294 AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING 



Main Drive. The main drive from the rear wheels, which 

 furnish the power to the beater, is an important part of the 

 spreader. Gears and chains are used to transmit the power. 



Chains offer an advan- 

 tage in case of breakage, 

 as a chain can be easily 

 and cheaply repaired. 

 Breakage is more likely 

 to occur when starting 

 the machine than at any 

 other time. To prevent 

 the beater from throwing 



Fig. 184. One type of driving mechanism OVCr B, big bunch of Hia- 



nure when put in motion, 



a rear end board is provided, which is raised when the ma- 

 chine is started. The beater may also be moved away from the 

 manure when going into gear, thus overcoming this difficulty. 



The Beater. The beater for pulverizing the manure is 

 made up of bars of teeth which revolve at a relatively high 

 speed against the manure fed to it by the apron. It 

 should be constructed of durable material; wood bars are 

 generally used to hold the teeth, but beaters made entirely 

 of steel are used on a few machines. The size does not seem 

 to be so important so long as the teeth are given the proper 

 speed to pulverize the manure well. The height of the beater 

 in reference to the apron is important, for if placed too low it 

 tends to drag the manure over without pulverizing it. Beaters 

 placed high are quite likely to cause the machine to be of 

 heavy draft. 



The teeth of some beaters are placed in diagonal rows 

 around the beater, which tends to comb the manure from the 

 center, where the load is the deepest, toward the outside, 

 giving a more even distribution. 



