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Farm Drainage Machinery. [feb.. 



cutter which loosens the earth, and a bucket in the rear for 

 collecting the soil. The cutter is mounted on a steel frame. 

 The bucket is fixed to the cutter frame by steel straps. The 

 wooden handle is hinged to the bucket and is used to keep the 

 machine upright when entering the trench. The bucket is 

 filled by being drawn up the sloping end of the uncompleted 

 part of the trench. The depth of each cut is controlled by an 

 adjustable shoe in front of the cutting knife. The bucket is 

 3 J ft. long, 17 in. high, and 10 in. wide at the top, and will 

 hold about 5 cub. ft. of soil. When charged the bucket slides 

 out of the trench, the handle is disengaged and the bucket falls 

 on its side. A loop on the bottom of the bucket offers a 

 hold for turning it, and perforation in the bottom prevents 

 the soil from being held in the bucket by suction. Two 

 men and a team of horses are required to operate this scoop. 

 The implement costs about £10. 



(c) Soil Scrapers and Scoops. — Figs. 3 and 4 show respectively 

 a scraper and a scoop, used for removing the soil from open 

 ditches after it has been loosened by a plough. Fig. 3 shows 

 the type of scraper used when the soil has to be deposited 

 on the side ; the scraper works across the ditch and deposits 

 the soil on the edge of the bank, leaving sloping sides. 

 Fig. 4 shows the type used when the soil has to be carried 

 some distance. It will work either crossways or lengthways 

 according to the size of the ditch and the nature of the soiL 

 Two men and two horses are needed to operate these scoops, 

 the cost of which is from £3 or £4 upwards, according to size. 



{d) Farm Ditcher. — Fig. 5 shows a handy machine for making 

 drainage ditches, grading and building roads, terracing, back- 

 filling tile ditches and fiUing gulleys. As a ditcher the machine 

 cuts a V-shaped ditch with sloping sides from 4 ft. to 6 ft. in 

 depth, according to the nature of the soil in which it is used. 

 The machine is built in two sizes, a 300-lb. machine equipped 

 with a 5-ft. cutting blade and a 375-lb. machine with a 7-ft. 

 cutting blade : the former requires two horses on light soil 

 and four on heavier soils ; the latter requires from four to 

 eight horses, or can be used with a tractor. 



(e) The Swedish Excavator. — ^Figs. 6 and 7 show two sizes 

 of a Swedish machine, the " Revolt " excavator, which has been 

 imported for use in this country. The U-shaped share serves 

 to scoop up a layer of soil : the loosened soil enters the lower 

 part of an inclined conveyer that carries it to the top of the 

 machine, where a discharge chute returns it to the ground on 

 the side of the trench. An adjustable shoe in front regulates 



