WINTER CHICKWEED. 



WIRE-WORM. 



moved by hand. This implement is more, 

 perhaps, adapted for millers; and its cost pre- 

 sents, in its present form, a bar to its general 

 introduction. If it could be reduced to the 

 power of being worked by hand, it would be a 

 very valuable assistant to the proper prepara- 

 tion of the grain for market. 



The American machines for cleaning grain 

 are commonly designated .Fans, Grain Fans, 

 and in the Eastern States, Winning Mills. Their 

 construction differs materially from such as 

 are used for similar purposes in Europe, being 

 much more simple, and not having more than 

 half the machinery. The old "Dutch Fan," 

 formerly used, and which had no shaking screen, 

 is now superseded by highly improved fans. 

 The principal modern improvement in these 

 consists in the application of a screen attached 

 to the shaker, which more effectually rids the 

 grain from cockle and dirt that cannot be 

 blown out. The ordinary size of an American 

 fan is about 5 feet in the frame or boarding, 3 

 feet in height, and about 2 feet 4 or 6 inches in 

 width. The blower or fan is about 2$ feet in 

 diameter. Screens and riddles from 18 to 20 

 inches square, from 3 to 6 riddles accompany- 

 ing each fan. The most simple arrrangement 

 for working a shaker is a small crank attached 

 to a rod leading from the side of the fan to the 

 riddle-frame or shaker. 



A fan of the dimensions described will clean 

 from 40 to 60 bushels of wheat per hour. Eng- 

 lish farmers who have come to the United States, 

 say that these simple winnowing-machines do 

 far more work than the English, which last are 

 complicated with much machinery, for cleaning 

 smut, &c. (See SMUT-MILL.) The English 

 winnowing-machines cost from $40 to $60, 

 whilst the American are made for $16 to $24, 

 according to the size and number of screens ; at 

 which prices they are furnished, among other 

 places, at No. 196 Market street, Philadelphia, 

 by Mr. Chandler.agricultural implement maker. 



WINTER CHICKWEED. See CUICKWEED, 

 EUROPEAN. 



WINTER-CRESS (Barbarea, on account 

 of its being formerly called the herb of St. 

 Barbara). There are, in England, two indi- 

 genous species; 1. The bitter winter-cress, or 

 yellow rocket (B. ru/gam), a perennial, which 

 is common in rather moist waste ground, about 

 hedges, or in marshy meadows. The root is 

 tapering, somewhat woody ; stem about 2 feet 

 high, simple or branched, leafy, stout, angular, 

 and furrowed. Lower leaves lyrate, the termi- 

 nal lobe roundish ; upper obovate, toothed, 

 strongly ribbed, of a fine texture, quite smooth. 

 Flowers bright yellow, in round-headed corym- 

 bose clusters. Pod quadrangular, about an 

 inch long. The whole herb is nauseously bit- 

 ter, and in some degree mucilaginous. A dou- 

 ble-flowered variety, with innumerable petals 

 produced in long succession, and turning white 

 as they fade, is frequent in gardens. 2. Early 

 winter-cress (B. prcecox}. This biennial spe- 

 cies is found in watery, grassy places, or on the 

 banks of ditches. Stems, one or more, erect, 

 1 or 2 feet high, smooth, a little branched, 

 tinged at the bottom with a violet hue. Lower 

 leaves lyrate : upper deeply pinnatifid, with 

 linear, oblong, entire segments; flowers fewer, 



smaller, and paler than those of B. vulgarit. 

 Pods thrice as long as in that species, exactly 

 square, smooth. This species propagates 

 itself abundantly by seed, but the root is not 

 perennial. It may be eaten like water-cresses, 

 with which it agrees in flavour, except being 

 rather more pungent. 



WINTER-GREEN (Pyrola, from the leaves 

 being similar to tho^e of the pear tree). A 

 genus of very pretty plants, rather difficult to 

 cultivate. A shaded peat border appears to 

 suit them best, and they are readily increased 

 by divisions or seeds. The whole genus is 

 astringent and tonic. There are, in England, 

 five native species, all perennials, as follows : 

 1. Round-leaved winter-green (Pyrola rotundi- 

 /o/ia). 2. Intermediate winter-green (P. media). 

 3. Lesser winter-green (P. minor). 4. Serrated 

 winter-green (P. secunda) ; and, 5. Single-flow- 

 ered winter-green (P. uniflora). They all in- 

 habit alpine wooded localities ; the flowers are 

 white or reddish, often highly fragrant. P. u/u- 

 flora is one of the most curious and elegant of 

 British flowers. 



WINTER-GREEN, AMERICAN {Pyrola umbel- 

 lata), Pipsissiwa. The Chimaphila umbdlata 

 of Nuttall. This plant is very abundant in 

 cool situations in the United States. It has a 

 long creeping root, and ascending stem 3 to 6 

 inches long, leafy at the top. The leaves are 

 of a deep green and very glossy, possessing a 

 peculiar flavour, some bitterness, and a mode- 

 rate degree of astringency. Under the Indian 

 name of Pipsissiwa, this plant has been long 

 noted as a popular medicine. It has doubtless 

 some virtues, but its properties are very often 

 misapplied in its empirical use. 



The Spotted Winttr-Gnen (Pyrola maculata), 

 is also a common plant in the United States, 

 erroneously called Pipsissiwa by Pursh. Its 

 properties are similar to those of the first- 

 named species, though weaker. Five or six 

 additional species of the Pyrola genus are 

 found in the United States. 



WINTER-PROUD. A term provincially 

 applied to wheat which in winter puts on a 

 more green and luxuriant appearance than it 

 is able to support in the following summer; or 

 in which the ramifications become too nume- 

 rous to be kept up, or brought to maturity, from 

 the previous over-exertion of the soil. In 

 these cases the crops decline during the spring 

 and summer, and at harvest yield imperfectly, 

 falling much below other crops which had a 

 more backward appearance in the winter. 



WINTER-WEED. A name given, in Nor- 

 folk and other parts, to the ivy-leaved speed- 

 well (Veronica hederifolia'). See SPEKHWELL. 



WIRE-WORM (Elater segetis). These are 

 larvee of that tribe of insects named Elateridce, 

 or click-beetles, which are readily known by 

 having- the sternum produced behind into a 

 strong spine fitted to enter a groove in the ab- 

 domen situated between the intermediate pair 

 of legs. By bringing these parts suddenly into 

 contact, the insects are enabled to spring to 

 some height into the air, and thus recover 

 their natural position, when they happen 

 to fall on their backs, which they frequently 

 do, when dropping from plants to the ground. 

 A special provision of this kind is rendered 



1149 



