IMPLEMENTS, &c. OF THE FARM. 455 



to twenty horses, be got ready in a very short space of time, 

 and with but little fuel. If it is not deemed advisable to erect 

 the apparatus for this particular purpose, the copper, commonly 

 placed in the corner of almost every work-house, may be re- 

 placed by an iron boiler, and used in the following manner. 



In the top there are two holes, one for receiving a funnel to 

 supply the boiler with water, and the other for admitting the 

 neck of a leaden pipe, which conveys the vapour to the steamer; 

 the funnel is furnished with a steam-tight plug, and the boiler 

 should be kept about two-thirds full. Adjoining the boiler, a 

 strongly rivetted box, of sufficient dimensions to contain the 

 intended quantity of food, is placed upon a frame of equal 

 height with the top of the boiler, from which the steam-pipe 

 passes into it a few inches above the bottom, and just under a 

 rack of laths, made strong enough to support the food, which 

 is to be placed upon it, and close enough to prevent its falling 

 through the intervals. The front of the box opens by either 

 sliding or falling doors, sufficiently large to allow the food 

 being put in and taken out, and sufficiently tight to prevent the 

 escape of the steam; and in the top there is a small but heavy 

 trap-door, the weight of which keeps it down, unless the pres- 

 sure of the steam be too great, in which case it is forced open, 

 and allowing a portion of the steam to pass, thus acts as a 

 safety-valve. The steam penetrates through the rack into the 

 whole mass of materials in the box, and, when condensed, 

 drains down again, as water, with the oozings of the vegeta- 

 bles, upon the bottom, from which it is conveyed away by a 

 waste-pipe communicating with the boiler. In placing the 

 food care should be taken to put the roots at the bottom, and 

 those articles which lie closer, such as hay, straw, bran, or 

 chaff, at the top, so as to allow a free passage upwards for the 

 steam. A large basket may be placed underneath the box, into 

 which the food may be raked when ready; or a tub, with a 

 cock at the bottom, to let off water, may be used both for that 

 purpose, and for washing the roots previously to their being 

 steamed. The interior of the box may be divided by sliding 

 partitions, reaching as far down as the rack, for the conve- 

 nience of separating the different kinds of foods, if that should 

 be thought necessary: the steam-pipe may also be made to pass 

 along its whole length, and being perforated with small holes, 

 will thus distribute the vapour equally. 



There is no occasion for the box being so large as to prepare 

 all that may be required at one time, as a very large portion of 

 different materials may all be steamed within an hour. The 

 annexed figure will fully explain the plan of the machine, the 

 whole cost of which would probably not exceed forty dollars. 



