Belfast Monthly Magazine

Description of a Machine for Washing Potatoes, and Other Esculent RootsAuthor(s): William LesterSource: The Belfast Monthly Magazine, Vol. 5, No. 28 (Nov. 30, 1810), pp. 380-381Published by: Belfast Monthly MagazineStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30072783 .

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380 Discoveries and improvements in Arts, Manufactures, 4 c. [Nov.

that passes ; that which does not pass is fine sand, or No. 2. Mix these two kinds of sand in

tlhe proportion of five of No. 1, to two of No .2, and of t this sand so rnxed, take four parts; heat it well, eitlher irt a buick furnace or on an iron plate or boiler as above, stir- ving it very briskly all the while, so as to mix and incoipoiate the ingie- dients thoroughly, and pievent the hand

fionri sinking to the bottom I he

pomposition being thus prepared is to be carried immediately to the place where it is to be laid on, in small light 'kettles, and spread even uith trowela (like plasterers) made hot also, that it may not cdol before the surlace is made perfectly smooth: less nicety is required, when the whole is coveied with earth.

The composition is to be laid on a flooring of rough boards, of three inches wide and three quartets of an inch thick, nailed as close as pos: sible to the joists, hot, and auout a quar- ter of an ingh thick; and woen cold, cover with inother coat of the same thickness. A.tall of one inch in ten leet is suffiient for these roofs. Over arches lay tte composition rather thicker on a pavement of common tiles, made as flat as possible.

N. B. One -barrel of tar and 45 stone of chalk, or whitening, wdll do thitty ninie yards. The grateat Mmin- to for heating the trons, or trowels, is twenty inclies square by six inches deep, the peel twelve inches longer. A piece of str ong sheet iron, four feet

long, with the edges turned up about Jour inches, will do for drying the sand. Iron pots, about twenty Scotch

pints, are of a con venient size; fou" bf these built tn, and used in succes-

sion, will keep two men employed in spreading the compoitiop

Observatzon. I'he'description of the iustrumenit used for spreading the Composition must be eironeous, as one so thin as a plasteier's trowel would retain heat too short a time

g9 be ot any use. Spreadingtlhe com- position on boayds ddes not appeari to be of a kgordd pbactice, as boarls' are so liable to nhrnik, and expand;' iroifl the variations of the

damtp and

hi- ness of the aii, that the composition Ja-d on thlrn must be alwa)s full of cracks, caused by this circumstance.

In many other respects as well as the above, the directions given before in this Magazine for this kind of roof (particularly those comimuntcated by iMr. Bevans) ate preferaule to those

of Mr. Graham; which are only in- serted here,"that the readers of this work may have a better opportujt)ty of comparing them with those before

gVexel.

Description of a Machzne for washing potatoes, and other esculent roots, invented by Mr. Wilham Lester of Paddington. From Soc. Arts. this machine consists of a barrel,

or hollow cylindrical vessel, formed of two circular boards, with a number of staves connecting them, six of which are fastened at the ends to two pieces of wood so as to form a door, which is opened to put in or take out the potatoes. This cylinder has an axis, passing through its centre, which is turned by a winch, and which has a small wheel or pulley put on each of its extremities, to ad. mit of the cylinder being passed for- wards and backwards along' a framhe, which turns on pivots, between two vessels, ip such a manner that when one end of it is depressed, the cylhnder rolls down over one of therp, and when the other end is loweied; it passes back over the pther ; one of these vessels contains water, into which the cylinder is lowered by depressing the end of the frame next to 'it, and the potatoes are then washed by turning it round in the water; and when thi* operation is completed, the cylinder i inade to come over the other vessel, into which ,the washed potatoes are deposited, by undrawing the bolts, which ke-ep the door of the cylinder shut. 'Ihfie clinder is again filled with p6tatoes, and the operation re- peated until the whole quantity rs washed One end of the frame ex. tends much farther fiom the points on which it turns, than the other end, in order to serse as a lever for

iais- ing up the weight of the cylinder; the short end terminates in iron nooks; turning upwards and backwards to- wards the pivots, to plevent the cylimder liom faling off ; stops ari also placed at this end, to prevent the other end from descending lower than

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18 10.] Discoveries and jmprovements in Arts, Manuffactures, 4c. 381

might be convenient. The silver me- dal was voted to Mr. Lester for this Invention tby the s6ciety for the en. coturagement of Arts.

