ROLLERS. 



ROLLERS. 



Booth, Esq., of Allerton, near Liverpool, who 

 to a great love of farming added a very tolera- 

 ble share of mechanical skill, and to both am- 

 ple means to carry out his various devices, 

 constructed a roller, or rather a nest of rollers, 

 on the lever principle. He contended for a 

 very small diameter as the most effective in 

 crushing the clods, and throwing the greatest 

 possible weight on the surface of the ground. 

 We regret being only able to give an idea of 

 his invention from memory; but do not think 

 his roller was more than a foot in diameter at 

 the outside. It consisted of five cylinders or 

 rollers, arranged in such manner that three 

 hind ones, separated from each other, have the 

 two spaces overlapped by two cylinders placed 

 in front. 



Drill rollers. These are made of rings adapt- 

 ed to a shaft. They are not by any means of 

 modern invention, having been well known to 

 the English farmers of Norfolk and Suffolk for 

 the greater part of a century. The only im- 

 provement they have undergone has been to 

 render each ring independent of its neighbour, 

 so that the process of turning at the end of the 

 field is facilitated, as in the case of the jointed 

 roller. The modern drill rollers in other re- 

 spects have not improved, if the doctrine of 

 Mr. Booth, already noticed, be correct, that a 

 small diameter is better than a large one. The 

 > drill roller is used for the double purpose of 

 ' crushing clods on rough lands, and making 

 grooves ready to receive the seed of wheat or 

 other grain sown broadcast on light soils. It 

 is a capital tool for either purpose. In the first 

 case it is followed by a harrow, of sufficient 

 weight to lighten up the surface ; in the other, 

 the fine, short-toothed harrow, or even a mere 

 bush-harrow, will be found sufficient. The 

 less such land is disturbed after sowing the 

 better, and the more distinct will be the seve- 

 ral rows or grooves of corn. 



Heavy rollers. The heavy roller is a very 

 effective implement. It is formed of 3 sepa- 

 rate cylinders, about 2 feet in diameter, and 

 of the same length; the axis of each being in- 

 dependent of the other. On turning, they con- 

 sequently revolve in different directions, and 

 thus "slading" at the land's end is avoided. 



The double-jointed barley roller is a very use- 

 ful implement. It is so constructed that the 

 two sides, being separate rolls or distinct 

 frames, may revolve at opposite angles; and, 

 when required, one may be placed behind the 

 other. A plan has for many years been in use 

 in Norfolk, of constructing them with twisted 

 joints, so that the under end of one roll shall 

 work behind the end of the other, thus leaving 

 no seam between the roller. 



Crossbills' clod-crusher is, under many circum- 

 stances, a valuable implement. It is composed 

 of a series of iron rings, with notched edges, 

 set apart from each other about 3 or 4 inches. 

 Small cross-bars or knives are placed at fre- 

 quent intervals on the faces of these, and near 

 their outer notched rims, so as to intersect 

 every portion of land over which it passes. Its 

 construction, combined with its great weight, 

 renders it very effective for the purpose which 

 its name denotes. Indeed, as an old farming 

 952 



bailiff once aptly remarked, it is a roll and a 

 harrow combined. The roller is an implement 

 which requires some judgment as to the time 

 of its use, and this remark applies with in- 

 creased force to the one under consideration. 



Seam or land-presser. If a drill is so effective 

 an implement, far more so is the seam or land- 

 presser, inasmuch as its whole force and 

 weight is directed to each individual furrow, 

 as it is turned over by the common plough. 

 The seam-presser is in fact an abstract of a 

 drill roller, consisting of but two cylinders of 

 cast-iron, which, following in the furrow, press 

 and roll down the newly turned-up earth, and 

 it is more particularly useful when applied to 

 clover stubbles intended for wheat. (Ransome 

 on Jlgr. Imp.") 



In the United States the roller is constructed 

 of wood, stone, or cast-iron, according to con- 

 venience or the purposes for which it is used. 

 In American husbandry we have yet no reason 

 to expect, or perhaps desire, any but those 

 made of wood, and such as any farmer, who 

 has a moderate degree of mechanic skill, and 

 the carpenter's tools which every farmer ought 

 to keep, may readily construct himself. A 

 good, sound, oak log, with the frame and shafts 

 appended, makes a good roller. They are 

 made of different lengths and sizes, varying 

 from 15 to 30 inches in diameter. The lighter 

 kinds are made in one piece, but the larger 

 and heavier kinds are advantageously made in 

 two pieces, with an iron rod passing through 

 the centre of both, and upon which they re- 

 volve. English farmers construct the frame 

 so as to rise above the roller, upon which a 

 box is fixed, either to contain stones to add to 

 the pressure of the roller, or to receive small 

 stones and rubbish, collected on the field while 

 at work, which are to be carried off. Their 

 shafts, when at work, are generally horizontal. 

 We think the roller is more easily drawn when 

 the draught is on a right line from the collar 

 or yoke of the team to the point of resistance. 

 This may be done, and the advantages of the 

 box retained. 



The uses and advantages of the roller are 

 many and important, and no farmer should be 

 without one. They are particularly important 

 in the seeding process, to break down the clods, 

 pulverize and smooth the surface, and to press 

 the earth to the smaller seeds, which otherwise 

 often fail to germinate for lack of moisture. 

 This is particularly the case with oats, barley, 

 and the grass seeds. In autumn the roller is 

 sometimes passed over winter grain, with a 

 view to counteract the effects of frost the fol- 

 lowing winter. In spring it is advantageously 

 passed over winter grain, as soon as the ground 

 is so solid and dry that the feet of the cattle 

 will not poach the surface. It renders light 

 ground more compact ; presses the soil to the 

 roots, of the grain, and thus promotes their 

 growth ; and upon all soils closes the innume- 

 rable cracks and fissures which abound on the 

 appearance of dry weather in spring, and, by 

 partially burying the crown, causes grain to 

 tiller better, that is, send up more seed-stalks. 

 Finally, the roller is of great advantage to 

 grass lands in the springj by reducing the in- 



