Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 4, 1802).djvu/163

141&#93; STO these fossils, in alphabetical order, we shall in this place only remark, that the praftice of indiscriminately colleding stones from land, is pro- dudlive of great disadvantage, be- cause it tends to diminish its fer- tility. (See also vol. i. p. f)5.) There are, however, certain situa- tions abounding with stones, that might be usefully employed in re- pairing roads : — the usual mode of gathering them by hand, or sepa- STO [141 rating them from the soil by means of an iron or wooden riddle, being equally troublesome and expensive, we have procured the following cut, of a machine for clearing land from stones, and also for sifting sand or gravel: it was invented by Peter Francis PoxTi.an ingenious Ita- lian mechanic, on whom the Patri- otic Society of Milan conferred a premium of 16 scudi, and a silver medal. «, a, a, a, are four wooden feet, serving to support a beam, c, to the ends of which are lixed two pieces of wood, d, and g, containing the iron axis e. A hoop of iron is fastened over such axis, by means of a hook, /, to prevent it from being raised up by the weight of the receiver or basket, marked by the letters i, to, h ; i, m, h. I, b, are two cross pieces, fixed to the inner surface of the feet ; and which contribute to strengtlien tiie machine, and to keep it steady. They are made to proje6t in the form of handles, for the greater convenience of transporting the implement to different places, two men being thus enabled to carry it with ease. ^, is a continuation of the iron axis, e, so as to form the handle of the basket} and, on turning it round, the basket moves in a cir- cular direction : the axis is fixed to the bottom of the receiver by a cross of ivon,f, ox, such axis may b«