The herald., 1896-06-18
PLOU0KlNG BY ELECTRICITY
An Invention Has Just Been Patented-The
Electric Spadiug nachine


Electric Spadiug r1achine
The farming Of the future is to be done
by electricity. Edward M. Bentley Of
New York has just patented an electric
plough, which runs back and forth
across field and turns up the soil in
fashion that would have made pioneer
farmers of a hundred years ago stand
dumb with amazement.
His invention calls into use the most
recent developments in the line of trans
mission Of electric power. A power
house in centrally located village can
furnish motive force for all the farm
work to be done within q radius Of many
miles.
Along the two opposite sides Of field
poles and wires are put up, and between
these stretching directly acrossthe field,
is stretched third wire, which serves
as trolly upon which the plough trav-
els. This wire Is slack. so that 1t may
run through the plough contrivance,
which let's out wire behind as 1t pro-
crosses and winds it in at the front. :
When the plough reaches the end Of
a furrow the current Is automatically
reversed, so as to start the machine
back again. Thus the plough goes back
and forth until the whole field Is travers-
ed. The ends Of the trolly wire. as the
work progresses, travel along on the
wires strung alongside the field.
The ploughman meantime sits perched
up aloft like motorman. and earns his
living by turning switch lever
A machine resembling this in general
operation was planned in 1879 by two
French engineers-Chretien and Felix
and some experiments were made with
it at Sermaize, in Marine, France. But
instead of the simple trolly plan they
used two cumbersome electric windlass-
es, one on each side Of the field, and the
plough was dragged across by means Of
stout wire cable. The same men used
an electric apparatus for loading and
unloading sugar beets at Sermaize. 1t
reduced the cost of the work 40 per cent
from that of hand labor
An electric implement similar in some
respects to the plough, patented by Mr.
Bentley is spading machine, for which
letters have been granted to Edwin r.
Whitney of st. Johnsbury vt. 1t has
spades arranged upon a wheel like the
fianges of paddle wheel. AS the ma
chine is propelled across the field trolly-
wise, these spades do the rest The
engine from which power for this device
is furnished Is ten horse power dyna-
mo, stationed upon the outskirts of the
field. The spader runs across the field
at the end Of a wire cable, which winds
itself automatically on a drum as the
spader returns. The spading machine
may, If necessary be converted into
harvester, with a binding apparatus at
tached and field Of grain harvested and
gathered into DarnS in One-tWent1eth of
the time required when the old horse
drawn reaper went round and round the
field and dozen sturdy farm hands
struggled along binding the bundles Of
grain in its wake.
But these are only few Of the uses
to which electricity has already been put
on the farm. There is tree-felling ma
chine which is now being introduced in
North American lumber districts. In
stead of working on the saw principle
the cutting Is done with a series of drills,
arranged to close together upon the end
OF long arm that with two sweeps of
the lever the heaviest tree can be half
severed. This machine does not work
with transmitted current, but carries
its own electric motor, so that 1t can
be run from place to place in the forest.
There are electric appliances, too, for
subduing fractions horses in harness
and for compelling them to submit to
the shoeing operation. Many of these
are in use.-New York Journal.