BONE CRUSHER

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'Bone crusher' was a device for crushing animal bones. The bones that are obtained during slaughter, were cleaned, boiled in water and dried for several months. After that, they were suitable for crushing with the special machine into relatively dry gritty powder that can be used as fertilizer.
The machine, shown in the picture, is water wheel powered. It contains the eight S-shaped pairs of cams that raise the crushers alternately and let them fall into material to be crushed. The simple transmission increases the rotation speed of the crusher wheel till 21 rpm (the water wheel rotates at about 7 rpm).
Bone meal was used since about 1790 as a welcome supplement to the ordinary farmyard manure. From about 1880 is was supplanted by chemical fertilizers.