Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1855-06-22
AGRICULTURAL L

CoLBr's Willow EsTABLisHxEsr AND PERL
INC MAcHiSR.-We last week took occasion
tn visit, for q personal inspection. the Basket
Willow Establishment OF George j. Colby, in
Bolton, about two miles above Jonesville, on
the Southern aide Of Onion River Abou.
two years ago, Mr. Colby. a modest, but clear.
headed and enterprising young man, conceiv'
cd tho project OF introducing, for his own
profit and the benefit Of tho State, tho
English Basket Willow Sahr Vinin1h,,
which had thus far been chiefly an article Of
import at immence cost to the country. He
accordingly procured slip. and planted nearly
an acre with them on soil made moist bv n
rivulct running directly through the ground
selected for the purpose and the result ha.
exceeded his most sanguine expectations. A
crop Of the most beautiful willows, which he
sold for several hundred dollars, rewarded
his c1ertions, last season and greater one
may reasonably be anticipated the present
summer
But the great triumph Of Mr.. Colby
remains to be told. The peelng of the will
lows Of their bark ha. hitherto constituted
the most slow and tedious part Of their pre-
partition for market, each rod requiring to he
drawn by hand. singlv and twice, through a
steel fork. made fast to some beam, like a
fax hatchel to strip of the bark. One dav.
while engaged in this slow process, he placed
n few Of the rods under his foot, and, bv roll
ing them side WAYS under his foot. he found
he could so much loosen the bark that he
/ could almost strip it off hv drawing tho rod.
through his hand. On this hint, he began
to think Of tho practicahility Of a machics
which should combine. and more eff-ctuallv.
! the two operations Of the foot and hand lust
/ described And his study and experimenting
/ on the subject. last fall and winter, has at
| length resulted in a machine. which, simple
! in it's construction "a beautiful in operation,
/ pecls from twenty to thirty rods in the rapid
process Of passing through it, ms thoroughly
and neatly and much quicker, than a single
rod. in the old way. could he peeled bv hand
/ The machine. about the dimensions Of a car
renters workbench consists of cloth band
. feet wide and OF s long, drawn over the
I tor bars Of the frame, two rollers. wood and
/ India rubber, inches in diameter. hung one
above the her, and grazing each other, at
! one end Of the hand and at the other, two
small rollers Of India rubber. Of about three
inches in diameter, then after space Of about
ten inches another set Of seven inch rubber
| rollers closely hugging each other in turn
/ ing and the whole put in motion by crank
on one side, which may be turned by man,
! hut is intended for one horse power. Tho
! first set Of large rollers have lateral
motion-that is. they have side play OF
about two inches at each revolution. Into
these the willows, a bunch of twenty or thirty.
having been taken into the hand and evened,
are spread out on the fore part of the belt
and. being drawn 10 between the first rollers,
the bark is broken and loosened by the lateral
motion, acting like that of the foot rolling
back and forth on the rods. Tho first set Of
| roller. sends the rods on to the next or small
rollers. which catch them and tightly press
ing the bruised bark, send them forward to
the remaining large rollers, which seize them
with still more powerful grasp, and draw
them through the small rollers with force
that strips them clean Of the bark and sends
them in bound Of several feet on the aoor
beyond.
Such is this important labor saving machine
that Mr., Colby has invented, patented and
put in successful operation. in connection
with the new and profitable business of basket
willow raising, which is now beginning to
excite so much public attention in this
country and we have no doubt but that it
will soon find its way into universal uso
wherever this branch Of hueines is prosecuted,
both in America and Europe. The cost of
the machine, when manufactured in quaint.
ties and by machinery, will not probably
vary much from one hundred dollars.-Free-
man