878 



SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. 



Part II. 



and at the end of the other side is a hook, which taking hold of the bottom edge of the aueer enables it 

 to be drawn up. 



2516. The triangular claiv {fig. 240. k) is used when loose stones lie at the bottom of the hole, which are 

 too large to be brought up by the cylindrical auger, and cannot be con- 

 veniently broken. The internal notches of this instrument take hold 

 of the stone, and as the tool rises it brings them up. For raising broken 

 rods a tool (Z) is sometimes employed, which has an angular claw that 



240 



slips under the shoulder of the'rod, and holds it fast while drawing up, 

 (Newton's Journal, vol viil p. 247.) 



2517. Other tools connected with the subject of boring 

 for water, also invented by Mr. Good, will be described 

 when the operation of boring is treated of, in Part III. 

 Book III. Chap. III. (See Contents.) 



2518. Busby's borer for quicksand (Jig. 241.) consists 

 of a tube called a sludger, from five to six feet in length, made of plate iron, with a 



241 '^^^^^ ^* ^t^ lower extremity, made partly of iron and partly of leather, which 

 works upon an an iron hinge, and a hole at the top (a) through which it is emptied. 

 In boring through quicksands a metal pipe is inserted into the borehole, and the 

 "* sand is withdrawn from it by the sludger, which, by means of the valve at its 

 lower end, acts as a pump. A second metal pipe is added to the first, and so on 

 to any depth. (Trans. High. Soc vol. vi. p. 611.) 242 



2519. The peat-borer (Jig. 242.) is a larger sort of borer, employed in 

 peaty soils that are boggy, for the purpose of removing wetness. It 

 has been used with advantage in some peat-mosses in Lancashire, by 

 Eccleston. 



2520. The blasting auger, timber measure, and other scientific instru- 

 ments, not in general use in agriculture, will be best described in treating 

 of the departments in which they are applied. 



2521. The only essential scientific instrument is the common level, 

 which may be wanted to level drains and water furrows, adjust the sur- 

 face of roads, &c. 



Sect. III. Utensils used in Agriculture. 



2522. The principal agricultural utensils are sieves, baskets, corn-measures, 

 and sacks. 



2523. Sieves are textures of basketwork, wire, gut, or hair, stretched on a broad 

 wooden hoop. Sometimes, also, they are formed of skins or plate iron pierced 

 with holes, and so stretched. They are used for separating corn, or other seed, 

 from dust or other extraneous matters. There are different varieties for wheat, 

 beans, oats, rape-seed, &c. 



2524. The corn-screen (Jig. 243.) consists of a 

 hopper (a), with a sliding board (b) for giving more 



J or less feed ; slips of wood (c c) fixed on pivots to 

 -' prevent the grain from passing too quickly down ; 

 and the screen, which is composed of parallel 

 wires (d). 



2525. Baskets are made of wickerwork, of different 

 shapes, but generally forming some section of a globose 

 figure : they vary much in size ; those in most general 



244 use in agriculture are from twenty inches to two feet in diameter, 



and are used for carrying roots, chaff, cut straw, &c., from one place 

 to another in the farmery. A very good substitute for a basket for 

 filling sacks (Jig. 244.), formed of iron, is in use in Nottingham- 

 shire, Lincolnshire, and other counties. (Gard. Mag. vol. v. p. 674.) 



2526. The seed-carrier or seed-basket (Jig. 245.) is sometimes made 245 

 of thin veneers of wood, bent into an irregular oval, vdth a hollow to fit 

 the seedsman's side, and a strap to pass over his head, and rest on his 

 shoulder. In some places, a linen bag of a shape adapted to be borne by 

 the right shoulder, and to suspend the seed under the left arm, is used for 

 the same purpose. 



2527. The feeding tub or trough may be of any shape and size ; it is used for giving 

 short or liquid food to swine, sheep, and other live stock. 



2528. The pail is used for cari7ing water, or other liquid food. 



2529. The turnip tray is a shallow movable trough or box, used to prevent waste when 

 sheep are fed upon turnips. 



2530. The com bin, or corn chest, for containing oats or other grain for horses, may be 

 an oblong box of any convenient size. Sometimes it is placed in the loft over the 

 stable, and the corn is drawn out by a hopper below ; but for a farm stable this is needless 



