Chaff cutter. Bentall - 1913. Used to cut straw or hay into small pieces before being mixed together with other forage and fed to horses and cattle. Used on a small mixed farm in Emerald originally purchased by C. T. Alexander in 1920.A chaff cutter was an essential piece of equipment in early farms - of which there were many in the Emerald area - which were highly dependent on horsepower for agricultural work until the widespread use of tractors in the second half of the twentieth century.Chaff cutter with cast iron frame containing two sets of teeth which are connected to gears which are connected to a large wheel operated by hand. Missing from this particular chaff cutter are the cover for the gears, part of the handle, and the wooden chute into which the stalks were fed.Embossed on main chassis: 'BENTALL'S IMPROVED CHAFF CUTTER / 1913 / MALDON ENGLAND'. Embossed on wheel: 'BENTALL'S HEYBRIDGE MALDON ENGLAND / 1382'. Embossed on cover over feeder teeth: 'CDC BENTALL'. Embossed on feeder entrance: '947'.alexander, emerald, chaff cutter, early 20th century, bentall, agricultural machinery

Item was handed to Society members in the late 1970s by Mr. Davey.Green painted metal four legged stand to which is attached a large red painted wheel with two cutting blades and a handle.A green wooden chute extends out and two large cog wheels are at the start of this. See NA1416 for comments.The 'Bentall' CPB chaff cutter.rural industry, livestock, farm machinery

Large caste iron wheel on which two knife cutters are fitted - hand rotated - material to be cut is fed through a canter-levered wooden box - reduction gears are used to ease the effort for the person operating it. All of this is mounted on a caste iron frame. Capable of cutting 'I/2 . 1/2 Chaff'|Similar one sold by Welch, Perrin & Co P/L in 1929 for 8 pound .The 'Bentall' Chaff Cutter moulded on the reduction gear cover. 'Bentall Improved (or Patented?) Chaff Cutter 913 Heybridge, Maldon, England' - on the body and wheel.rural industry, livestock