IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM CULTURE MACHINERY, PART OF WHICH IS APPLICABLE TO STEAM CARTAGE AND OTHER FURPOSES
Year: 1859

page_text: 1.
LETTERS PATENT to William Burness, of 2, Prospect Terrace, Brixton,
in the County of Surrey, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM
CULTURE MACHINERY, PART OF WHICH IS APPLICABLE TO STEAM CARTAGE AND
OTHER FURPOSES."
Sealed the 18th November 1859, and dated the 9th June 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Burness at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 9th
June 1859.
21
1. WILLIAM BURNESS, of 2, Prospect Terrace, Brixton, in the County of
Surrey do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "TALPROVE
MENTS IN STEAM CULTURE MACHINERY, PART OF WHICH IS APPLICABLE TO STEAM
CARTAGE & OTHER PURPOSES," to be as follows:-1
This Invention embraces improvements in the steam engine, hauling
apparatus, & tillage implements, as also machinery of like character.
1. The improvements in the engine consist in strengthening the boiler &
working parts, by placing them in framing which has 'bracing straps of its
own, exclusive of straps cooled on to the rivet joints, so that the cylinders.
connecting rods. crank shaft, fly wheel, pumps, hauling apparatus, &c., are
supported by this framing instead of by the boiler & rivet joint straps, the
boiler itself at the same time increasing the strength of the whole. By such
nice S
MENTS IN STEAM CULTURE MACHINERY, PART OF WHICH IS APPLICABLE TO STEAM
CARTAGE & OTHER PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
This Invention embraces improvements in the steam engine, hauling
apparatus, & tillage implements, as also machinery of like character.
1. The improvements in the engine consist in strengthening the boiler &
working parts, by placing them in framing which has 'bracing straps of its
own, exclusive of straps cooled on to the rivet joints, so that the cylinders.
connecting rods. crank shaft, fly wheel, pumps, hauling apparatus, &c., are
supported by this framing instead of by the boiler & rivet joint straps, the
boiler itself at the same time increasing the strength of the whole. By such

page_text: means, instead of weakening the engine, thus unfitting it for the heavy work
of steam culture & cartage to which it is now being subjected, we greatly
increase its strength, rendering it well adapted for such works.
2. The improvements in hauling apparatus extend both to winding drums
& endless rope or wire band drums, each of which we shall specify seperately.
3. Winding drums whether attached to or detached from the engine have a
to-&-fro motion, either upon the axle, or they may be fixed upon the axle, & the
axle itself have a to-&-fro motion in either case, for reeling on the rope evenly
upon the barrel, thus keeping the hauling portion of it as it should be, in one
plane or line along the field from the implement, instead of giving it a to-&-
fro motion as is now done. This to-&-fro motion of the drum may be effected
in various ways, as by screw or rackwork, either at the periphery, or towards
the axle of the drum; where the drums move to-&-fro upon their axles small
friction wheels may be used to reduce tear & wear.
4. On the endless rope system, one, two, or more vertical drums in one or
more planes may be placed on one side of the boiler, or both sides, or both
ends of it, or conjointly with two loose horizontal guide pulleys below the
boiler frame, for turning the rope & force from a vertical to a horizontal
path, & vice versa. We prefer two, three, or five single vertical drums on
one side of the boiler frame, all in one plane, with two horizontal guide
pulleys below the boiler, the number of single vertical drums increasing with
the increase of steam power or force applied, and as the two horizontal guide
pulleys revolve the one below the other, so the two outside vertical drums are
placed the one lower than the other, so as to take off the rope from & guide
the rope on to the horizontal pulleys tangentally, the rope thus passing from
a horizontal to a vertical path, & vice versa, without transverse action on the
drums. When detached from the engine, & actuated in a seperate carriage
frame, the position of the drums & guide pulleys to one another would be
similar.
5. An endless wire band may be actuated for hauling tillage implements
by passing it round a large horizontal plain drum below the boiler frame, or
in a seperate carriage, or a vertical drum at the side or end of the boiler, or
in a seperate carriage, and to prevent it slipping, a friction strap or belt may
be used for holding it closely to the periphery of the drúm; such straps may
'be constructed in various ways, & of different kinds of material. They may
also be used to prevent wire ropes slipping on grooved drums.
6. Where winding drums & endless wire rope grooved drums, or endless
wire band plain drums are detached from the steam engine & work in seperate
carriages, then the engine carriage & drum carriage may be jointed or hinged

