1960 



MACHINERY 



MACLEANIA 



lent air-cooled engines on the market that have given 

 very satisfactory service. The demands that are put 

 upon the engine are variable and for this reason a good 

 governor is an important aid in maintaining a uniform 

 pressure and avoiding engine-racing. It is probably for 

 this reason ease in governing speed that the hit-and- 

 miss spark is much more commonly used than the jump 

 spark. 



The lighter and cheaper rigs are frequently made by 

 connecting an engine of about one horse-power with 

 some one of the more efficient hand-pumps, but on 

 most of the power outfits the pumps are especially 

 designed for this use and are of large capacity. Because 

 of the greater steadiness of the discharge-pressure, the 

 more uniform amount of power required from the 

 engine, and their greater capacity, the triplex pumps 

 are more generally used than the duplex. 



Pump and engine are connected in various ways: 

 with some a belt or chain is used, others are connected 

 by gears, while still others are directly connected by a 

 shaft in which a universal joint is usually placed to 

 avoid trouble should the alignment not be exact. It 

 is always advisable to have them so arranged that the 

 engine can easily be disconnected and used independ- 

 ently. It is quite important that pump and engine 

 should be so placed and the pump so designed that all 

 valves are readily accessible and also that the plunger- 

 packing can be reached and replaced quickly. 



Spray-tanks of three sizes are used, 100, 150, and 200 

 gallons. Two hundred gallons of water weigh over 

 1,600 pounds and when this is added to the weight of 

 the rig it frequently becomes impossible to haul a 

 loaded sprayer of this size over soft ground; on the 

 other hand, if the water-supply is not readily available, 

 too much time is spent in filling the smaller tanks. 

 The larger number of the more expensive outfits with 

 large-capacity pumps have the largest size of tank and 

 when the ground is too wet only half a tankful is used. 



In spraying orchards on steep hillsides, it sometimes 

 is impossible to use the tower without tipping over the 

 rig. To avoid this, some manufacturers put out sprayers 

 with the tank hung low so as to bring the center of 

 gravity down nearer to the axle of the truck. 



A few rigs have been made in which the liquid is 

 placed in an air-tight tank that is connected to a cylin- 

 der of compressed carbon dioxide gas, such as is used 

 in all soda-water fountains. The expansion of the gas 

 entering the liquid-chamber supplies the necessary 

 pressure. These sprayers give satisfaction when used 

 with bordeaux mixture but, when used with lime and 

 sulfur to which has been added arsenate of lead, a 

 chemical action takes place with the gas which releases 

 soluble arsenic and thus causes serious burning on the 

 foliage sprayed. 



Some growers, whose orchards are on steep hillsides 

 and where the land is too rough to take a sprayer of 

 the usual weight, have had satisfactory results from 

 the use of compressed air. Two metal tanks are 

 mounted on a low two-wheeled truck. One of these 

 is filled with the spray solution and, with a compressor 

 which is mounted at the filling-platform, air is pumped 

 into the second tank till a pressure of 300 to 400 pounds 

 is reached. This pressure is then gradually turned into 

 the liquid-tank as the solution is sprayed out. The 

 greatest part of the cost is in the engine and compressor, 

 but if these are used to run several sprayers the final 

 cost is not high. There are some mechanical difficulties 

 still to be overcome before these rigs are entirely satis- 

 factory, yet they illustrate a method that has much to 

 commend it. 



Tools, repair parts and extras. 



There are few operations on the farm in which the 

 efficiency of the work depends as much upon the time 

 at which it is performed as in spraying. This makes it 

 essential that care be taken to prevent loss of time 



through minor troubles. The value of time spent in 

 hunting for a certain tool to tighten a connection may 

 be sufficient to buy the tool many times over. The first 

 requirement is a kit of tools consisting of hammer, two 

 wrenches, one a pipe-wrench, screw-driver, cold- 

 chisel, and pliers. A collection of nuts, bolts and 

 washers and a few feet of fine and heavy wire should be 

 added to this. A supply of durable packing sufficient 

 to repack all the pump-cylinders should be on hand at 

 all tunes. It is well to have a piece of rubber gasket- 

 cloth from which washers and gaskets for unions and 

 other connections can be cut. A supply of new nozzles, 

 nozzle-washers and especially nozzle-discs is essential. 

 The breaking of an extension-rod is of such frequent 

 occurrence that it is desirable to have one in reserve for 

 such emergencies. Wherever hose is used an extra 

 length should be carried. 



With a power rig, the ignition system is usually the 

 cause of most of the trouble. Batteries need to be 

 replaced at least once in a season and, with a jump 

 spark, a new spark-plug is occasionally needed. It 

 seems almost needless to say that a plentiful supply 

 and liberal use of oil and cup-grease is necessary, yet 

 many machines are injured by lack of this. 



In using a traction-sprayer for different field-crops 

 and especially if the same sprayer is used in the vine- 

 yard, it is frequently desirable to change the arrange- 

 ment of the nozzles. With a hack-saw, file, J^-inch 

 pipe thread-cutters, a few feet of J^-inch pipe and a 

 few couplings, nipples, unions and elbows, this can 

 quickly be done. 



Mixing-platforms, boilers, filling devices. 



In most cases where bordeaux mixture is used, it is 

 made on the farm as it is needed. In such cases the 

 work is simplified by the use of "a mixing-platform with 

 the floor high enough so that the liquid can be poured 

 directly into the spray-tank when the rig is driven to 

 the platform. There should be space for at least four 

 barrels. Such a platform should be placed so that 

 water is readily available. If there is no windmill or 

 power-driven pump, the platform should be directly 

 over a well with the pump mounted on the floor. 



A similar platform is very convenient where lime- 

 sulfur is to be made on the farm, using steam for the 

 boiling. The boiler can be placed on the ground or in 

 an adjacent building and the steam piped to each barrel. 

 For this work any boiler may be used which can develop 

 ten or fifteen pounds pressure. 



When lime-sulfur is to be made by direct heat instead 

 of steam, any standard feed-cooker or simply a large 

 iron kettle can be used. When any considerable amount 

 of liquid is to be boiled, it adds greatly to the conven- 

 ience if water can be piped directly to the kettle and if 

 the lime-sulfur can be emptied directly into barrels by 

 a siphon or a discharge-pipe from the boiler. 



It is not uncommon for it to take longer to drive 

 from the orchard to the water-supply, fill the tank and 

 return than it takes to spray out the tank. Efficiency 

 in spraying necessitates a convenient water-supply. 

 If the mixing-platform is near enough, it can be used as 

 a reservoir from which a tank-load can quickly be 

 secured. Some of the manufacturers are now equipping 

 rigs with either an auxiliary filling-pump or a device 

 working on the principle of the injector and taking the 

 power from the spray-pump. These are very convenient 

 where an elevated supply of water is not possible. 

 Where a nearby water-supply can not be secured it is 

 best to haul the water to the sprayer in tank-wagons 

 or in barrels. R. D. ANTHONY. 



MACKAYA: Asystasia. 



MACLEANIA (after John Maclean, British merchant 

 at Lima, Peru, patron of botany). Ericacese. About 

 a dozen species of shrubs in the mountains from Mexico 

 to Peru, useful for ornament under glass but little 



