Miscellaneous ImjAemenis Exhihiied at Doncasier. 543 
the same time, according to tlie inequalities of the road ; the 
cushions give way, the bolts are pushed up, and the blocks 
adapt themselves to the surface of the road, so that instead of 
the road material being cracked out or screwed out, as is often 
the case with the ordinary form of driving-wheel, it is not dis- 
turbed, and the cost of maintaining the road is not increased. 
The invention is one which affects machines chiefly used for 
traction, and is therefore not of the greatest direct interest to 
agriculturists ; but as the cost of maintenance of country roads 
ultimately falls to a gi'eat extent on the land, it is not altogether 
unworthy the consideration of those engaged in farming. Its 
gi'eatest value will be appreciated by municipal and other public 
bodies responsible for the state of highways, and already many 
of them have testified to its eflBciency. Beyond the merit which 
it possesses in saving the wear and tear on roads, engines fitted 
with it are rendered more durable, for the cushions act as springs 
which relieve the engines of severe shaking, and thus tend to 
lengthen their lives, while helping to counterbalance the disad- 
vantages of the extra 1^ tons added to the weight of the engine, 
and the additional cost of lOOZ., which is the price of a set such 
as has been described. 
Messrs. T. C. Darly and /. E. Stevenson, Pleshey Lodge, 
Chelmsford, showed their new Steam Digger and Cultivator 
(Art. 4292), which is a decided improvement on the machine 
which has hitherto been known as the Darby digger. The old 
digger had a broadside action, weighed 20 tons, and cost 1,200?., 
whereas the present machine has a rear action, weighs only 
8 tons, and costs but 600/. By placing the tines in the rear, 
the rollers are relieved of a great portion of the weight of the 
machine, for the force required to make the tines enter the 
ground naturally lifts the machine to some extent, and the 
objectionable compression of the soil, which is the chief draw- 
back to the popularity of digging-machines, is much lessened. 
As the machine under notice has only two-fifths the weight of the 
old one, it possesses an advantage which must prove beneficial 
to the land worked. The price is so much reduced that it 
comes within reach of many who would not care to risk the large 
amount of capital required for the old machine. The piston-rods 
are coupled up directly on to the digger-crank-shaft, thus 
avoiding intermediate gearing-shafts and the fly-wheel. The 
thrust of the tines is made at a very good angle. Another new 
feature is the introduction of coulters placed immediately 
behind the digging-forks ; the soil is thrown sharply against 
these coulters, and the bigger clods are broken ; while the 
coulters level down the surface so as to render subsequent work- 
