The Fresno Scraper was invented in 1883 by the Scottish immigrant and entrepreneur James Porteous who, having worked with farmers in Fresno, California, had recognised the dependence of the Fresno Valley on irrigation and the requirement for a more efficient means of constructing canals and ditches in the sandy soil. In perfecting the design of his machine, Porteous made several revisions on his own and also traded ideas with William Deidrick, Frank Dusy, and Abijah McCall, who invented and held patents on similar scapers. Porteous bought the patents held by Deidrick, Dusy, and McCall, gaining sole rights to the Fresno Scraper. 1883 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Scotland (Alba in Scottish Gaelic) is a country in northwest Europe and a constituent nation of the United Kingdom. ... Immigration is the act of moving to or settling in another country or region, temporarily or permanently. ... James Porteous (1848-1922) was the inventor of the Fresno Scraper. ... Fresno is the county seat of Fresno County, California. ... Irrigation in the Heart of the Sahara Irrigation (in agriculture) is the replacement or supplementation of rainfall with water from another source in order to grow crops. ... Patterns in the sand Sand is an example of a class of materials called granular matter. ... For the heavy metal band see Soil (band) Soil is a general term for the material that lies on the surface of the earth, supporting the growth of plants and serving as a habitat for animal life from microrganisms to small animals. ... William Deidrick, of Selma, California was a co-inventor of the Fresno Scraper, the machine that became the basis of most modern earth-moving equipment. ... Entrepreneur Frank Dusy was among the founders of Selma, California and a co-inventor of the Fresno Scraper, the basis of most modern earth-moving machinery. ... Abijah McCall was a co-inventor of the Fresno Scraper, a horse-drawn (and later, tractor-drawn) earth-moving machine upon which modern road- and canal-building equipment is based. ...

The design of the Fresno Scraper forms the basis of most modern earthmoving scrapers, having the ability to not only scrape and move a quantity of soil, but also to discharge it at a controlled depth, thus quadrupling the volume which could be handled manually. In civil engineering, earthworks are engineering works created through the moving of massive quantities of soil or unformed stone. ... In archeology, scrapers are unifacial tools that were used either for hideworking or woodworking purposes. ...

The blade scooped up the soil, instead of merely pushing it along, and ran along a C-shaped bowl which could be adjusted in order to alter the angle of the bucket to the ground, so that the dirt could be deposited in low spots.

This design was so revolutionary and economical that it has influenced the design of modern bulldozer blades and earth-movers to this day. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

Between 1884 and 1910 thousands of Fresno scrapers were produced at the Fresno Agricultural Works which had been formed by Porteous, and used in agriculture and land levelling, as well as road and railroad grading and the general construction industry. They played a vital role in the construction of the Panama Canal and later served the US army in World War I. 1884 is a leap year starting on Tuesday (click on link to calendar). ... 1910 in topic: Arts Architecture- Art- Film- Literature- Music- Television Science and technology Aviation- Rail transport- Science Other topics Australia- Canada- Ireland- South Africa- Sport Births- Deaths Lists of leaders: State leaders - Religious leaders 1910 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Construction on the North Bytown Bridge in Ottawa, Canada. ... NASA image of the Panama canal The Panama Canal is 82 kilometers (51 miles) long and cuts through the isthmus of Panama, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. ... The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces which has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... World War I was primarily a European conflict with many facets: immense human sacrifice, stalemate trench warfare, and the use of new, devastating weapons - tanks, aircraft, machineguns, and poison gas. ...

It was one of the most important agricultural and civil engineering machines ever made. In 1991 the Fresno Scraper was designated as an International Historic Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. It is featured prominently in the Fresno Metropolitan Museum. 1991 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is a professional body, specifically an engineering society, focused on mechanical engineering. ...

External Links

• An ASME Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark http://www.asme.org/history/roster/H158.html
• Engines of our Ingenuity, The Fresno Scraper http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi353.htm