9 
CLOVER SEED HULLER 
AND CEEANER. 
Plate VI. 
§ 60. There are perhaps fewer good machines for the purpose of separating the kernel of 
clover seed uninjured from its boll (or cell, as sometimes called), than for almost any other 
farming purpose. So great has been the difficulty as well as tediousness of the operation, with 
even the best machines for the purpose, until recent improvements, that farmers have been 
deterred from growing clover seed for market, and even have purchased their own seed from 
distant sections of the country, where water power has heretofore been considered indispen¬ 
sable for the process ; it being the practice of farmers, for many miles around, to convey their 
clover chaff to such mills, and generally paying seventy-five cents to one dollar per bushel 
for having it milled, to say nothing of the time and expense of going to and from the mills 
with it, to which should be added the waste of all the chaff, which is carried off by the 
stream, instead of going into the manure heap, and often with great loss of seed in addition. 
The operation of "this machine upon the chaff is analogous to rubbing it between the palms 
of the hands, and consequently not dependent upon any special velocity of the cylinder. 
The effect of a higher velocity being simply to increase the amount of work. This machine 
works equally well with chaff which is damp and otherwise in an unfavorable condition, 
and which could not be worked by any other kind of huller in use. 
The advantage of cleaning the seed as it is hulled, is that the seedless chaff is blown away 
as fast as the seed is rubbed out of it, and only such portion of the chaff as may still con¬ 
tain seed is required to be run through a second time ; while with without Cleaners the whole 
bulk of chaff must be run repeatedly through until all hulls are stripped from the seed. 
This machine is claimed to be what every neighborhood as well as every large farmer 
should have, and will be the means of increasing the production of clover seed, as the 
cotton gin increased the culture of cotton. 
$ 61. Its construction is similar to the Thresher and Cleaner Combined, as described in 
sections 11 to 24, except that instead of having spikes, as used in threshing grain, the cylinder 
is covered with bands of iron about one and a quarter inches wide by one-eighth inch thick, 
wound spirally over the whole surface, on which are raised innumerable teeth, resembling 
those of a coarse rasp ; these teeth, although of iron, are tempered by a peculiar process, which 
renders them sufficiently hard to cut iron without dulling them, causing them to perform an 
almost indefinite amount of work before becoming unfit for use from wear; the surface only 
of the iron, to a moderate depth, being hardened, the teeth are not liable to be broken off, 
while, even after their points are worn off, the hard surface still preserves sharp edges to the 
teeth as long as any portion of them remain. Should they eventually become too much 
worn for use, a new set or covering can be put on at a moderate expense. The machine being 
over-shot, it prevents stones and injurious substances getting in to its injury. 
§ 62. The annexed cut shows a cyl¬ 
inder as removed from the machine. 
The concave incloses nearly one- 
half of the cylinder, and is placed 
above it, and is adjustable by means 
of set screws to any degree and nicety 
of distance from the cylinder. This 
concave is entirely lined with the 
same material and in the same manner 
as the covering of the cylinder, and is 
shown here as removed from machine. 
In the hopper is placed a small re¬ 
volving picker, extending the whole 
length of the mouth, which serves 
to agitate the chaff in the hopper, 
and produce a constant and uniform 
feed to the machine. The shoe,, 
sieves and screens are nearly all the 
same as in the Grain Thresher, sec¬ 
tion 21. This machine does equally 
good work at any velocity, bo it ever 
so slow or fast, until too much, when 
it would break the seed by concussion. 
Its capacity, with one horse, is from 
five to fifteen bushels per day of 
cleaned seed, or nearly one acre per 
hour. The greater the velocity the 
more it will perform. The machine cleans and screens the seed fit for market, but about 
one-eighth of the chaff and tailings require to be returned to the mill a second time. 
Cubic measurement, 50 feet, weight 500 lbs. 
Price of Machine, complete, with Clean 1 r. as in Plate VI.,.... $joo 00 
Price of Machine, complete, except Cleaner Apparatus,...80 00 
