1859. 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
335 
We present above a section of an original plan 
for a room, to be constructed in a chamber or at¬ 
tic, where hams may be cured with the smoke from 
a common chimney, and be left suspended there 
for keeping. The room may be of any convenient 
size and bight—5 or 6 feet square would do 
Two openings, B and C, are made in the side of 
the chimney, one near the bottom, and the other 
near the top. Sheet iron slides, not shown in 
the engraving, serve to open and shut these aper¬ 
tures. By turning the damper, d , and opening the 
slides, the smoke is turned through B from the 
chimney into the smoke room, and it passes into 
the chimney again through C. The hams, or 
other meats to be smoked, are hung upon arms 
and hooks projecting from an upright shaft, which 
turns on pivots at the bottom and top, so as to 
change the position of the meat, and smoke it uni¬ 
formly. To be perfectly secure against fire, the 
rooms should have brick sides, and a floor of zinc, 
sheet iron, bricks, or stones. Plastered walls, 
without base-boards, might be safe ; the only dan¬ 
ger being from sparks, as no fire is needed inside. 
■- ■ <! » <l -. 
A Corn Cleaner 
The accompanying engraving we make from a 
sketch and description sent us by Geo. A. San¬ 
born. The implement is simple in construction, 
and can be easily made by any one. It is not 
patented. Mr. Sanborn writes, he has one in use, 
and he likes it much. 
Two side and two 
end boards are nailed 
together in the form 
of a wagon box. The 
part, a, is bottomed 
with thin boards, and 
has two small wings 
nailed in at the lower 
end, to throw the corn 
towards the middle 
of b, where a fine 
sieve lies upon cleats. 
At c, a coarser sieve, taken from a common fan¬ 
ning mill, is laid in. The lower end of the cleaner 
is supported by the wooden bench, and the upper 
end by the upright pieces, g, g. The corn is 
thrown upon a ; it slides down over b, which is 
just coarse enough to let the chaff drop through. 
The next sieve, c, lets the corn pass through it, 
into a bag, but retains the cobs. The whole is set 
at such an angle that the corn and cobs will readily 
slide down without shaking.-This apparatus 
may be useful where a fanning mill is not at hand, 
and also for readily carrying to the crib and else¬ 
where ; but for ordinary use the fanning mill will 
answer every purpose ; and what is more, blow 
out the fine chaff and dust. 
Machine for Making Drain Tiles. 
Cultivators have become so generally convinced 
of the immense advantages of tile drains, that 
there is springing up all over the country a de¬ 
mand for tiles—a demand which is very inade¬ 
quately met by the few scattering manufacto¬ 
ries located here and there. The expense of 
tiles, including a high price paid to the manufac¬ 
turers and especially the large cost of transporta¬ 
tion, still stands greatly in the way of their gen¬ 
eral use. Numerous inquiries are constantly 
addressed to us in regard to the best kind of ma¬ 
chines for making tiles, their cost, etc. 
We can best answer these inquiries by bring¬ 
ing to noiice a comparatively new machine, 
which after a recent careful examination of its 
construction, and of its practical working, we i 
think to be the best machine for common use, 
which we have yet seen—and we believe we 
14 inches. As fast as formed, tho boards arc 
taken up by hand and carried to the drying racks. 
There are a number of ingenious contrivances 
for opening and shutting the piston box, removing 
and cleaning the screen, etc., which can only be 
understood by an examination of the machine. 
The whole apparatus is nearly automatic—the 
rough clay is shoveled in, and the team or other 
power started ; the clay is worked, and comes out 
in perfect well made tiles, and all without the 
slightest attention, save to keep the team in mo¬ 
tion, and carry away the ready formed tiles to the 
drying sheds. This is a great improvement upon 
other machines now in use, which require the 
clay to be worked in a separate mill, and then 
screened in another, involving much more time 
and labor. 
Pipe tiles are burned in the same manner as 
bricks, and this machine being small, and com¬ 
plete in itself, may be put up and at once set to 
DRAIN-TILE MANUFACTORY. 
have examined all the various machines yet 
put into operation in this country. The machine 
referred to, though patented 18 months since, has 
not been brought prominently enough before the 
public, owing to the straightened circumstances 
of the ingenious and indefatigable inventor, and 
on this account we take the more pleasure in 
speaking of its merits. We refer to the Tile 
Machine constructed by F. M. Mattice, now at 
Buffalo, N. Y. (formerly a resident of Ohio, we 
believe). 
In the foreground of the accompanying engrav¬ 
ing is one of these machines in operation. On 
the right, the unburned tiles are shown upon 
racks for drying, from which they are transferred 
to the kiln for burning, exhibited in the left of the 
picture. 'The machine itself is a very ingenious 
one. It would be impossible to fully explain its 
operation without a variety of engravings, and 
much more space for description than we can 
now spare. 
In general terms we may say : The clay is 
first dug and thrown into a heap, sufficient water 
being added to give it the proper working con¬ 
sistence. It is then shoveled into the upright, 
drum which holds, say four or five barrels. Inside 
of this are a series of arms and knives, so to call 
them, which cut arid work the clay sufficiently 
for molding. At each revolution a portion of the 
low'er part of the clay is pressed into a piston box, 
standing partly under one edge of the drum. The 
box then closes, and the piston, or follower, forces 
the clay through a screen which takes out stones 
and lumps, and tempers it still more. The clay 
comes together in a mass on the other side of the 
screen, and is then forced out through the dies, 
in two or three long tubes of any desired form. 
These tubes rest upon short boards lying on an 
endless apron A frame with fine wires stretch¬ 
ed across it at proper distances cuts these tubes 
into pieces of any desired length, usually about 
work wherever a clay bed is at hand with fuel for 
burning, and lumber enough to construct the dry¬ 
ing sheds. For particulars as to form and cost of 
sheds, etc , address the inventor as above. These 
machines will be furnished complete, set up and 
started at work, satisfactorily, for from $200 to 
$350 we believe, depending upon the size, capa¬ 
city, distance to be transported, amount ofgearing, 
etc. The one we saw in operation, turned out 
some 300 to 350 two-inch tubular tiles per hour, 
when driven at the slow walking gait of horses. 
It will be more convenient to use the machine 
in connection with a brick-yard already in opera¬ 
tion, for the purpose of having burning kilns, and 
experienced burners, ready at hand, but as above 
remarked, it may be set up, and worked at any 
point convenient to save transporting of tiles. 
We would be glad to see one in every township 
where clay is accessible. We expect to put down 
a lot of tiles soon on our place, 12 miles east of this 
city, but the most accessible point from which 
we can obtain them is at Albany, 150 miles up the 
Hudson river, and to the present high price at 
the manufactory we must add transportation, as 
well as carting and handling two or three times, 
which increases the cost nearly one-half; and 
"yet we are not so badly off as thousands of farm¬ 
ers who would gladly lay dowm considerable 
quantities of tile at this time if they were to be 
had. This fact is a sufficient excuse for the space 
we have given to the subject, and the high terms 
in which we have spoken of an implement that 
we think will meet a great want of the country. 
— — - - ■ -<o —4 ■ ia^— >-o»- - — -- 
Bees. —A large number of letters on Bees have 
come in at a late date—too late to be examined, 
culled, and prepared for this paper, which goes 
to press earlier than usual. Articles on any topic 
should generally be on hand by the first of the 
month preceding publication date, as we then, or 
before, lay out the work for the next issue. 
