state from a shute under 

 the fan. 



This mill can be made of any size, from a hand up to a horse-power. A hand-power mill, 

 the patentee informs us, hulls one bushel per hour ; a horse-power from 50 to 80 bushels per 

 day. Several thousands of them have already come into use. It can be made on a large 

 scale, so as to convert it into a corn and cob mill. Fig. 2 represents a vertical section of a 

 cylinder and shaft, when used as such a mill. It is made like fig. 1 in every respect, excepting 



