746 



Popular Science Monthly 



Maud MuUcr Up to Date 



THE hay-rake has been vastly im- 

 proved since Maud Muller's poetic 

 hay-day. It is the ultra-modern ma- 



a row at one 

 tooth-carrying 



Maud Muller now 

 gatiiers the hay with 

 a modem rake, which 

 delivers it at one side in 

 neat rows for loading 



chine that the lady in 

 the accompanying pic- 

 ture is operating. Like 

 a good rule it w^orks 

 both ways. As a rake 

 it covers a wide path 

 and delivers the hay in 

 side. It has a rotating 

 frame, the rotation of which may be re- 

 versed at will. When reversed, it oper- 

 ates as a tedder, that is, it kicks the hay 

 into the air, thus turning it over so that 

 green hay will dry quickly. 



The angle of the teeth is automatically 

 changed by reversing the rotating frame. 

 In consequence, the teeth are always 

 disposed at the proper angle when the 

 machine is in operation. This makes the 

 machine effective, however unskilled 

 the operator may be. 



The rotating frame is controlled by a 

 somewhat intricate set of gears oper- 

 ated from a hand-lever within reach of 

 the driver. It is a great help in haying 

 time. Lewis E. Waterman, of Rock- 

 ford, Illinois, invented the various im- 

 provements that distinguish it from 

 other side-delivery rakes. 



A Continuous Railw^ay Crossing 



CONTINUOUS crossing has been 

 invented that has very few parts 



and which makes the passage of every 

 train perfectly smooth either way. It 

 is composed of four steel triangles which 

 slide back and forth by means of a lever 

 thrown in the switching tower. In the 

 illustration may be seen the four trian- 

 gular blocks and also the rods which are 

 used in operating them. When the blocks 

 are set to make a continuous crossing 

 from left to right and it is desired to 

 clear the other track, a stroke of the 

 lever will cause the blocks to move in 

 a diagonal direction upward and out- 

 ward. The slots are thus closed, making 

 continuous rails for the trains. This 

 system may be attached to the signal 



system so 

 that it is al- 

 ways in the 

 correct po- 

 sition. 



The new 

 device has 

 been instal- 

 led for test 

 purposes by 

 the Penn- 

 sylvania 

 Railroad at 

 C a r r o t h- 

 e r s , Ohio, 

 where sixty trains pass every day and 

 the wear on the crossings is so great that 

 new ones are necessary frequently. This 

 crossing, however, has given excellent 

 service for a number of months and may 

 be permanently adopted. Trains of sleep- 

 ers, ordinarily as noisy as trains of 

 freight cars, pass over quietly without 

 waking the r)asscngers. 



A 



The jog is entirely eliminated by this new 

 railway crossing 



