the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition. 
V, 
10, according to the width between the wheels ; these hoes are attached to 
two frames, or half to a fixed frame and half (the alternate ones) to a movable 
bar. In the Farmers' Friend the movable bar is attached to an iron bar 
which passes to the rear of the drill and is attached to a cross-piece in the 
frame by a stationary pin. When it is wished to set the shifting coulter 
forward so as to secure a zigzag line to the hoes or coulters, all that is 
necessary is to raise this bar out of the pin and push it forward until the 
pin comes in another hole of the bar and fastens itself. In dirty ground, or 
wlure there are stones or large clots, the zigzag line offers greater oppor- 
tunity for the drill to clear itself, by providing larger spaces between the 
coulters ; when the soil is clear and well cultivated, the ordinary position is 
preferable. The coulter is attached to the arm by a joint in connection 
with an India-rubber spring. Should the point of the coulter come in contact 
with a stump or fast stone which, in newly reclaimed land is frequently 
the case, it turns back owing to the joint, and as soon as the obstruction is 
removed or rather the machine is set free from the obstruction, the coulter or 
hoe acted upon by the rubber spring flies back to its original position. Several 
of the best drills had this contrivance, but in most the ordinary pressure on the 
point of the hoe during work is conveyed directly to the India-rubber spring, 
which consequently is liable to become weakened and lose its efficiency. In 
the Farmers' Friend an important improvement has been introduced, which 
will be at once understood by the following illustration (Fig. 37). When the 
Fig. 37. — Arrangement for Prevention of Breakages of Coulters in 
the Farmers' Friend Drill. 
hoe is spruug back a notch or latch is seen near the end of the middle bar, 
which is the lever. The rubber spring a, a, pressing on the end of this lever 
brings the hoe or coulter back to its place after being sprung, when a roller in 
the rear of the hoe b, b, comes in the latch above mentioned, and is arranged 
so as to make a positive lock which a continuous strain does not break, but 
when a quick, sharp blow is given, then it starts the little roller in the 
latch, and the hoe gives way to be brought back again by the India-rubber ' 
spring. I may here mention, as essential to all the best class of drills, the 
presence either in front or behind, or reversible, of a small-seed distributor. 
The next drill to which I direct attention on account of the successful 
results obtained with it under all conditions is " The Champion" manufac- 
tured by Johnson, Gear, and Trueman, Oswego, New York. The grain- 
distributor is a compromise between what is known as the peripheral and the 
side-delivery. The delivery or force-feed wheel is shown in elevation at A, in 
Fig. 38, p. 44, and in section in Fig. 39. 
