THRASHING-MACHINE. 



THRASHING-MACHINE. 



The thrashing part, commonly called the 

 barn work, occupies a space of 6 feet by 4J 

 feet, and, together with the apparatus by which 

 motion is communicated (which is made either 

 for 2, 3, or 4 horses' power), may at pleasure 

 be elevated upon a pair of wheels and axle 

 and thus removed by two horses. 



Many of these machines are made by per- 

 sons who possess little claim to any mechanica 

 knowledge, and who, purchasing -the unfitted 

 castings, by the help of village artisans, pro- 

 dace an imitation of those which are considered 

 good. As the perfection of these machines 

 must depend upon mathematical accuracy in 

 the adjustment of all their parts, and in the 

 truth and precision of their fittings, it is un- 

 reasonable to expect that this can be accom- 

 plished where no facilities exist beyond the 

 forge and the work-bench ; and hence arises a 

 degree of discredit, which is unfairly thrown 

 upon the principles upon which the machine 

 is constructed. 



With these machines, properly constructed, 

 barley may be thoroughly thrashed with as 

 little or less damage than with the flail, and 

 wheat straw need not be so broken as mate- 

 rially to diminish its usefulness even for the 

 purpose of thatching. We cannot, with Sir 

 John Sinclair, reckon the circumstance of 

 breaking the straw one of the advantages of 

 thrashing by machinery, as we do not think it 

 desirable that any slovenly performance of the 

 thrashing-machine should trench upon the 

 legitimate occupation of the chaff-engine ; and 

 we repeat our opinion that all disadvantages 

 from the above-mentioned causes may, by a 

 well-constructed machine and a competent 

 manager, be entirely remedied. 



Vhe latest patent which is at present in ope- 

 ration is one taken out by Joseph Atkinson, of 

 Braham Hall, Yorkshire, which appears to be 

 of American origin. The thrashing or beat- 

 ing-out process is obtained by means differing 

 from any previously mentioned ; the drum be- 

 ing surrounded by a series of pegs, so arranged 

 as in its motion to pass similar rows of pegs 

 placed at intervals in a concave, surrounding 

 nearly one-half of the circumference of the 

 drum. This machine is not at present so fully 

 introduced into England as to afford opportunity 

 for fairly testing its comparative merits ; and it 

 would be unfair to give, upon slight evidence, 

 an opinion which may have any tendency to 

 increase the difficulty of the introduction of a 

 new article. We can therefore say little more 

 than that while such trials as have fallen under 

 our own inspection have not convinced us of 

 its superiority, we are inclined to the belief 

 that the principle is not so defective as to pre- 

 vent its being carried out to advantage, under 

 such modifications as may be suggested upon 

 further trials. 



We have now to draw the attention of our 

 readers to a machine in operation upon Lord 

 Ducie's example-farm at Whitfield, of which it 

 is probable, in a forthcoming report of that in- 

 teresting establishment, that a full account, ac- 

 companied by the necessary drawings, will be 

 given. Through the kindness of the manager, 

 John Morton, in accordance with whose sug- 

 gestions it was constructed, we have been 



favoured with an opportunity of witnessing its 

 performance, and with the following descrip- 

 tion, which we give in his own words :- 



" This machine is worked by a steam-engine 

 of six horse power. The corn is brought from 

 the stack upon wagons running along a tram- 

 road upon an inclined plane, to the doors of 

 the building, whence, sheaf by sheaf, it is 

 thrown by children into the buckets of an ele- 

 vator, which, in its rotation, carries them to the 

 feeding-board. This feeding-board is placed 

 at a tangent from the drum parallel with its 

 top ; and, as in Lee's machine, and the portable 

 machines in Suffolk and Norfolk, the feeding- 

 rollers are dispensed with, an endless web 

 gradually carries the unthrashed straw to the 

 feeding-mouth, from which the revolving 

 scutches rapidly convey it to the concave. 



"The drum and concave, being the part on 

 which the separating of the corn or thrashing 

 principle depends, we shall first describe: 

 The drum is about 18 inches diameter, formed 

 of sheet-iron strained round a cast-iron skeleton 

 accurately turned ; upon this the beaters, or 

 rather scutches, formed of angle-iron with its 

 edges planed, are so placed as to describe an 

 angle with the surface of the drum, pointing for- 

 ward in the direction of its motion ; these project 

 about seven-eighths of an inch. The screen 

 or concave encloses the drum to the extent of 

 about one-third of its circumference, and con- 

 sists of 4 or 5 arched pieces of grating, 3 inches 

 wide, jointed together. It is made of cast-iron, 

 bars, having a square section placed so that 

 every one shall present an edge to the passage 

 of the straw, uniting (as is not uncommon in 

 other machines) the fluted concave of the 

 Scotch machine with the wired grating of the 

 English ones ; the screen is supported on iron 

 bolts, so that it approaches to within about one- 

 eighth of an inch of the edge of the scutcher. 

 Spiral springs surround these bolts, which per- 

 mit the bars of the concave to yield when too 

 much pressure may at any time occur between 

 hem and the revolving drum. The grain is 

 hus separated, most of it passing through the 

 screen of the concave ; but in order that no 

 rain shall be allowed to pass away with the 

 straw, it is thrown upon the shaker below. 



The motion given to the straw by this shaker 

 s the most perfect we can conceive; the blows 

 occasioned as each series of spars strike it 

 from beneath, effectually remove every particle 

 of loose grain, while the shaker rapidly carries 

 forward the straw, and at its termination depo- 

 sits it in the straw-house, while the corn sifted 

 out by its action falls before the blast of a 

 "anner (the construction of which is peculiar); 

 and all the light grain and short straws thrown 

 out by the first winnowing into the light corn 

 pout is then taken up by another elevator, 

 deposited again upon the feeding-board, and 

 >assed a second time through the drum, in 

 order effectually to separate any that may re- 

 main. After passing through another win- 

 nower, the thoroughly cleaned corn is taken 

 up by a third elevator, and dropped into a 

 hopper, through which it passes into a sack, 

 wh''ch is placed on a weighing machine, and it 

 s there weighed and left thoroughly fit for 

 market. 



1039 



