partly correspond with those in fig. 146. The fans revolve within the circular case fgh, the space f g being open for the discharge of the air,go being the funnel-board; st is the shoe; qrs is the riddle-frame, which receives the two riddles u and v, slid in grooves and movable; w is the hopper, on the front of which is the sluice 8, moved by the screw-winch x, to regulate the feed. The sieve frame is a' b', which receives two sieves into the grooves e' and f'. The frames of both riddles and sieves are supported by the chains b' and h', attached to the stretcher-rod b. The toothed wheel i, seen through the air-port, is turned by a winch-handle, and acts upon a pinion fixed upon the axle of the fan. The proportion of the wheel and pinion are 4 to 1, the fan making from 212 to 220 revolutions per minute. The spare riddles are kept in the locker k', l' being the lid opening into it; cn' is a slider that can be raised or depressed to catch the light grain, while it allows the chaff to pass over. 1769. The full complement of riddles for the riddle-frame is 6, of which 2 only can be employed at one time. Their meshes are for wheat 5 in the inch, for barley 4 in the inch, and for oats 3 in the inch. The slap-riddles are three quarter inch, and 1 inch in the meshes. The sieves are made of wire-cloth: the upper one has 9 meshes in the inch, the lower 7 meshes. upon that end of the riddles q o; and as the grain falls from the hopper upon that end of the riddles, the lighter chaff is immediately blown off beyond the point c. The remainder, with the grain, will be passing through the riddles towards the sieve; and during this stage, any remains of chaff are blown off and the light grain and seeds are blown beyond b'. The blast not having power to carry them over c, they fall down between c and b', and are discharged at the lights spout m; at the same time, the heavy grain and seeds fall upon the upper sieve f', when all the plump full-sized grains roll down over this sieve, and are delivered at the firsts spout k. These grains, together with other seeds whose specific gravity exceeds the lights, but whose bulk is under that which the upper sieve is intended to pass, consequently fall through the meshes, and are received upon the lower sieve e'; upon this the grain so received rolls down and is delivered through a small opening at the foot of the sieve e' into the chamber of the seconds spout l. The smaller seeds, such as those of sinapis and others, being too small 1771. When this fanner is in operation, to be retained even upon this sieve, fall 1770. Fig. 148 is a transverse section of the same fanner: a a are the frames, c c the side-boardings, m m the light spouts, m' the sliders, to change the direction of the discharge; and o'p' is the sloping division o'p of fig. 147. The sieve-frame, with its 2 sieves, are contained between a' and b'; and ƒƒ are 2 flaunch-boards, sloping over the sieve-frame, to direct the grain upon the sieve. The riddle-frame, with its riddles u and v, are contained between r and o; and w is the hopper, with its sluices. The end of the connecting-rod g, fig 146, is seen at g, as jointed to the bell cranks that shake the riddles and sieves by their attachment at b' and o; i is the toothed wheel, with its winch-handle k, and framework 7, by which the fan is impelled. THE ELEVATION OF THE FINISHING FANNER OR DUSTER. over-all dimensions are smaller, the extreme length being 5 feet 8 inches, the height 4 feet 8 inches, and the width, as before, 1 foot 9 inches. The main frame a a is again made in halves, and the back frame is also single; c is the air-port. The wheel d, and its pinion on the axle of the fan, are in the same proportion as before; but on the axle of the wheel, a pulley is mounted, which, by means of a cross-belt e, drives the pulley f, of the same diameter, and which is placed upon the axle of a feeding-roller. The sideboarding gg, is formed to the taste of the maker, except in that part which forms the fan-case, and in the parts h and i, which are cut away to afford more ready access to the light corn, and to the small seed that may have been separated: k and I are handles by which it may be lifted from one place of the barn to another. 1773. Fig. 150 is the longitudinal section, where a a and b b are the cross rails of the frames, and c the air-port. In this machine, the blast is sent directly through an open funnel, defg; the latter part, fg being continued outward from the feeding roller h, which is so placed as not to offer any obstruction to the current. The hopper i is furnished with a slider k, which is adjusted to the requisite feed by the screw ; and the sole of the funnel, from m to d, is a solid board, while the shoot from d to n-the point of discharge for the best corn-is a wire sieve. That part of the sole m d, and the board go, are both fitted to slide up or down to temper the division of the light corn, should any of them remain; and p is a division, separating the light corn from the small seeds. 1774. Fig. 151 is the transverse section; a a are the frames, b is the winch-handle, e the wheel-framing, and d the wheel; f is the pulley of the feeding-roller, h the roller, and i the hopper. Of the interior parts, p is the division under the sole, m is the sole as seen below, and d d are the vanes of the fan, e e being its axle. 1775. In operating with this fanner, THE LONGITUDINAL SECTION OF THE FINISHING FANNER OR DUSTER. favourable circumstances. All such chaff and dust as yet remain amongst it, is blown over the back-board g, fig. 150; the Fig. 151. light grain that may have remained is separated also, and falls between g and m, down the spout go; the remainder runs down the sole m d, and in passing from d to n, should any small seeds yet remain, they are intercepted, and fall through the screen dn, while the best corn passes on, and is delivered at n. The price of this fanner is £6, 15s. 1776. The thrashing-machine fanner differs little in its essentials from the first described. Its position p is seen in figs. 135 and 136, immediately under the great hopper o. The width for a 6-horse power machine ought to be considerably more than the common fanners, not under 24 inches, nor is it requisite that it should exceed 30 inches. The fan is of the same diameter, and the firsts spout stands in the same relation as described in fig. 146. There is no spout corresponding to the seconds of that figure; but the foul spout takes the place of the light corn. The riddles and sieves of fig. 147 are entirely left out, and in their place a simple shoe, with a sheet-iron bottom, which is perforated all over in 1-inch holes at five-eighth inch apart. This is placed under the great hop per, and is agitated by a connecting rod from a crank on the fan-axle, in the same manner as exhibited in fig. 146 at g. The extreme length of the machine fanners should be 8 feet, and their height 4 feet 10 inches. 1777. Riddles.-The most complete implements for separating heavy articles from corn of any kind are riddles. They are formed either entirely of wood, or partly of wood and wire. Wood riddles have long been in use, though I believe, in the hands of a skilful riddler, the wire riddle makes the best work. The wood are made of fir or willow, but American elm is the best. The wire riddles have hitherto been made of iron wire, on account, perhaps, of its cheapness; but I should suppose that copper wire would make a better and more durable riddle. A riddle, whether of wood or wire, consists of a bottom of open mesh-work, and of a cylindrical rim of wood, the diameter of which is usually 23 or 24 inches, and its depth 3 inches. Rims are made either of fir, or oak, or beech, the last being most used. In fir rims, the wooden withes of the bottom are passed through slits, thereby endangering the splitting of the rim itself all round, which they not unfrequently do; but in the oak rim the withes are passed through bored holes, which never cause splitting. There is little danger of wire splitting the rims of any sort of wood. The following figures of riddles are portions only of the bottom of each kind, but the meshes are at full sizes. |