182 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
April 
Jagger’s Patent Turbine Water Wheel. * 
From the Scientific American of December 18, 1852. 
T HE annexed engravings are views of an improvement in 
the French Turbine Water Wheel, invented ’'by Ira 
Jagger, of the city of Albany, N. Y., and for which a patent 
was granted on the 19th of last October, {1S52.) Figure 1 is 
an enlarged view of a part of the periphery'of the wheel, with 
some buckets; figure 2 is a profile section through the centre; 
figure 3 is a perspective view of the wheel as set in its proper 
position, and figure 4 is a plan or horizontal section taken 
through x y. A. being the fixed part, or shute ebarnlter. with 
the shutes B B, and C, the wheel with its adjustable buckets, 
the same letters refer to like parts. The improvement con¬ 
sists in a sliding gauge or lip secured to the extremity of each 
bucket, as shown at a be, in the figures, for the,extension of 
the bucket, and fitted to the concave surface of the interior of 
it, by means of which the orifice of discharge, and its direc¬ 
tion is regulated according to the head under which the wheel 
works, and the amount of work to be done, and thus obtain 
the maximum effect with every varying head of water, also 
adapting the wheel to the work to be done, which in many 
cases varies a great deal- The lip is a rectangular plate of 
iron reaching from i he top to the bottom of the bucket, its back 
surface next the bucket is curved so as to fit the curved sur¬ 
face of the bucket, its front surface being flat, and a chord to 
the curve of the back surface. This lip is secured in its 
place by a screw bolt, a. sliding through a slot in the bucket, 
and lapped into a lip, and is regulated by Sliding thesaid lip to 
or from the bucket directly in front of it, so as to diminish or 
increase the space between it and that bucket as shown iq 
figures 1 and 3, where the lip, b , is shown as nearly closing 
the exit passage, and the lip c, as leaving the space between 
the buckets entirely open. A gate is placed between the 
shute chamber and the 
wheel, by which to re¬ 
gulate the supply of 
water to the wheel, so 
that there may be a due 
proportion between the 
quantity of water pres¬ 
sing into the wheel and 
that flowing out, as 
shown in figures 2 and 
4, at y. It is pierced 
with slots equal in size 
and corresponding in 
form to the external 
openings of the shutes, 
and has the edges of the 
slots bevelled so as to 
deiiver the water with 
as little interruption as 
possible, in whatever 
situation they may be 
in reference to the 
openings in the shutes. 
The gate is moved or 
shifted round horizon¬ 
tally, so as to close to a 
greater or less degree, 
the openings of the 
shutes, by any mechan¬ 
ical devjce. 
A very important ob¬ 
ject is claimed* and ob¬ 
tained in this, patent, 
viz., the adjustable lip 
sliding on the inner 
face of the buckets to 
regulate the openings 
between the outer edg¬ 
es of the buckets, and 
thereby the flow of wa¬ 
ter from the wheel, thus 
adapting the lines of this 
turbine to the head of 
w r ater and amount of 
work to be done, how¬ 
ever ' varying these 
may be. The water is 
taken in at the'bottom 
of the wheel-aiid every 
inch of head is made 
available. In some sit¬ 
uations at different 
times of the year, the 
head and quantity of 
water vary greally; this 
wheel is specially adap¬ 
ted for such places. 
The wheel is simple, 
strong and durable, and 
noUiableto be obstruct¬ 
ed by ice. The invent¬ 
or is of the firm of .Jag¬ 
ger, Treadwell & Per¬ 
ry, Eagle Foundery, 
Beaver st., Albany, N. 
Y., wdiere good castings 
can ahvays he assured, 
and from whom more 
information can be ob¬ 
tained by letter or oth¬ 
erwise. We wmuld 
state here, that we have 
seen some unsolicited 
letters from respectable 
persons who have been 
