WIN 



WIR 



wiilicrcd flower-stalks of grasses 

 slaniiing in meadows. 



WINNOWING. The separation 

 of wheat or grain from chatT, an- 

 ciently performed b)' throwing up 

 shovelfuls into the air on a windy day, 

 but now accomplished by the fan. 



WINNOWING MACHINE. The 

 wheat or grain fan. A machine for 

 separating grain from chafl", and 

 cleaning wheat from cockle, cheat, 

 and other small seeds. It consists 

 of a frame-work enclosing a fan, 

 which is moved by a crank and 

 wheel-work on the outside. Tiie 

 grain fails from a hopper at the top 

 of the machine upon a sieve, to which 

 a jogging motion is given by the 

 crank ; in this way it is sifted from 

 stones or bodies larger than the grain. 

 The current of wind produced by the 

 fan blowing over the sieve drives out 

 all light particles of chaff. The seeds 

 which pass down from the sieve fall 

 on the upper parts of an inclined 

 shaking screen of wire, set too close 

 for the transmission of plump grains, 

 but allowing shrivelled seed, cockle, 

 &c., to pass through. A machine is 

 provided with three screens and 

 sieves to enable the farmer to use it 

 for different grain. Forty to fifty 

 bushels can be cleaned in an hour 

 with the common fans. 



The English winnowing machines 

 are combined with smut machines, 

 and are therefore much more expen- 

 sive and complicated. The follow- 

 ing description is of Mr. Salter's pat- 

 ent : 



"The undressed grain from the 

 hopper passes through a cylindrical 

 sieve, having within it a rotary spin- 

 dle, upon which short, blunt arms are 

 arranged in a spiral direction ; these 

 agitate the grain as it passes along, 

 and thus separate the small dirt and 

 dust as well as the awns of barley, 

 which fall through in a closed box or 

 cupboard. The cylinder is placed in 

 a slanting direction, and is provided 

 at each end with slides, which regu- 

 late the quantity and speed with 

 which the grain shall pass. Through 

 the slide aperture at the lower end, 

 the grain is introduced upon other 

 866 



sieves, which, having a backward and 

 forward motion, distribute it equally 

 over their surface, when it is sub- 

 jected to the blast of the fan, driving 

 obliquely through the sieves ; this 

 carries the chaff out of the machine ; 

 the grain falls on a screen, which, 

 having a similar motion to the sieves, 

 separates from it all small seeds, and 

 the dross corn is carried away in a 

 division formed for the purpose. The 

 grain, dross corn, and chaff are thus 

 all thorougly separated from each 

 other, and the dust, dirt, and small 

 seeds, having fallen in an enclosed 

 box from the cylinder, may be entire- 

 ly removed." 



WINTER BERRY. Prinos vcr- 

 iicillatis. False alder, a shrub of four 

 to eight feet, with permanent red ber- 

 ries, adapted to slirubberies. 



WINTER CRESS. Barharca prcv- 

 cox. An indigenous, perennial, cru- 

 ciferous plant, growing in the Nor- 

 thern and Eastern States, near spring 

 branches. It is very similar to wa- 

 ter-cress, but more pungent in fla- 

 vour. B. vulgaris, also indigenous, 

 is the water-radish, or rocket. 



WINTER GREEN. Tlie genus 

 Chimaphtla ; pretty Alpine plants. 

 They are perennial, with long roots, 

 and grow in the shade of woods. The 

 C. umbellata, pipsissiwa, is used in 

 domestic medicine as a tonic and as- 

 tringent. 



WINTER PROUD. A term ap- 

 plied to wheat or barley which ap- 

 pears too forward in winter, and 

 hence frequently gets injured, and 

 jields a poor harvest. 



WIPERS. " In some kinds of ma- 

 chinery, as oil mills, powder mills, 

 fulling mills, pieces projecting gen- 

 erally from horizontal axles, for the 

 purpose of raising stampers, pound- 

 ers, or heavy pistons, in vertical di- 

 rections, and then leaving them to 

 fall by their own weight. The prin- 

 cipal object to be attended to in the 

 construction of wipers is to give them 

 such a form that the weight shall be 

 raised with a uniform force and ve- 

 locity." 



WIRE GRASS. Several grasses 

 are so called, but the true wire grass 



