724 The Trials of Self -binding Harvesters at Chester . 
actuated by a crank on the upper end of a short inclined 
spindle, which is driven by means of bevel wheels by the special 
shaft already described. Its lower end is coupled by a universal 
joint to the square inclined shaft which drives the reel gear. 
The lower end of the buttor is carried by a universal joint 
sliding on a supporting arm, which can be rotated so as to 
bring the lower end backwards or forwards to suit the crop, 
while the elliptical reciprocating motion is given by the crank 
above described through a connecting bracket. 
The packing, binding, and ejecting mechanism is similar 
to that described in the two other prize machines. The main 
square driving-shaft carries the packer-cranks, and immediately 
in front of them is the shipping-pinion. The tripper actuat- 
ing the pawl is not, however, furnished with any spring-buffer 
arrangement. 
The tripper releases the pawl by the motion of a pressure 
board, which pi’ojects a little above the surface of the binder 
platform, when the sheaf has attained its proper dimensions. 
The shipping pinion engages into a spur wheel keyed to a shaft 
which runs forward and terminates in a sprocket pinion which, 
by means of a pitched chain, drives a sprocket-wheel on the 
forward end of the knotter shaft. On the front face of this wheel 
is a crank pin which by means of an adjustable connecting-rod 
actuates the needle shaft through a crank worked solid on its 
forward end. On the rear face of this driving sprocket-wheel a 
cam is formed which actuates a bent lever the longer and lower 
arm of which terminates in an eye through which the binding 
string is led from its box, passing through fixed eyes on about 
the same level and on each side of the lever, after which it 
passes under the platform to the needle. The object of the 
arrangement is to facilitate the paying out of string when the 
sheaf is being tied. 
The sprocket-wheel has, besides, a second cam formed on its 
inner face ; it actuates another lever which by means of an ad- 
justable connecting-rod works a horizontal spindle, the rear end 
of which controls the compression jaw, and releases the sheaf at 
the right moment. 
The knotter (fig. 2) is of a peculiarly distinctive type, known 
as the “ Stark.” Its only similarity to the Appleby type, pre- 
viously described, is in the tying hook, which is beak form, but 
the upper mandible of the beak is arranged somewhat differently 
with respect to the manner of operating it. The tail end of 
the mandible produced through the body turns up into the ver- 
tical position, the mandible being kept closed by the pressure 
of a flat spring acting on the tail at right angles to the axis, while 
