1794.) Mr. Dix’s Winnowing, and Mr. Chapman’ Rope, Machine. 295 
Mr. Drx’s WINNOwWING-MACHINE. 
A fhort time fince, letters patent were 
granted to Mr. W. S. Dix, of Exeter, 
Devon, for a machine for clearing grain 
from the ftraw, inftead of threfhing. 
This. winnowing machine confifts of 
an upright fquare frame, provided 
with a hopper to receive the corn, 77 ear; 
and it Is to be cleared from chaff, 
by means of the fri€tion of a large cir- 
cular rubber. The machine receives its 
action from a pair of ribbed rollers, 
which are conneéted with a ftrap or band 
to the main axle, and the axle itfelf is 
revolved by means of an ordinary hand- 
winch. 
The advantages to the agriculturaliits 
which are likely to refult from this. in- 
vention, we fhall prefent to our readers 
in the words of the patentee: 
tft. *€ By preventing any of the grain from 
being fhed. 
2d. “ By enabling the farmer to carry ten 
times more grain in the ears in facks, without 
the ftraw, in one} waggon, at one load, than. 
can poffibly be carried with all the ftraw. 
3d. “ By carrying as much corn in one day, 
as is now carried in ten days; by which the 
farmer will fave nine days labour of men and 
horfes, and as many days chances of bad wea- 
ther, which yery often interrupts the harveft, 
increafes the expence of getting it in, and injures 
the corn. 
4th. “ The corn being in the ears without 
the ftraw, and the ears being rough, will lay 
light, and not fo clofe together, but will admit 
the air to pafs freely through them, as through 
fo many flews, which muft effectually prevent 
the corn from fweating and fhrinking, as it now 
too often does in the ftraw, and not being ftack- 
ed, we fhall have no more mow-burnt corn ; the 
corn is to be thot from the facks into the barns 
or granaries, and not left in them. 
sth. “‘ By keeping the corn in the ears in 
lefs room, the farmers will be the better en- 
abled to guard it from being devoured and {fpoil- 
ed by rats, mice, and other vermin, which it 
now is to a moft incredible amount, even be- 
yond al) poffible calculation, 
6th. ** By preferving the recd unhurt, it is 
rendered of much more value for thatching, 
collar-making, Dunftable manufa@tories, &c. 
qth. ‘* Preferving all the natural chaff, in- 
ftead of cutting the prime ftraw or reed for 
horfes and cows. 
8th. ** By clearing every grain from the ears, 
which, as I have obferved before, I believe no 
farmer has ever yet been fo fortunate as to have 
been able to do, which he now may, by ufing 
the machine [ now recommend ; and, by adopt 
ing all the methods I herein propofe, he will 
find an increafe of produce very far exceeding 
his mott fanguine expeCtations,”” 
‘Mr. CuarMan’s Rope-MAcHINE. 
On the 13th of September, letters pa- 
tent were granted to Mr, W. Cuap- 
MAN, of Newcaftle-upon-Tyne, for an 
apparatus for laying, twifting, and mak- 
ing of ropes and cordage, of any num- 
ber of yarns or firands, tarred or untar- 
red, from acable to a thread. 
To do juftice to a defcription of the 
apparatus itfelf, would require numer- 
ous drawings—but it will be fufficient to 
point out zs principle. This confilts in a’ 
method of twifting ropes by fmall fpin- 
dies, well fupplied with ordinary twift, 
and in proportion as the ftrands and twifts 
increafe in circumference by conjunction, 
other wheels in like manner, azain give 
them the neceffary action, until all the 
ftrands are wove into {mall ‘ropes, and 
thence into larger, till the cable is at 
length produced; and the fame power 
which works the twit contrarywife alfo 
acts upon numerous well contrived reels, 
which receive the fmallrope as it is twift- 
ed, and retains until it is again wove off 
as a twift of a Jarger rope. 
The entire method, when contrafted 
with the manner of making cables in 
rope-walks, is exceedingly compact, and 
when it receives ation from the ordinary 
powers of fteam, horfes, &c. all the 
{pindles may. be fupplied by the work- 
men at one time, with tarred or untarred 
twift, fo that each rope is feen to make 
part of the cable, without going through 
many gradations of perfection, and a 
long and tedious procefs of preparation. 
The utility of this invention is fuch, 
that. if applied with any determinate 
number of twifts, in a given length, ei. 
ther of the rope, or the ftrand, it will 
alfo be ftriétly uniform throughout the 
whole extent, which cannot be effefied 
in the mode of making by hand. This 
method of making cordage, likewife 
poffeffes the peculiar advantage, that it 
gives to every yarn its full ftrefs. By 
the old method, the yarns are all of the 
fame original length, although they form 
diminifhing fpirals within each other ; 
and confequently are gathered up in the 
middle, when the firand confifts of a 
confiderable -number of yarns. It is 
from the latter defeét, that there is now 
obtained, from the middle of the ftrands 
of large ropes, coudemmned from their out- 
Jide yarns breaking, a large portion of 
good yarns that have borne no fir fi, from 
which are made what is called twice-Jaid 
rope. It refults, therefore, that cables, 
Qg2 and 






= SS = =. = = 
ee pe ee en ee 5 < ° So a SS —————— 
——— ea ae ee a ae SSS 


ee i = 

