1847. 



GENESEE FARMER. 



255 



Ellsworth's Ram. (Figure 9.) 



Its construction may be seen from the above 

 sectional drawings, where a bis a. hollow dome 

 or cap, the cavity of which is divided into two 

 distinct chambers by a partition c. This dome 

 is fastened to a flanged joint, to the circular plate 

 d d, to receive the bearing of the partition c. 

 The central portion of the plate dd is sunk in 

 the form of a box or chest, g.f; that part of 

 which lying under chamber a, is roofed over by 

 d, d, but communicates with a, by a valve n, 

 opening upwards. That portion of the chest 

 marked g, is still further enclosed by an upright 

 plate m, held to its |)Iace by a couple of wedges 



opposite manner at h, the air at b is varified, or 

 under less than the pressure of the atmosphere. 

 As water under pressure, in contact with air, has 

 the property of absorbing more or less of it, and 

 then liberating it ; when the pressure is remov- 

 ed, the air in a has a tendency to diminish, and 

 that in b to increase in quantity ; but the posi- 

 tion of the valves in this machine is such, that 

 when it is in action, a is constantly replenished 

 from the overplus in b, for the recoiling move- 

 ment in i above mentioned, which allows valve g 

 to open, draws in a few bubbles of air from b,f, 

 at 0, which air lodges in the cavity under n, and 



not shown in the section. This plate has an ori- 1 is driven into a by the next pulsation of the wa- 



fice at 0, furnished with a valve opening towards ter in i. 



g, which is suspended on the spring, I. From Farmers, manufacturers, and others, have fre- 

 quently attempted to carry water over elevated 

 ground to some situation below the fountain head, 

 but have been troubled, and often compelled to 

 abandon the plan, from an accumulation of air in 

 the more elevated portions of the pipe, which in 

 the course of a few days cuts off the stream en- 

 tirely, and requires it to be re-filled. This is 

 owing either to a want of sufficient fall between 

 the level of the supply and the point of discharge, 

 or to some contraction in the pipe, to that de- 

 gree, that the air liberated from the water, (ow- 

 ing to the diminished pressure 1o which the water 

 is subjected in the higher portion of the syphon,) 

 remains in the pipe. The only remedy is to ob- 

 tain more fall, or give the pipe a freer aperture, 

 until the current has sufficient velocity to carry 

 the air through. A velocity of between one foot 

 and eighteen inches per second, is ordinarily 

 sufficient to accomplish this. 



The quantity of water which the machine 

 above described consumes, may be, to a consid- 

 erable extent, regulated by a small crank, which 

 enters at right angles with the plane of the sec- 

 tion behind valve g, which, when turned, gives 

 the valve more or less play, and may, if desired, 

 be made to close it, and stop its action entirely. 

 There is also a small fixture for opening and 

 starting the action of the valve. When the ap- 

 paratus overdraws its supply, and stops from that 



y passes h, the long leg of the syphon, and from 

 g, i, the short leg. In operating the machine, i 

 and n are first filled with water through the screw 

 plug at e; as soon as the syphon is free to act, 

 a current commences in the direction, i, g,f, h. 

 It is this current, acting on the valve at^, soon 

 overcomes the elasticity of the spring, I, and the 

 orifice o, is suddenly closed : the water in i then 

 acts with a momentum due to its weight and up- 

 ward velocity, upon the valve n, and a quantity 

 of water escapes into a, which when the momen- 

 tum in I is exhausted, is prevented from return- 

 ing by the closing of n. The moment that n 

 closes, a slight recoil of the water in i, allows / 

 to throw open the valve at^, and the above pro- 

 cess is then repeated. The water which accum- 

 ulates in a, is conducted by a curved pipe attach- 

 ed at k, to any situation above the machine where 

 it may be wanted for use. The chambers a and 

 b, are never full of water ; they confine each a 

 quantity of air, which, by its elasticity, equalizes 

 the currents through k and A. These air-cham- 

 bers are both indispensable to the perfect action 

 of the machine, and if k and h are of considera- 

 ble length, it will not operate at all when they 

 are filled with water. The air in a is obviously 

 under more or less pressure in proportion to the 

 height to which the water is elevated through k, 

 while owing to the same cause operating in an 



