342 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
AMERICAN FLOUR ABROAD. 
We are sorry to be obliged to caution our 
American friends against continuing to send 
over flour to these kingdoms of inferior quality 
to that indicated by the brand. We know not 
where the fault lies, but certain we are that 
more than the half of what is imported to these 
kingdoms under the brand of No. 1, superfine, 
is mere rubbish, and discreditable to the charac¬ 
ter of the American millers. 
Previous to the introductian of “ free trade,” 
we recollect that Ohio and Western Canal flour 
bore a very high character, and justly so; but 
we have perceived since then a gradual deterio¬ 
ration in the quality, to such an extent latterly 
as to call loudly for interference. An immense 
proportion of the flour now lying almost un¬ 
saleable in Liverpool is of this description, and 
the continued loss to our merchants has been so 
great in consequence, that the result will ulti¬ 
mately be a transference of the flour trade to 
some of our continental neighbors. French 
flour decidedly carries off the palm as to quality, 
and a good harvest or two would place that na¬ 
tion in such a position as to supply us more 
readily, and on better terms, with a superior ar¬ 
ticle of flour. 
We would earnestly urge upon such of our 
readers as may be interested in this matter, and 
particularly would we address ourselves to our 
American readers, the vital necessity for their 
adopting immediate steps to have either an effi¬ 
cient and faithful class of “ inspectors” ap¬ 
pointed, or to do away with the branding of the 
quality of the flour altogether, and let the pur¬ 
chaser judge for himself. Let the miller’s name, 
and a particular initial to be adopted by each 
miller, be branded on the barrels as a matter of 
course; and, indeed, we cannot see liow the 
trade can be conducted properly or creditably 
on any other system . — Belfast Mercantile Jour¬ 
nal. 
- -« d •- 
Great Drove op Sheep. — A drove of sheep 
numbering 11,000 head, passed through Ed- 
wardsville, Illinois, on the 8th inst. They 
were from the State of Tennessee, and are to be 
wintered in Missouri, when they will be driven 
to Salt Lake. 
-• • •- 
CLAIMS OF AGRICULTURAL PATENTS, 
FOR THE WEEK ENDING JULY 25, 1854. 
Seed Planters. —Charles A. Wakefield, of 
Plainfield, Mass.: I do not claim as new in hand 
seed planters the mere use or arrangement of a 
seed hopper or box, delivery slide and elastic or 
opening and closing receiving chamber with 
ejecting plunger operating therein or through, 
as such arrangements I am aware have before 
been used, but in such arrangements the receiv¬ 
ing chamber has formed a depositing tube enter¬ 
ing the ground with the plunger and served to 
form the hole or recess in the earth for the re¬ 
ception of the seed. 
But I claim so arranging and operating the 
plunger in connection with the receiving tube 
or chamber and its delivery slide or the equiva¬ 
lent thereof, that the plunger ejecting the corn 
deposited in the receiving chamber, is made to 
imbed the corn from the surface of the earth to 
its required depth obliquely into the ground, 
while the receiving tube or chamber resting by 
a front stop plate on or above the ground is 
made to open and close clear of all surrounding- 
dirt, and the sides of the said chamber made to 
act as scrapers above the recess to clear the 
plunger of adhering soil and cover the seed 
therewith throughout the entire withdrawal of 
the plunger substantially as specified, whereby 
the receiving tube or chamber is prevented 
clogging with dirt at its opening slides, the width 
of tbe opening made in the earth for the recep¬ 
tion of the seed is diminished, and the corn cov- 
covered with more certainty, as set forth. 
I further claim the method described of 
operating the planter by the hand, at the side, 
in such a manner that the same force or pres¬ 
sure applied to working the plunger up and down 
gives to the planter, automatically as it were one 
and the same obliquity of stroke, in a backward- 
ly direction downwards or in a forwardly direc¬ 
tion upwards throughout its several operations, 
both on entering and leaving the ground by 
means of the obliquely set handle on the rear 
side of the plunger or other equivalent arrange¬ 
ment of the handle, producing the same action 
substantially as specified and whereby the plant¬ 
er may be used with greater facility and expe¬ 
dition and the recess formed for planting the 
corn, be made with certainty of the necessary 
obliquity, without involving any delay in adjus¬ 
ting the direction or movement of the plunger, 
to insure the earth on the overhanging side of 
the said recess falling in to cover the corn, as 
set forth. 
Re-issue. 
Seed Planters. —Chas. Randall, of Palmyra, 
Geo. Patent originally dated Nov. 2, 1852 : I 
claim the involving cylindrical hopper composed 
of tw’o hollow buckets or disks, arranged a suit¬ 
able distance apart, to form a central discharge 
passage on a horizontal revolving shaft for the 
purpose of holding and agitating the seed and 
discharging it in the center of the furrow in a 
straight line, as described. 
Cultivator. —Chas. II. Dana, of West Laba- 
non, N. II.: I claim constructing each of the 
two outermost teeth with a horizontal blade, 
projecting more or less outwardly from its shank 
and with an upright portion bent up at the ex¬ 
tremity of said outwardly projecting blade, the 
edge of said upright portion being parallel or 
thereabout, with the longitudinal direction of 
the cultivator, for the purpose of cutting up the 
weeds close to the rows of corn or other plants, 
and at the same time drawing the weeds away 
from the row r s, and also serving to guide the at¬ 
tendant in directing the cultivator, so as not to 
injure the plants by too near an approach to 
them, as described. 
