The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1871-11-11
A PACIFIC COAST INVENTION.
An Immense Harvester.


The exposition, just closed, of the
San Francisco Mechanics Institute,
comprised many articles peculiar to the
farming, mining and other industries
Of the Pacific coast, which are of much
interest to the traveller from the East
Agriculture IN California isquite differ
ent from the tillage practiced on this
side of the Rocky Mountains This
arises from the difference in climate
even more than from the widely differ
ing character of the soil With us, if
grain is allowed to stand but a few days
after rlpening, it shells badly
and ''crinkles down." as the farmers
say; that is, large proportion
of the stems bend down among the
rest, their head nearly or quite to the
ground so that the lowest sweep of the
grading scythe will not enable a clean
swath to be cut In the Californian
fields, however, where the sky is clear
and ralnless for weeks during the warm
est season, nothing like this occurs
The straw stands straight up. the
kernels rpen and harden until they de-
come almost as dry as those in a cured
sheaf, and while they retain sufficient
hold to prevent any considerable waste
from Smelling, will yield readily to the
sharp, persuasive action of a blow.
! This enables system of labor-saving
machinery to be adopted that could not
be used III any other country, with the
exception of Australia. One machine
sewers the heads from the straw, instead
OF cutting the straw close to the ground,
as IN ordinary reaping; threshes the
grain from the head and separates it
from the refuse, preliminary to its de-
! delivery to sacks carried on the ma
! chine. One of these machines on a
grand scale, was shown in the fair, and
/ it was made as follows:
! A large horizontal frame of wood was
! suspended near its rear end on two
large driving wheels, and at its front
on two lighter ones, the axle OF the
latter being pivoted at the centre by a
vertical bolt like the forward axle of
an ordinary lumber wagon, an arrange
ment that permits the vehicle to be
easily turned around. From the left
hand side of the frame projected a cut
ter bar, corresponding to that of a
( mOwing-machine, but twelve feet in
stead Of four in length, and running
three feet instead of one inch from the
/ ground. This cutter bar carried the
usual reciprocating cutter, operated,
as IN mower, by a crank and pitman,
connected by gearing with the
driving Behind the cutter
bar was level platform,
upon which was an endless belt
some two or three wide, and which
passing over rollers at each end, was
made TO revolve with its upper side
running continually toward the mouth
Of IA hopper located on the frame.
The machine Is designed to be drawn
by ten horses, and in moving forward
the cutter strikes the standing grain
just bc'8g the heads and cuts them off,
the head falling upon the endless belt,
which carries them into the hopper.
The spout of this hopper empties the
heads into n "concave, which fits
around the under side of rapldly-re-
Volving toothed cylinder, and the action
of this latter threshes the grain from
the headsas fast as they feed in. The
force OF the threshlng cylinder throws
the flying mass backward into the
the throat of winnowing-
mill, made small and compact
tiLNt oNCt1Ci tpCli VIC pttth pa
of the frame Here fan-blast
, nants of the heads, while the heavy
grain passes into a spout which pro-
jects out from the right-hand side OF
the machine. Upon either side OF the
outlet OF this spout are hooks. to which
, the mouth of a sack is attached, to KEEP
it dlstended, while the bottom of the
l. LOT lot
form suspended by iron rods from the
main frame. One man drives the horses,
; and other stands on the little platform
to tie the sacks as fast as they are filed
and throw them off upon the ground,
where they lie for several days tC
! sweat" This last Is necessary, be
cause grain, no matter how dry it may
be in the chaff, will eliminate moisture
after it is cut If stacked in the straw
or heads, or if simply in single stack
that allow the moisture to dissipate,
the grain is pretty soon completely dry,
and may be stored without danger; but
if laid away in large quantities when
Just cut and threshed, it would soon
spoil.
In the construction of the machine
Just described we have a curious Illus.
tratiOn Of the manner In which old ma
chimes are combined to form new ones
of greater utility. The heading appar-
atus has been used in Illinois and adj
jacent states for a number of years
past the heads being simply stacked
until dry enough to thresh; the thresh-
ing and winnowing devices, except in
being driven by the wheels of the mUin
frame, do not differ materially from the
ordinary stationary apparatus, while the
outlet-spout, hooks and side
platform are found in the machinery of
almost any Touring mill Nevertheless,
united with each other they promise to
supersede the system hitherto mainly
in use on the Pacific coast. This was
to cut the standing grain and draw it,
straw and all, to some central location
in the field, and there thresh it with q
stationary thresher operated by belt
from steam engine mounted on q
wheeled frame, which enabled it to be
easily moved from place to place.
NEW alloy of copper and iron has