page_text: together when to be put in operation, by means of the shaft of the strap drum,
or of the gearing wheel, or chain wheel which communicates motion from the
crank shaft of the engine to the drums, so that the engine may be made to haul
itself & its hauling apparatus along the headland by means of an anchored
rope ahead, without deranging the working parts of either of these two
divisions into which the system is divided.
7. When attached to the engine, the hauling apparatus in each case is sd
constructed, that it can be easily removed when the engine is required for
steam cartage, threshing, pumping, or other purpose.
8. In the construction of winding drums, grooved drums, & plain drums,
we introduce springs of steel or other elastic materials to distribute unequal
force, & equalize the tension of the wire rope or band. The angler is familiar
with the necessity of an elastic rod, a well furnished reel, & a gentle giving
hand to save his line when he hooks a large fish, & as it is with the angler's
line, so is it with the farmer's wire rope in steam culture; the drum, the
pulleys of the anchors, & rope carriers, & the bridle or yoking of the rope to
the implement must all yield when the implement comes in contact with a
stone or any obstruction in the soil to save it from sustaining harm, & this is
what we effect by means of springs. In no case should the rope work on or
over rigid bearings. We prefer steel springs; they may be made in various
forms, & introduced into drums in so many different ways as almost to preclude
specification. One simple plan will suffice to illustrate the principle. It is
this, the drum revolves upon its axis, but is prevented from doing so by means
of two or more arms fixed upon the same axis in the interior of the drum
coming in contact with the springs & compressing them, so that the fixed
arms turn the drum in the direction they move, while the drum itself only
turns upon its own axis less or more in the opposite direction according to the
force applied & elasticity of the springs. The springs, of course, may be
made of any degree of elasticity required, & are so constructed & placed, that
when the motion of the drum is reversed, as when the implement reaches
the headland, they come immediately into action, no jolting being thus
experienced.
•
9. Springs of steel or other elastic material may in a similar manner be
introduced into druins, fly wheels, rope pulleys, chain wheels, & toothed wheel
nachinery, when subject to irregular force, as traction engines, rotary diggers,
threshing. & other barn machinery, hauling apparatus in collieries, &c., &c.
The spur wheel of traction engines or the like may be of cast iron or steel,
including teeth, but we prefer a combination of wrought & cast iron, the teeth
being of wood, or brass, or like metal, so as to increase its strength & reduce

page_text: the tear & wear upon the driving pinion, & to be easily repaired itself when a
tooth breaks or is worn out.
10. Our anchor is of two kinds; the first consists of a frame borne on two
or more wheels, having a steerage motion for turning round bend's' & angles.
The framework carries a large horizontal" pulley, or a series of 'pulleys in one
plane, around which the wire rope or band passes, & can, if required; be
lowered close to the ground when in operation without taking off the wheels.
The axis of the pulley or bosses of the pully axis or bearings to which they
are attached rest upon springs of steel or other elastic substance, so as to 'allow
the pully to yield to the irregular draught upon the rope. The two ends of
the bearings which carry the pully also work in bosses, so as to permit the
plane of the pulley to correspond with the inclination of the ground, & avoid
the tear & wear upon the rope when they do not thus correspond. That part
of the anchor which enters the soil may be in the form of a plough or
scarifier, & when in operation may be made to plough or scarify part of the
headland, as the cultivation of the other portion of the field progresses, or
broad thin coulters may drop from the frame in several places, or they may
enter the ground on the outside of the main wheel next the ploughed land &
inside of the opposite wheel; in both cases close to the tyre where it rests
upon the ground so as to prevent it slipping sideways, while a stay or prop
wheel on the ploughed land side & a lever with weights like a common
steelyard on the opposite will prevent the carriage from tilting. These coulters
may be hauled through the soil or worked up & down when shifting the anchor
in taking on fresh ground by means of levers, rack, & pinion, or such like
mechanical means. The anchor may be moved along the headlands by
means of an anchor rope or chain ahead; & the drum for winding up this
rope or chain may either be actuated by a lever or handspike, like a ship's
capstan, or by the wire rope or band on either or both sides of the pully, or
the engine hauling apparatus & anchor may be moved along the headland by
means of a portable or railway, plain or with rack & pinion, two or
three lengths of rails being only required. The second plan is a grapnel
anchor of the common sort, to which we attach a lever with weights, as in the
first plan, to prevent it tilting or rising out of the ground, as the common
kind do. It may work in pits or short trenches dug for it, in a plough furrow,
or ditch of the headland, or instead of grapnel prongs, it may have two pulleys
or grooved rollers, & be made to work along a rope, or chain, or beam of iron
or wood, fixed at both ends by means of a common iron screw stake.
11. The bearings of the pullys & drums of the rope carriers, & of the
pulleys for guiding-the rope on to & off from the drums, rest upon steel springs,
:

