264 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[July, 
Mechanical Powers for the Farm or 
Workshop. 
It is an accepted principle in the use of 
powers that one should never employ a man 
when he can use a horse, and never use ahorse 
when the work can be done by either wind, 
water, or steam. For farm or rural labor the 
S three powers last named may be very exten- 
I sively applied with profit. Wind and water are 
PECK & skilton’s pot-cover.— (See preceding page.) 
only applicable for stationary purposes. They 
are employed through the medium of machines, 
cheap in their construction and their use, and 
in many places can be made available where 
steam might be objectionable. But steam may 
be applied everywhere, and in many cases may 
with advantage displace the cheaper powers of 
wind and water. It is a portable power, and 
in this lies its greatest usefulness to the farmer. 
With a steam-engine he can pump water and 
force it to any part of the farm for irrigation 
or for his stock ; he can thrash at the barn or 
in the field, or at his neighbor’s fields and barn; 
he can saw fuel or lumber at home or in the 
woods; he can press hay, and gin, or pack cot¬ 
ton, or grind his own or his neighbor’s feed, and 
do whatever work may be desired at home or 
away from it, and thus make it profitable for 
himself and convenient for his neighbors. The 
saving of time in doing his own work will 
make it possible for him to spare time to do 
work for others who may 
wish to hiie his engine, and 
thus the benefits of steam- 
power be very largely ex¬ 
tended. We have hereto¬ 
fore described various styles 
of mechanical powers, wind¬ 
mills, water - wheels, and 
steam-engines; and now il¬ 
lustrate a portable farm en¬ 
gine made by Frick & Co., 
of Waynesboro, Franklin 
Co., Pa., which has an ex¬ 
cellent reputation. It is 
known as the Eclipse Porta¬ 
ble Agricultural Steam En¬ 
gine, and is specially manu¬ 
factured for farm use. It is 
mounted on a suitable truck 
furnished with springs, 
where the boiler rests upon 
the axle, so that it may be 
moved over rough roads 
with safety. It is simple, 
safe, light, and effective, 
either as a stationary or 
portable engine. The smoke¬ 
stack is hinged, for the 
double purpose that it be 
out of the way when storing 
the engine under shelter, 
and to avoid the shaking 
of the long perpendicular 
cylinder during transporta¬ 
tion. It has also a spark- 
arrester, so that even straw 
when placed on the top of 
it will not ignite. The 
same safety exists below at 
the ash-pan, which is pro¬ 
vided with a close-fitting 
door, which can be closed if 
found advisable. It received the first prize 
medal over all other competitors at the Cin¬ 
cinnati Industri¬ 
al Exposition of 
1874, which is a 
valuable recom¬ 
mendation. In 
choosing an en¬ 
gine for any pur¬ 
pose, the special 
points to be con¬ 
sidered are sim¬ 
plicity, safety, 
strength, and du¬ 
rability, but when 
an engine is cho¬ 
sen for farm use, 
safety from fire 
by sparks or 
ashes is one of the 
most important 
considerat ions. 
To be able to use 
an engine near 
the barn or a 
straw stack, or 
in a field in 
which there are 
dry, inflammable 
stubble and shocks of grain, is often very 
desirable, and this Eclipse steam engine here 
described is intended for these very purposes. 
The Florida Torreya. 
In May last we gave an engraving of the 
California Torreya, or California nutmeg. As 
a supplement to Prof. Gray’s admirable ac¬ 
count of his visit to the Florida Torreya.,. 
(which we may regard as the original, it 
being the one first discovered, and upon which, 
the genus was established), we give here an 
engraving prepared for that excellent work*. 
Hoopes’ “ Book of Evergreens.” It is a mat¬ 
ter of regret that there is nowhere an en¬ 
graving or other picture representing the 
whole tree ; this illustration shows the foliage, 
a separate leaf of the full size being given 
at a, the fruit somewhat under natural size, 
e, the female flower enlarged, d, an enlarged 
male ament, b, and an enlarged anther, e. 
We hope, now attention is called to this in¬ 
teresting and beautiful tree, that some of our 
nurserymen may find it to their interest to pro¬ 
cure a stock of it, as there are many who- 
would gladly possess it for the name it com¬ 
memorates, and at the same time ornament 
their grounds with one of the most beautiful, 
as well as rarest of evergreens. 
The Colorado Potato “Bug,” which ap¬ 
peared on the Atlantic Coast in small numbers 
last year, is now in full force. In some locali¬ 
ties it is very destructive to tomatoes, as it wilL 
be to egg-plants. Careful hand-picking and 
destroying the eggs will, if done in time, keep- 
them under. As a last resort, use Paris green' 
as directed last month on page 226. Examiner 
the vines every day, and kill all found 
FRICK & Co’s PORTABLE STEAM-ENGINE. 
THE FLORIDA TORREYA—LEAVES, FLOWERS, AND FRUIT. 