Obsermatzon. ..' he machine of this kind which is placed in the repository of the society, has every appearance of being very %ell calculated for the purpose intended, both in its original design, and in the mayner i.h which this is put, into exeicution; whlich is done with that attention to strength, and durability, that s so desirable for implements, which must be

submitte.d to the rough usage of]labouters ; there can be little doutt hut that it would be foundextremely service able, wher.. ever large quantities of potatoes or other roots were to he washed ; and would be partrcularly useful in places whete cattle are fed with these kinds of -vegetables

An Account of the Method of manufac- tuitzng Salt at Mogptzers, a n $he de- partmeit of Mont Blanc. By MA. Berthier, AMaene

Engmneer. - Continuedfi onzm p. 99, No. XX VII.

In respect to the evaporation, it is necessary that tlwe 'greatest possible proportion of water should be got rjid of, relatively to the quantity ot wood that is consumed; and the koilers are very far from being arranged in Fuch a manner as to obtain this maximum of evapoiatlon. They are very tatwity, which is now perceived, and which it is intended t6 correct.

1I. The boilers are placed sepa- rate, and each of them has a very large fire-place. From this dispositlon, a great proportion of" the heat that is devaeloped is taken up to heat the masopry, 'and another portion is en- tirely lost,

bemtg taken off by the

combustible vapours which the burnmng wood yields in large quantity, ani which go off up the chimnney iI # very

tlqick black smoke.

VO. The fite-place has a grate; all the snmatl coals which *ie' produced from the wood tails into the ash pit, and is consumed without yilainmg any benefit.

31. So tar from favouring the eva- poration by a current at dry air sweeping all the surface of the liquid, all manner of circulati6n isrendered impossible frqm the enormous bpanks

that almost touch it. The boiler is therefore as it were half shut up with a cover which stops the steam, con- denses it, and opposes an obstadle to the evVaporation.

4. T1 lie great number of iron bars ;Which rise up fyrom the bottom of the boilers, toq be fastened to the beams, are a very great hindiance to the work. The woAinmen who take away the schelot antl the salt, catinot help leaving lumps in tkose corners wheie'the peels cannot come. These lumps retain the heat, the salt calcines, nd 'sticS to the botteixn: this. being

unequally dilated, bends, wphts, and lets the brine min out. The sediment continugally increases, and from hence arises that thick crust of scales whiclh must he knocked off the boiler at the expiration ot a certain number of boilings. In order to evaporate 30 or 40 met. cub. of brine, or

d3jr or 4000 my-

rtagrammes (scores) ~0, dO, or even 70

stures df wood are conoumqd. The consumption of thi fuel was formerly

,much l4ps, because they

uled scarcely any thing blt coals for the Collectiop ot he salt. It is not conceivable how prqctice so verb advantageous was left Off. It must very soon be again taken up from necessity; but this wilJ lot happen till all the fine forests which the Tarentaise formerly possessed are en- tirely cgnsumed, and the country, in other respects very poor, is re- duced to the utmost ,djtress,

'1he use of coals is dictated by the most urgent necessity. The salt wo ks onlt.y posiess wood enough fao seven or eig t years; f they are continued phI the

peesent establishment, there will remain at thp epd ot that period no wood to

mtb with the coals, and a stop must le put to tie works.

*Neyertnelegs, thete are nuMperous 4eds of coals in the neighbourhood of the rptablishumept; and ll the trials that haye been made with Ibis fuel bave bad very satio4otory results.

The coal tound in the Tarentatse is dry, not bitpaninous; -it innnerate* with difficulty, burns %lth a very slight flame, does not cake together, and produces a very considetabile heat. It is nPcessary to mix it with one-tenth part of wood in order to A Aa

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