438 Report on the Trials of Implements at Cardiff. 
com-srowing districts of Hungary, Wallacliia, South Eussia, and Turkey. 
All its parts are extremely strong, and the hearings are provided with large 
oil-cups, made in two divisions for oil or tallow, so that it can work for 
a long time without requiring attentiton. The drum-beaters are made of 
wrought iron in tlie form of a screw, and can be turned round to 
liriug a fresh part to act on the grain when one side is worn. The concave 
is composed of fiat bais of wrought iron fixed upon wooden beds. The 
rotarv shakers are double instead of being sinule. After the straw leaves 
the first set of shakers it falls over a sjiace of about 24 inches on to the second 
shakers. The object of this is to get a greater surface and more ra])id incline, 
in. order that the <:rain may be perfectly extracted from the great bulk of straw 
that has to be shaken. The riddles have a very large surface. There is no 
division of seeds from the chaff. The cavings are delivered under the straw, 
and the chaff just behind the cavings. In ]>ractice the boards dividing these 
pro<lucts are commonly removed, so that all are mixed either for fodder or for 
l)uriiing. The cliob-cleaner in both' these foreign machines is similar to that 
described in Class II. The slTa[)s are all of a uniforni width, so that they may 
be easily repaired. It will be noticed that the 10 cwts. of sheaf corn were 
■disposed of in the extraordinary short space of little more tlian four and a half 
minutes. At the end of the run the bearings were found quite cool; but the 
same remark would not be true of the feeder, who, with his assistants, had 
been working like a " steam-engine in trousers." We were not surprised to 
learu that in some places two men are employed to feed the drum. 
5(>15. Huston, Proctor, and Co. — A strongly made double-blast machine; 
it does not bac: the ci aff. The corn is delivered at the back of the machine. 
The cavings are delivered behind the straw, then the chatf, chobs, and seeds 
Tespecfively, one behind the other. The sides of the frauic are partially open, 
to give access to the beai'ings. The cliolis or spoutin^s contained many broken 
pieces of ears ; these had probably escaped through the concave, imperfectly 
threshed. 
4'i'>3. Ransomes, Sims, and IJead. — This machine is specially adapted for 
Tise in hot countries: in general construction it is similar to No. 4662, but 
with a shorter drum, a single ict of rotary shakers, and the important addition 
•of an apjiaratus for chopping and bruising the straw, so as to render it fit food 
for cattle. 
In Spain, Italy, Turkcj', and South America where hay does not grow, the 
animals are fed almost exclusive' v upon straw, wliich contains a larger amount 
of silica and saccharine matter than luiglish straw ; and as this straw is very 
hard, it requires to be cut up in short lengths, and bruised and softened before 
it can he masticated. 
Until this machine was invented, this operation was performed b}' marcs 
■iialloping over the grain, laid out upon a large roiuid threshing floor. The com- 
bined oi^eration of threshing the corn and bruising tin: straw is pirformed much 
more rapidly and econoniically by steam than by horses, and thc,cattle fed on 
the straw thrive better on account of the absence of dirt, dung, and other foreign 
substances which accumulated uirder the feet of the mares. 'J'he apparatus 
for chopping and bruising the straw is shown in section at K and S in Fig. 18 
on the next pauc, from a block kindly lent by the editor of the ' Chamber of 
Agriculture Journal.' Two cylinders revolving at a great speed are ]ilaced 
■one above the other on cast-iron siandauls fixed to the fiont of the frame of the 
■machine, and connected with the strmv-shakci' by means of a laige hopper 
into which the straight straw falls. The ujiper cylindei (H), which makes about 
1117 revolutions per minute, is fitted with a number of sharp knives, which 
■cut the straw into lengths of about 1 inch, whilst the Uiwcr one (S), making 
1070 revolutions, is furnished with rectangular blunt projections, which split 
and soften the short pieces of straw. p]ach roller works in conjunction with a 
