52 



Seed Wheat. 



The capacity is from 5 to 20 bushels per hour, according to size and manner of use ; 

 the machine, shown in Fig. 34, is 6 feet long, 6 feet high, and 3 feet wide, has a capacity of 

 20 bushels per hour, and is advertised at about 25. The smallest size has a capacity 

 of 2 to 5 bushels per hour, and costs 12. The smaller sizes are not always supplied 

 with the revolving brushes for keeping the meshes clear of grains caught and held by 

 friction. As before remarked, some such device as this for keeping the meshes clear is 

 a great addition to this class of machine. 



These hand machines are capable of cleaning or grading in a very effective manner from 

 3 to 6 bushels per hour, employing one man. This means, in this country, a cost of 2d. 

 to 4d. per bushel for labour. At the rate of 1 bushel of seed-wheat per acre, this means 

 the expenditure of from 2d. to 4d. per acre. This is a small expenditure in comparison 

 with the increased yield that may be expected from the improved quality of the seed. 

 In order for the return to repay the labour, it would only be necessary for the yield to 

 be increased by one-twelfth to one-sixth of a bushel per acre of wheat, when the price 

 of wheat was 2s. per bushel All increase of yield above this additional fraction of a 

 peck per acre would be surplus on the labour expended. 



Pig. 35. An Australian form of seed- wheat screen, or grader, suitable for use by farmers. The 

 screen is a cylinder of perforated sheet metal, actuated by the crank, E. A brush, A A, is 

 held against the screen by the springs, B B. The feed from the hopper, D, is regulated by 

 the handle, C. The seed-wheat is caught at the further end of the screen, while the tailings 

 fall on to the floor beneath. The capacity of the machine ranges up to 50 bushels per 

 hour, but of course the qualify of the work is not so good at 50 bushels per hour as at 20 

 bushels per hour ; the slower the grading is done, the better it is done. The brush, A A, 

 is an important factor in machines of this class. When, as in this case, only one size of 

 mesh is supplied with the machine, a variety of grading can still be done by working the 

 samples through several times. In this manner three quite distinct grades may be prepared 

 with this machine, at the expense, however, of extra labour. For Australian wheat the 

 mesh should not be less than 2'75 millimetres. 



The prices of these machines of moderate capacity vary from 10 or less to 20, and 

 they are so solidly constructed that, with good usage, they will easily last ten to twenty 

 years on an ordinary farm. If we allow 1 or 2 per annum for interest and wear, 

 according to the size of the machine, we have a cost of Id. to 2d. per acre on a farm of 

 200 acres. This sum must be added to the actual cost of the labour of grading the grain 

 in order to arrive at the total cost of grading. 



