Report on Miscellaneous Implements at Shrewsbury, 8fc. 5 
Oxford by Messrs. Richmond and Chandler for excellence of 
design and workmanship. So far as I know, the most important 
addition to the working part of the machine since the Oxford 
trials is the pedal action, which no doubt is of use as enabling 
the operator to regulate his machine while his hands are occupied 
in feeding. The travelling apron and feed arrangements are 
the same as at Oxford. The very ingenious arrangement of in- 
ternal gearing for altering the speed of the feed (i.e. altering 
the length of cut) without stopping the machine, is very clearly 
illustrated and described in the account of the Oxford trials ; 
it >vas then a novel feature in the machine, it has now stood the 
test of some years of work with a satisfactory result. The 
pressure of the feed-rolls is maintained by two separate springs. 
This is not new, but I notice it as having an advantage over 
the counterbalance weight, in that the pressure from the 
springs increases as the depth of feed increases, whereas in 
the counterbalance the load is uniform. 
Looking at the cutting done by this machine, it was remark- 
ably clean and regular, and effected with a very small amount 
of power : this is to a great extent due to the curve of the knives, 
which present a cutting edge 2^ times the length of the feed- 
ing mouth ; the amount of draw in the cut is therefore very 
considerable. 
As the fodder is cut and drops down it is received on to a 
horizontal travelling canvas apron, which carries the cut stuff 
back to the elevator. The elevator is merely a travelling 
canvas web, with cross battens or paddles fixed on it, mounted 
on a light portable frame and inclined at an angle of about 45°. 
The frame of the elevator is secured to part of the framing of the 
cutter, and the canvas is driven by a belt from the shaft of the 
cutter. The particular elevator attached to this machine was 
scarcely of sufficient height to be of much practical value in 
filling a ' silo.' The height of delivery from the ground was 
only 7ft. Gin. It would, however, be a very easy matter to 
increase this height, and the extra power to work the machine 
would be but small. 
The canvas of which the elevator was made was much too 
light, and would be much affected by the wet stuff. This is 
certainly capable of improvement. 
The following description and drawing of this machine will 
make the details of its construction clear to the reader : — 
This is a powerful cutting machine, fitted with an open rising cover to 
prevent choking. It has three strong knives on the fly-wlieel, and the rise and 
fall of the top roller is regulated by two spiral springs in the place of a weight 
and lever. It has especial safeguards to prevent accident to the attendant by 
an instantaneous stop motion that can be worked by either hand or foot, also 