Cultivator.— Griffith Litchenthaler, of Lime- 
stonville, Pa. : I claim the method described, 
of attaching the shares to the beams, viz., 
having metal strips perforated wdth holes, secur¬ 
ed to the under sides of the beams, and sockets 
formed of two lips made at the upper ends of 
the shares, and perforated with holes, in which 
holes and in those in the plates, wooden pins are 
passed, securing the shares to the beams, as set 
forth. 
Plows.— T. F. Chapin, of Walpole. N. II. : I 
do not claim the employment or use of an ad- 
justible beam, irrespective to the mode of attach¬ 
ment, as shown, for adjustable beams have been 
previously used. 
Neither do I claim the use of the rack and 
pinion separately, irrespective of its peculiar 
connection to the beam. 
I claim, first, attaching the beam to the mold 
board by a pivot, for the purpose of (allowing 
the outer end of said beam to be raised or de¬ 
pressed, and thereby give the share a greater 
tendency to enter the earth and cause the fur¬ 
rows to be of the desired depth. 
Second, I claim the means, as described, for 
operating the beam, viz., the box or socket, hav¬ 
ing within it a rack and pinion, the rack being 
connected to the beam by a rod, these parts be¬ 
ing constructed and arranged as set forth. 
Ditching Plow'. —John Lyon, of Harrisburgh, 
Iowa: I claim the arrangement of the several 
parts, as described, for the purpose of constitu¬ 
ting a machine which is capable of cutting any 
depth of furrow, and of taking up the loose 
dirt or soil out of said furrow or ditch, as fast 
as it is formed, and convey and discharge it at 
right angles to the furrow or ditch, in a contin¬ 
uous stream, for the purpose of forming roads 
and foundations for fences and for other purposes 
as described. 
Mowing Machine.— Alanson Gale, of Pough¬ 
keepsie, N. Y. : I do not claim the invention of 
wheels, shafts, or any of the parts of themselves, 
but only the combination of them for the pur¬ 
pose and in the manner described, so as to lift 
the cutter bar clear of the ground by backing 
the team and bringing it down to its place by 
drawing forward 
I claim the wheel as described, when so con¬ 
structed and combined with the frame of a moving 
machine, as to support the cutter bar clear of 
the ground when pushed back, and lower it to 
its place when drawn forward. 
Ditching Spade. —David Stouder, of New- 
Burlington, Ind.: I do not claim the bottom and 
side cutting edges for ditching spades, nor of 
narrow steel ribs, as a means of handling stickey 
muck, &c., with less adhesion. 
I claim the combination of the obtuse angled 
bottomed cutter with the side cutters sloping 
upwards, the light steel ribs, the foot treads on 
the single or divided handle and the claw hook 
for deep trenching, as set forth. 
IIorse Shoes. — William II. Towers, of Phila¬ 
delphia, Pa. : I claim the combination of the steel 
or other elastic springs, having corks formed on 
their flexible ends, and capable of being remov¬ 
ed and attached with facility and dispatch, with 
the main body of the shoe, as set forth. 
Corn-Oobb Cutter. — Isaac Straub, of Cincin¬ 
nati, Ohio: I claim the combination of a rota¬ 
ting burr provided with a blade or cutting edge 
on the top, and with a toothed or roughened 
surface on its perimeter, and a stationary shell 
also provided with a cutting edge, said cutting 
edges operating together shear fashion, for sli¬ 
cing off and reducing ears of corn preparatory 
to their undergoing a further reducing or grind¬ 
ing operation, the whole being combined as set 
forth. 
Butter Workers. — Ezekiel Gore, of Benning¬ 
ton, Vt.: I claim a machine with an endless re¬ 
volving sack, having its parts arranged and op¬ 
erating as described, for working, cleaning, and 
seasoning butter, as set forth. 
Butter Workers. —Elihu Ring, ofMacklen- 
burgh, N. Y. : I claim arranging the block to 
traverse as described, in combination with the 
spring or its equivalent, to force it forsvard in 
the operation of working butter as described. 
Hedge Trimmer. — Leonard Wood, of Quincy, 
Ill. : I do not claim the invention of knives re¬ 
volving on a horizontal shaft, as such have been 
used in machines for topping cotton. 
But I claim, first. The arrangement of cut¬ 
ters affixed on the face of a wheel on an inclin¬ 
ed shaft, revolving so as to cut upwards as the 
carriage is advanced parallel to the side of the 
hedge, in the manner described. 
Second, I claim the gauge in combination 
with the horizontally revolving knives both be¬ 
ing adjustable to the required height for topping 
the hedge, as described. 
Third, I claim lifting the lower branches of 
the hedge to bring them within range of action 
of the revolving cutters, by means of the bent 
bar or its evquivalent, thereby obviating the 
necessity of having the cutter wheel of large di¬ 
ameter and allowing the cutters to be carried 
so high as to be free from all danger of stricking 
the ground, as set forth. 
Cotton Gins. —L. S. Chichester, of Brooklyn, 
N. Y. : I claim the mode of operation of the vi¬ 
brating curved surfaces, as described, for forcing 
seeds out of pods of cotton, as set forth. 
I also claim, in combination making the said 
vibrating curved surfaces with recesses to form 
what is herein termed the upper griping edges 
to act upon the pods near the seeds towards the 
end of the operation. 
I also claim, in combination with the vibrat¬ 
ing curved surfaces, the employment of rollers 
or their equivalents acting intermittently, as de 
scribed.— Scientific American. 
- * % • - 
Alas, Poor Tray 1 — The JSfeic-Bedford Mer¬ 
cury says that a few days since, while Mr. Noah 
Tripp “ was engaged in mowing with a patent 
machine in the north part of the city, a dog 
who did not appear to like the new invention, 
ran furiously in front of it, and lost three of his 
legs for his want of agricultural appreciation.” 
