UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



BULLETIN No. 287 



Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry 

 WM. A. TAYLOR, Chief 



Washington, D. C. 



PROFESSIONAL PAPER 



September 14, 1915 



A DEVICE FOR SAMPLING GRAIN, 



MATERIAL. 



SEEDS, AND OTHER 



By E. G. Boerner, Assistant in Grain Standardization. 

 INTRODUCTION. 



The device described in this bulletin was developed primarily to 

 meet the demands of grain and seed dealers and laboratory workers 

 for securing a reliable sample of grain or seed from a larger portion of 

 the material to be examined, graded, or analyzed. It can also be used 

 for sampling flour, meal, feeds, coal, ore, or any other material of like 

 kind for examination or analysis and to mix or blend and divide two 

 or more streams of unlike material of the kind specified, so that the 

 two resulting streams will be a thorough mixture of the original two 

 or more kinds of material. 



Another application of the device which should be of special interest 

 to the grain trade is that a sample can be divided so that one half 

 can be used for testing and grading and the duplicate half either 

 turned over to the seller or to the buyer of the grain or retained for 

 future reference. 



Both the construction and the process have been made simple, so 

 that reliable samples can be obtained by any careful worker. 



The operation of the device does not require power of any kind, 

 gravity being all that is necessary to make the material pass through it. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE SAMPLING DEVICE. 



As is shown in figure 1, the device consists of a hopper (A), held in 

 position over a cone (D), which is provided at its base (67) with a 

 series of separated ducts (F) having uniform distances or spaces 

 between them (E). These ducts are so constructed that they are 

 equal to the width of the spaces between the ducts, as shown in figures 

 2 and 3. The ducts may be so constructed as to form an integral 

 part of the cone or they may be adjusted to the cone by clamps, rivets, 

 or other satisfactory means. Adjusted to the bottom of the ducts, at 

 H, is a funnel (I) having a spout (K) at its bottom part, as seen in 

 figure 1. 



The ducts constitute a passageway from the exterior of the cone to 

 the interior of the funnel, as is shown by the arrows (M, M) pointing 

 downward in figure 1. Inclosing this inner funnel is another or out- 

 side funnel (J), also having a spout (L) at its base. The upper 

 portion of the outside funnel extends over the ducts and the base of 

 the cone, so that the enlarged opening of this outside funnel partly 



Note.— This bulletin is of interest to all who have occasion to get samples of grain and seeds. 

 1931°— 15 



