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T 11 i: c I r. A K !■: \ i i-: \v 



A Close \'ie\v of the Paine Cutter and Harvester. Mr. Paine, the Inventor, Is Shown in the 

 Picture Walking Toward the Machine. 



PAINE CANE CUTTER AND HARVESTER 



The new cane cutter, which is tlie iiivontion of Mr. John A. Paine, now connected 

 with the sugar plant of the United Fruit Company at Preston, Cuba, was given its 

 first try-out in one of the company's cane fields near Guaro recently. The macliine 

 was not complete foY the work which the inventor expects to accomplish with it and 

 progress has been delayed owing to inability to get parts. 



The accompanying photograph shows the machine in operation and also gives an 

 idea as to its size. It is of a large tractor type, weighing between five and six tons, 

 and is propelled by gasoline-driven motor. It is capable of maintaining a speed of 

 six miles per hour under favorable conditions. The inventor claims for it a capacity 

 of cutting and handling sixty tons of cane per hour. The cutting is done by a 24-inch 

 circular saw, fitted to a revolving shaft at the head of the machine and driven by 

 motor which is controlled by (.)ne man who can adjust the position of the saw to high or 

 low, to suit cutting conditions as desired. The harvesting arrangement provides for a 

 series of grips which automatically catch the stalks of cane as it is being cut and 

 remove the leaves by a stripping process, thence dropping the stalks of cut and 

 trimmed cane to a conveyor which carries them back and drops them to trailer cars 

 following and drawn by the tractor. The automatic grips will work along the side 

 of an extension and ahead of the cutter and following one row of cane, but in this 

 first test of the machine these parts were not fitted, nor was the conveyor, so this 

 article will not attempt to deal with the possibilities of these added harvesting im- 

 provements. 



When it is considered a good day's work for one man to cut cane at the rate 

 of three to four tons per day, it will be obvious that the economy and added pro- 

 duction secured by this two-man cutter and harvester will be enormous if it is finally 

 proven to be the success now expected of it. 



As a witness to the first incomplete test, the writer is of the opinion that the 

 cutting principle is sound and it was demonstrated without question that the saw 

 will cut the cane at the level of the ground, an operation always desired in cane 

 cutters previously ti'ied, but without success. The Paine cutter and harvester is simple 



