The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1888-07-27
PRICE THREE CENTS! q

world that has carried on the entire proeess
Of packing corn. including husklng, by ma
chinery.
Mr.. Conant has established a complete ma
chine shop for the manufacture Of corn pack
ing machines and this, considering the real
merit OF the machine, promises TO be one Of
the prominent Industries Of our city. Mr.
Conant Is the inventor and manufacturer Of
wnat IS known as the COnant reversible silk
or; by means Of coneave sieve, horizon
TAI bars and projecting iron pins through and
moved from the ear passes, the silk
and pieces Of cob are separated
from the corn and thrown away. Mr.. Con-
ant Is manufacturing agent Of the Sprague
patent CONTINUOUS feed green corn cutting
machine, which Is remarkable for its thor
ough work. This machine has a feeding
trough with chain belt running In the bot
tom; the trough Is long enough TO accommo-
date two feeders, broad feeding table Is ar
ranged on one side; each feeder can use both
hands, the ears are conveyed TO the head Of
the machine by the chain belt. the point Of
ears are caught by four spur wheels reyolv-
ing In slots in the front gauges and forced
through pair Of horizontal knives. The
above mentioned spurs, gauges and knives
have a universal center which Is a perfect
centering device; II the point Of the ear
touches the spur at any angle, they will pull
Ii into line and center before II touches the
knife. The spurs have sharp points that
prick through the kernels and Into the cob;
one revolution Of the spurs will pass over an
ear eight inches long. As the point Of the ear
passes the first pair Of knives 1t Is caught by
a pair OF small spur wheels revolving be-
tween the gauges Of the rear verticle knives,
which forces the ear through the rear knives
and completes the cutting. The last men.
toned pair OF spurs follow In the track OF
the first pair Of knives where the corn has
been clipped off. Behind the knives are ar
ranged four pairs OF corrugated rollers and
three pair OF scrapers arranged between
them as the point OF the ear passes the rear
knives It Is caught by the first pair Of rollers
until the scraping is complete and the cob
passes out Of the rear Of the machine. The
rollers are smallest In the centre and In line
with the opening In the scrapers. The scrap
ers are OF c0neave forR, In front, which Is In
effect like an expanding funnel. when closed
will scrape the smallest cobs; a large cob will
force them open without el0gging or straining
the machine. They are formed so as 10 touch
eight knives. and the serapers and rollers
being arranged In separate pairs gives plen.
W Of room Tor small pieces Of cobs, SILK and
husks TO drop out, which with the rapid mo-
tlon ofthe machine keeps all parts free Of
distractions. This machine cuts the corn
as fast as two men can possibly place It In
the feeder.
Mr.. COnant also manufactures the Stick
ney steam power can-fler, with a capacity Of
filling from 40 TO 80 cans per minute. Be-
sides these machines, there were also seen at
Mr.. ConaDfs well-equipped mandatory,
the following machines for which he Is
agent:
]. II. Cuskley's bath room copper heater,
and Burts patent wiping machine for wip-
ing the tops Of cans. 1t occupies a floor
space Of two by three feet. 1t Is worked by
means OF a treadle. which, after the can Is
placed TO the gauge. brings the revolving
brush down upon the top Of can. The cen
trifugal force caused by high speed of the
brush, instantly removes all moisture. There
Is central plug, which closes the opening In
top OF can as the brush descends, thus keep
ing the contents clean and free from water.
The Barker Manufacturing Company, sue
cessors TO the business lately conducted by
VOlney Barker, now deceased, Is a well
known firm Of this city. engaged In the man
ufacture OF green corn packing machinery.
The Barker patent can filler reached its pres
ent state of perfection after many years OF
labor and experiment; and the result Is
machine capable Of filling and weighing
without any waste, from 5000 to 10000 cans
OF corn daily, the capacity being regulated
by the speed Of the driving pulley. The ac-
tion OF the filler Is entirely automatic, re-
quiring but one person to shovel the cern in
to the hopper anu q boy to place the cans Ia
a spout overhead. when they VIII drop down,
place themselves un1el the nozzle.
and be pushed out upon q table,
nlled and weighed, at the rate
Of from 75 to 100 cans per minute. The
Filler also has attached TO 1t a self-aeting
pump which may be regulated so as TO put
any quantity OF water in the cans (befOre
they are filed, that may be desired, all OF
which Is accomplished automatically by at
taching the end Of a hose to the end of a
pipe under the machine which NAV lead to a
tank outside Of the factory, or any other
convenient place.
Z The Barker Company also manufacture
can washer which win clean as many cans
in day as five or six girls will ordinarily
do; and the cans will be cleaner and brighter
than before they were filed. The machine,
Of course, Is run by steam. Few corn
machines have given better satisfaction
than the Barker hand cutter 1t has a capa-
city OF 5000 pounds per day and Is used by
packing establishment In many places
throughout the United States. The hand
cutter which was invented by the late Vol
ney Barker was followed by the Barker
power cutter with a capacity Of $50 10 go
cans per minute or 10000 cans per day. This
machicne has two heads which are made
the same as the heads used on the hand
machine.
This company also manufactures a silking
machine which Is similar to the COnant
machine except that the corn passes over
the horizontal bars and iron pins before IL
reaches the sieve. In the Conant machine
the corn Is placed In the sieve first.
Thus 10 viii be seen that besides great
corn packing city Portland Is also engaged
in the manufacture Of corn machines that
are inferior to none in the world.