Machine Developed For Trees and Shrubs Agricultural engineers at Penn State have developed a tractor-mounted machine for digging trees and plants with balls of soil, a "better mousetrap** for the or namental nursery industry. Developed by Hermit Q. Stephenson and associates at the State University the digging machine is compact in size - and moderate in weight, power requirements, and cost. The machine digs and lifts average plants in 4 to 8 minutes, compared with 40 to 60 minutes of digging with shovel and pick. The digger was developed when Pennsylvania nur serymen expressed strong need for a general purpose machine. Nurserymen find present equipment too large to move between rows in HOG PRODUCERS! Get Top Price for Your Hogs at ]jj* jWHy New Holland Sold in sorted lots the auction way bee them weighed and sold and pick up your check SALE EVERY MONDAY 9:00 A.M. NEW HOLLAND SALES STABLES, INC. Phone 717-354-4341 Daily Market Report Phone 717-354-7288 Abe Diffenbach, Manager BALER TWINE 40 lb. bale 9000 ft. *27.19 V SOO(T I^^^DINGIQRGH eisy nnr my to wildl takas only mlmrtis to leantl SOUDSI PATENTED tht nnlutlMaq SOIIDGESffIIMI wiMing torch IDEAL FOR... customizing or repairing automobiles, cycles, go-carts, etc. ■ machinery repair ■ plumbing repair ■ field construction ■ metal sculpture ■ farm tool repair ■ garden tool repair ■ wrought iron work ■ rescue work ■ hobby work SAFE-stable Solidox pellets • SIMPLE TO OPERATE- single valve control • ECONOMICAL no expensive cylinders » PORTABLE onIy 7 pounds. KIT INCLUDES:Torch, propane, pellets, braze rods, glasses, lighter, guarantee nurseries, too heavy for muddy areas, unsuited for rocky soils, inadequate for the larger trees and shrubs, and too expensive. Partial financial backing in developing the machine came form the Pennsylvania Nurserymen’s Association. Organization officials say that tree digging is one of the biggest forms of manpower out put in the nursery in dustry. The digger’s size and price, around $2,000, appeal to operators of small com panies, typical in the Commonwealth. Designed in two sizes, the smaller model operates with a narrow-tread, compact tractor. This is the one that engineers estimate can be built for about $2,000. A larger size can be operated CIOSB ST MEN’S BICYCLES *R( 10-Speed 2-Sizes 6Ci from a farm tractor. Both models can be mounted on a standard three-point hitch. The machine is a dual boom device with a tren ching chain and control linkages on each boom. In digging, a plant is centered between the two booms which are impelled hydraulically through about ISO degrees of rotation. The chains or cutting tools make a trench 3-inches wide around and under the plant. Once the cutting is com pleted, a light weight, two piece lifting tool is placed in the trench around the ball and is attached to the digger frame directly above. Then the balled plant is lifted by the tractor’s hydraulic hitch. Balled plants weighing up to 300 pounds can be lifted and handled by the model developed for use with farm tractors. For interested manufactures, a licence to produce this plant digger is available from Hans. A Eckhardt at Research Corporation, 405 Lexington Avenue, New York, N.Y., 10017. Research Corporation is a foundation that licenses Sewing Contest Ends May 28 Judging in the Penn sylvania Grange’s 1975 sewing contest will be completed Wednesday, May 28, when state winners will be selected, State Master J. Luther Snyder announced today. inventions developed at Penn State. The telephone number is area code 212-986- 6622. The plant digger can be maneuvered easily in the narrow spaces found in many nurserlca, without damaging plants. It can dig a nearly round ball of soil in different sizes and under varying soil conditions. In wet soil, balled plants were dug in 2 to 3 minutes. In dry, hard, stony soil, 5 to 10 minutes were needed per plant. The chains and cutting tools have operated satisfactorily in very stony soils with minor wear and maintenance problems, Dr. Stpehenson pointed out. The project was supported in part by Fair Funds ad ministered by the Penn sylvania Department of Agriculture. The work in volved joint efforts and cooperation within Penn State’s department of agricultural engineering and horticulture, the Penn sylvania Nurserymen’s Association, and Hor ticultural Research Institute of Washington, D.C. A total of 2,847 entries were received from con testants whose ages ranged from ten to eighty years, according to Mrs. Leroy Hoover, of Roaring Spring, state director of women’s activities for the Grange. It was the second consecutive year that the number of entries set a record. Berks County led with 289 entries. Somerset County was second with 228, Crawford County third with 169, and Perry County fourth with 163. Entries were judged at local and county levels to select garments for the state competition. Following the state judging, winning en tries will be on display Wednesday, May 28, from 6 to 9 p.m., and Thursday, May 29, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the State Grange office, 1604 N. Second St., Harrisburg. The display will be open to the public, Snyder said. pnrz ■ silo unloader all type* of sllagal with four sizes 12 to 16 16 to 20 20 to 24 and the BIG ones 24 to 30 in diameter' ' See your PATZ Dealer today CALL 717 272 0871 MARVIN J. HORST Dairy Equipment and Amana Appliances R.D#l|lona| LEBANON. PA Located on Route 897 between Schaefferstown and Lebanon, over 30 years in business at same place Lancaster Farming, Saturday. May 24,1975 TRY A CLASSIFIED AD 29
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