SELF-FEEDER FOR THRESHING MILLS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1579, 8 June 1887, Page 2

SELF-FEEDER FOR THRESHING MILLS

Mr Gerrard, engineer, Hnntly, Sootland has recently designed a maohlne for feeding threshing mills and automatically cutting the bands of the sheaves. Tbe mode of working the maohine, which la placed immediately over the drum, is as follows : — The sheaves are thrown upon an endless band whioh carries them under a roller, behind whioh is a pltoh»oh*in oarrylng knives for cutting the bands of tho sheaves. This roller is free to rise and fall, and the knives by means of a lever *re raised and lowered along with It, so that th6y are auVom&tioally adjusted to different s'zaa of sheaves, and consequently do not dig farther into the sheaves than la necessary to out the. bands. The sheaves then fall on to a platform, under which is a revolving shaft oarrylng wheels having teeth or prongs. These prongs, whioh projeot through slots m the platform, drag the sheaves forward to the drum. Directly, above this shaft is a recking shaft, having tines attaohed to it. In passing between the revolving prongs and the tine?, the sheaves are thoroughly shaken up and separated, and the straw Is delivered to the drum m a oontinnona volume. The following are the principal advantages claimed for the machine over hand-feeding — It effects a considerable saving of labor, dispensing with the services of two attendants. The threshing mill la more regularly fed and consequently lobb power is required to drive it, and the grain is bot;er threshed and shaken than with ordinary fesdiug. The dram being completely covered In, all risk of aooidents, which are of frequent occurrence, especially m connection with portable mllli, is done away with. There Is also no loss oauaei by the grain sparking from the dram, which often amounts to several baaheia dating a day's threshing, and the wotk \a made mote ogteeable to attendan s as very lilt'e duet oan escape from the drum. The feeder has been at work for some ttao, and considerable quantities of oata and barley have been threshed. Tbe work done m the case of both kinds of grain has been quite satisfactory, Mr Gerrard haa taken oufca provisional patent for tho invention. [We take the foregoing from an exohauge and from the description given of the machine it appears to be very nimilar m principle to that patented by Mr John Stal&er of Tinwald some time ago, with the exception that Mr Stalker's has no attachment for cutting he bands of sheaves.