A Mechanical Insecticide Distributor.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 393, 14 August 1889, Page 6

A Mechanical Insecticide Distributor.

Tjie F Aim mi was the iirst journal, we believe, in the colonies to publish a description and illustration of Strawson's Airpower Distributor. Jb is not likely that any machine of the kind will bo invented for some time to surpass Slrawson's : howover, every really valuable invention | produces a crop of colourable imitations, | plagiarisms of mechanical invention more or le^s decently concealed under the name of improvements upon the original idea. We notice in a coutempoiary an engraving (here reproduced^ of a machine- to distribute

poison on plants. The name of the inventor or adapter is not given in the journal from which we quote the following description of this machino : — " A method of dusting poisonous powders on plants, to rid them of destructive insects, is illustrated heiowith. The axle of the machine is centially arched to pa&s readily over plants ; and the main frame has a screen to protect the diiver from the poisonous dust. The casings, of t}be air blast fans are fixed to the rear cioss-bar of the frame, and have outlet pipes communicating with nozzles having trumpel-sbaped ends ; the nozzles being so connected as to admit of their being turned in different directions. All Ihiee of the fans are operated by a shaft which at one end car- \ ries a sprocket wheel, from which a driving chain passes to a larger &procket wheel on I the sulky wheel, causing the rapid rotation of the fans. A hopper to contain the poison is arranged over the outlet pipe ot each of the fan casings ; and beneath each hopper is a pivoted valve having an opening which may be bi-ought to coincide more or less | fully with a hole in the bottom of the hopper ; the valves for all the hoppers I being simultaneously regulated by a hand wheel and a worm shaft. To prevent the clogging of the poison in the hoppers, a vertical'shaft, carrying a winged agitator, is iournaled in each ; the top oi the shaft carrying a bevel gear wheel engaged by a bevel pinion on a transverse shaft. The latter is operated by a driving cbain from the sulky axle ; and a lever controlling the operation of this shaft is in convenient reach of the driver. This machine may, if desired, be built with but one poison hopper, fan blast apparatus, and discharge nozzle." | « ■