Drills  for  attaching  to  Ploughs. 
207 
horizontal  portion  of  their  axle,  thus  briiifring  them  into  the 
required  position  for  use  with  the  other  brc'ast. 
Drills  for  Attaching  to  Ploughs. 
The  idea  of  attachino'  a drill  to  the  beam  of  a plough  so  that 
the  corn  is  sown  in  front  of  the  breast  of  the  plough,  and 
therefore  immediately  covered  is  not  a new  one ; but  the 
advantages  of  the  system  under  certain  conditions  were  doubt- 
less brought  into  ])rominence  by  the  unparalleled  difficulties  of 
the  sowing  season,  1903-4,  with  the  result  that  two  drills  for 
this  purpose;  were  exhibited  this  year. 
Article  823. — Mr.  IT.  Ji.  Bal-er,  Priory  Iron  Works, 
Bedford.  “‘Triumph’  Drill,  for  attaching  to  the  front  of  a 
plough.”  Price  1/.  IO5. 
Article  3095. — Messrs.  E.  Page  Co.,  Victoida  and  Bedford 
Iron  Works,  Bedford.  “‘Eclipse’  Patent  Drill,  for  attaching 
to  ploughs  of  every  description,  to  drill  in  front  of  the  share. 
It  sows  beans,  peas,  maize,  barley,  or  wheat.  All  seeds  are 
delivered  by  one  cog-wheel.  The  quantity  sown  is  regulated 
by  adjustable  slides.  It  stops  automatically  on  turning  the 
headlands.  As  there  is  no  coulter  it  cannot  clog  under  any 
conditions  of  land  or  weather.”  Price  1/.  18s.  G(/. 
Both  of  the  above  were  entered  as  “ New  Implements,”  and, 
doubtless,  from  each  maker’s  [)oint  of  view  they  were  such,  but 
in  what  material  points  they  differ  from  others  in  use  many 
years  ago  the  writer  is  not  able  to  say.  The  principle  of  both 
is  the  same — a seed  box  to  be  attached  to  the  beam  of  the 
plough,  with  means  of  adjustment  for  regulating  the  exact 
point  at  which  the  seed  shall  fall  in  reference  to  the  furrow, 
and  fitted  with  suitable  seed  distributor.  The  distributor  is 
driven  in  the  “Triumph”  drill  by  friction  from  either  wheel 
of  the  plough,  preferably  from  the  furrow  wheel,  and  in  Page’s 
Drill  by  being  directly  coupled  by  shaft  and  universal  joint  to 
the  axle  of  the  land  wheel. 
Owing  to  the  frequently  uneven  surface  of  the  land  this 
latter  drive  strikes  one  as  liable  to  be  very  irregular  ; the  drive, 
by  friction  in  the  case  of  the  “Triumph,”  must  also  at  times  be 
liable  to  slip,  but  is  nevertheless,  when  using  the  furrow  wheel, 
probably  the  better  drive  of  the  two.  Distribution  on  the 
“ Triumph  ” is  of  the  cup  2>late  type,  that  of  Page’s  being  of 
the  cogged  wheel  type. 
As  a general  rule  these  plough  drills  are  not  likely  to  be 
much  used  except  for  beans,  but  in  a persistently  wet  season 
