370 REPORT UNITED STATES ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION. 



79.— The Kenworthy Locust- 

 MACHIXE : Vertical section. 



upon wheels m the slide e fills up the space otherwise occupied by the runners Ji and 

 prevents the escape of the insect laterally. In the rear of the machine is a pivotal 

 wheel, n, which supports a portion of the weight of the frame and renders the ma- 

 chine easily turned in any direction. 



It will be evident that the knives or bars a may be greatly modified or changed in 

 corstruction without departing Irom the spirit of my invention, as, for instance, they 

 might bo armed with steel blades at their bearing on the ground to cut up as well as 

 crush the insects. They might be hinged in groups or in sections. Sufficient weight 

 may be given to each particular knife or bar by a spring or by loading them. It is be- 

 lieved they should be pivoted, as this will give the heaviest bearing at the point of 

 contact on the ground. 



As the device is drawn along either on wheels or on runners, as may be most conve- 

 nient, and according to the particular mode of construction, the insects are gathered 

 into the space between the horses and between the runners Ji or the slide e, where they 

 are cruslied tnd destroyed by the knives cr bais a, the knives or bars also accommo- 

 dating themselves to the configuration of the ground, easily passmg over obstructions, 

 and rendering it almost impossible for the insect to escape destruction. The knives or 

 bars a are held in place by a rod, g, passin^^ through a hole iri the ends of each, the 

 rod passing through the sides of the frame /i /i, in which it is secured by means of suit- 

 able fastening. 



Mr. Elisba Kenworthy, of Walnut, Iowa, has invented a machine 



(Patent No. 186,970, dated December 5, 1876), 

 which can be 

 placed under 

 this class of 

 machines. 

 Fig. 79 pre- 

 sents a verti- 

 cal section of 

 theinventionandFig.SOaplanviewof the 

 same. The following- description will ex- 

 plain the parts and operation (Figs. 79, 80) : 



a represents a suitable trough, made of any de- 

 sired length, width, or material, apd which has a 

 number of slots made across its bottom. This ^i*^- ^^•' 

 trough is designed to be placed across the front of 

 the reaper platform, so as to be in line with the pitman, and which has a supporting- 

 wheel, c, on its outer end, to enable it to run smoothly over the ground. Working 

 back and forth in this trough, operated by the pitman, is the sickle-bar d, which 

 likewise has a number of slots or holes through it, but wider than the slots in the 

 bottom of the trough. This sickle may be made of one single piece or two hori- 

 zontal pieces, and have cross-bars secured to them, the cross-pieces being beveled 

 on their under sides, and the sides of the slots in the bottom being similarly bev- 

 eled on their under edges. The rear side of the trough is higher than the front, is 

 inclined backward, covered with sheet-metal, and has hinged to it the inclined plat- 

 form e, which is also covered with sheet-metal, so as to cause the grasshoppers to slide 

 down into the trough. This platform is held in position by the spring-rod g, which 

 has its rear end fastened to the top of the brace /i, which brace is fastened to the plat- 

 form or some other support. The spring is used to impart a vibratory motion to the 

 platform as the machine is drawn along, so as to shake the hoppers down as fast as 

 they light upon its front. As rapidly as the hoppers fall into the trough they are 

 crushed to death by the rapid reciprocations of the sickle, and then forced out of the 

 bottom of the trough through the openings. 



In using, my device the cutter-bar or blade is disconnected from its pitman, so that 

 it will no longer operate when the machine is in motion, and then my device, as "above 

 described, is placed upon the front edge of the platform, secured in position, and its 

 sickle-bar connected to the pitman. When the mowing or reaping machine is drawn 

 ,over the ground the motion of the machire causes the bar d to reciprocate back and 

 forth and kill the insects as fast as they fall into the trough. 



Numerous communications upon this subject have been received, some 

 of which, if not all, are or may have been successful on a small scale. 

 Others, if carried out, and the contrivances built and given a fair trial, 

 might be of especial benefit. 



-The Kenworthy Locust-ma- 

 chine : Plan view. 



