Report on the Ti'ials of Implements at Cardiff. 420 
delivered close to the month of the drum, whence the feeder can easily sweep 
them in to be rethreshed. The drum-beaters are of malleable cast iron, and 
the concave of wrought-iron wire. The shakers are driven by two crank- 
shafts. 
The bearings of the shafts to the shakers and to the caving riddle are of 
wood boiled in oil. This sort of bearing is usually very durable, but we do 
not find it good for threshing-machines used where there is much sharp sand 
in the soil. The sand scattered in threshing becomes embedded in the wood, 
which then acts like a file, rapidly eating away the shaft revolving in it. 
It will be noticed that this machine made the shortest run in the trial. The 
ton of sheaf-corn was switched through it in less than twelve minutes. If 
more time had been taken, and the sheaves had been properly opened before 
throwing them into the drum, a much better result might have been attained. 
One result of tliis too great haste was tliat the straw was more broken, and 
more cavings made, than by any other machine. Nalder's screen was used, 
and the corn was delivered at the back of the machine. 
4203. niches and Watts. — In the arrangement of its parts this machine is 
similar to the preceding. It has one belt on the left side, passing from the 
drum-shaft opposite to the engine-belt, and carried at a right angle round two 
friction-pulleys ; a short belt at the top, and four belts on the right. A 
step caving riddle with plain holes. The straw shakers are carried on two 
crank-shafts. The chief peculiarity in this machine was the substitution of a 
Child's Patent Aspirator lor the ordinary rotary screen. An exhaust fan 
placed on the left side of the machine draws to itself a strong cross blast of air. 
The grain, on leaving the hummeller, falls through this blast, which should 
effect a separation of the grain according to its specific gravity and bulk. The 
air-current may be increased or diminished in power at the will of the operator. 
The openings through which the air is drawn are on the right side of the 
machine, and a spring trap-door is required where the corn passes out, to pre- 
vent air being drawn up the corn-spout instead of across the machine. This 
trap-door is opened by the weight of the corn falling upon it. In the pre- 
liminary trial with 20 sheaves the weight of corn extracted was not sufficient 
to open the trap-door. The attendant, not content with opening this door by 
hand, wedged it open, so that, throughout the trial in chief, the air was drawn 
up the corn-spout, and no separation of the corn eifected. We had, therefore, 
no opportunity of judging how far the aspirator, that, as a separate machine, 
is much used by millers and others, is suited to effect the finishing operation 
I in a threshing-machine. 
4658. Bansomes, Sims, and Bead. — This machine differs more in con- 
struction from the common type than any of those yet described. The 
chief difference in its external appearance is due to the absence of box- 
shakers, which allows the fore-part of the frame to be left quite open at the 
sides, thus giving an apparent lightness to the whole machine. The frame is 
of pitch-pine and ash, and large iron washers are introduced under the head of 
each of the bolts that hol<i the frame together. The motive-power is dis- 
tributed by two belts on the left ; one of them from the drum-shaft i-s opposite 
to the engine-belt. There are five belts on the right, three of them are on the 
drum-shaft, two drawing back, and one forward. A spur-wheel and pinion 
drive the corn-elevator. 
The illustration (Fig. 12, p. 430) shows the right-hand side of the machine. 
The drum-shaft is seen in the centre ; and of the three belts that radiate from 
it, the upper and hinder one drives the hummeller, the lower one drives the 
Bcrew-shaped fans that give a second cross-blast, and the front belt drives 
the crank-shaft which moves the caving riddle. The rigger on this crank- 
shaft is 20 inches in diameter, while the rigger on the drum-shaft is only 4 
inches, the cross of the belt is consequently very near the small rigger. This 
belt ran with much chafing, and produced an unpleasant flapping during the trial. 
