The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-08-06
R|CKER'S CANE LOADER
A MACHINE FOR PICKING UP
CANE.
Lays Its Own Tracks for Moving-No
Successful Bids for Planters As
ISOLATION Prizes.

Some time ago the Planters Associa-
tiLn offered prizes to inventors for a
number of machines that would be
useful in working cane, A cane loader
was among them. Several pans of ma
chimes of various sorts have been re-
ceived by the Association since then
from the mainland, but none that have
met with approval so far. In the mean
time w. w. Kicker of this city has per-
fected cane loader which seems to
be practical success and is ali eady in
use here
The Kicker cane loader is h listing
machine somewhat resembling the ma
chimes used in gravel mining. The ma
chine consists of a donkey engine set
on a car with wheels of 36-inth gauge.
On the car platform is placed a large
drum and a 40 foot iron crane which
stands nearly upright, but which can
be lowered when working to cover a
radius of forty feet. A steel wire is
wound round the drum, one end of
which runs through a pully at the top
of the crane. The platform on which
the engine, drum and crane stands is
movable, and can be turned compl toly
round by power from the engine. When
at work the loader stands forty feet
from the track on which the cane cars
stand. The cane within a radius Of
$50 feet from the leader is tied in bum
dies of from 1000 to 1900 pounds, and
the platform and crane is turned auto
matically till the crane points toward
the desired pile of cane and stops. The
wire is then unwOund from the drum
until the end of it. on which there is a
grab hook, is caught in the rope with
which the cane is tied. The motion of
the drum Is reversed and the wire
rope wound up till the cane swings
clear of the ground and at a sufficient
height to load into the car, and the
crane is swung round until it is direct
ly over the car to be loaded, when the
drum is reversed and the cane is low
cred into the car, and the engine, drum
and crane are swung around again till
the crane points to the pile of cane,
when the wire rope Is again paid out
till it reaches the cane.
BY this it will be seen the saving
consists in the carving of the cane to
the cane cars. 1t would be practically
impossible to devise machine which
would pick up the cane.
The cane loader carries its own track
with it, in sections, and as it moves
forward in the field it simply swings
it's crane behind it, picks up a 12-fcot
section of track and then swings round
again, with the track dang ing to the
end of the crane, and lowers it in the
desired place in front. BY this means
it is readily and qu'CA.g moved for
ward by it's own power. The entire
radius of the reach of the loader is 800
feet. being $50 feet on either side. A
force of ten men are required to Cper-
ate the loader. which includes the pill
ing of the cane and placing it on the
cane cars. A cane car with slanting
sides is preferable to one with perpen-
dicuiar sides.
The motive power of the engine is
crude petroleum, of which it consumes
about twelve gallons in twelve hours.
This is the only crude oil engine on the
islands. The loader is all iron and in
destructible by fire, as was demon
strateo some days ago, the loader hav-
ing passed through the Paia cane fire
without a particle of damage.
The machine was manufactured by
the Brown Hosting Machinery Com
pany, of Cleveland, and can be deliv-
cred on the islands for about $4,000
The Kicker cane loader is peculiarly
well adapted for clearing the ground
of rocks, and in the off season could
be very protitably employed for that
purpose.