page_text: or springs of other elastic inaterial, & such may be introduced in every possible
way.
In the case of endless ropes & bands, the guide pulleys have also a
bracing action, so as to guide the rope or band tight on to the drums, & they have
likewise friction brakes, to prevent their running too fast when the motion of
the drums is reversed on the implement reaching the headland.
12. Springs of steel or other elastic material are introduced into the bridle
which connects the traction engine, or wire rope or band, to the implement.
This bridle may be constructed in various ways, & be unyoked from one imple-
ment & yoked to another. In the case of endless ropes or bands, it may carry
a drum for" winding up the slack of the rope where the length of the land
decreases, & giving off rope' where it increases; or this drum may have springs
of its own as other drums already specified.
"
'
13. Our steam cultivators are of four kinds; the first consists of two
parallel bars or frames, each being supported toward each end by a wheel, the
two bars carrying the requisite" number of plough beams & turnovers, &
moving diagonally along the land, one bar being in advance of the other.
(For the sake of distinction, we shall technically term the leading bar or frame
the draught bar, & the other the tillage bar, & the two ends or wheels of
each the front & rear ends or wheels, as the case may be.) In ploughing the
front wheel of the tillage bar runs in the furrow before the first plough, & the
rear "wheel of the tillage bar either in the furrow of the last plough or on
the land adjoining, as circumstances may require, & what is the front wheel
going up land is the rear wheel when returning. The wheels inay be made
on the castor principle, or on any other way which permits of their occupying
the alternate position of front & rear, which they have to do. & also for
running in the bottom of the furrow when ploughing, & on the surface of the
ground when scarifying. Each plough beam turns horizontally upon a pivot
or fulcrum in a bolster or saddle, which slides along the tillage bar, so as to
regulate the distance between the ploughs. The front ends of the beams are
supported by the draught bar, which has castor wheels, one towards each end,
& saddles for regulating the distance between them, each saddle carrying a
vertical pin for its own beam, turning horizontally upon the plough beams,
thus remaining or working parallel to each other. Each beam carries two turn-
overs, a right & left, two shares, a right & left, & a breast bar, & coulter,
common to both; likewise a right & left skin coulter on a common stalk.
Each plough beam has also a drag chain in front, & a subsoiler behind.
The two ploughs of each beam are without sole or side plates, the shares
being fixed to the front part of "each turnover by means of a subsidiary
breast bar, which rests or presses when working upon the common
"
"
Tj 14

page_text: breast bar previously noticed. Each share & turnover, right & left is
lowered into position & raised from it by its own subsidiary breast bar,
& this is effected either by lever rack & pinion, or several other ways.
At the headland each plough may be raised as it arrives at the proper
place, or two & two may be raised in succession, or the whole set simul-
taneously, & entered into the ground in a similar manner by a system
of screw wheel & clutch work. The depth of ploughing is regulated either by
the land wheels front & rear, or by intermediate ones introduced for the
purpose, & each plough has a vertical movement by which it may be lowered
or raised by itself, so as to plough land with an uneven surface to a uniform
depth. For stonny ground each plough may also have a slight vertical
movement self-acting by means of springs, so that it may give a little, &
releive it from the momentum of the implement & the whole force of traction
when the share comes against a stone. The draught & tillage bars have
graduated stops or checks for keeping the plough beams at any angle with
them which the work & nature of the ground may require, so that in
ploughing or scarifying a convex or concave surface, the ploughman may,
without stopping, gradually increase the breadth of the furrow slice, as he
does when holding a single plough behind a team of horses, & diminish it in
a similar way so as to meet all the exigencies of proper & eflicient culture.
From each end of the draught bar a bridle bar or frame with a stay is fixed,
& to each of these a bridle is attached. The implement may be steered by
the beams or the draught-bar wheels, but it would be preferable to give a
to-&-fro motion to the bridle along the bridle bar, the ploughman standing or
sitting upon a platform behind. To prevent the implement running back-
wards when turning, a stay wheel may drop alternately from each end of the
tillage bar or rear end when entering upon the headland, but the front end
when leaving it. By removing the share & turnover, & substituting in their
place a broadshare with or without a turnover, the implement is converted
into a broadshare plough for autumn cultivation. By removing the share,
lowering both right & left turnovers, & placing a double share upon the
two subsidiary breast bars now close together, the implement is converted into
a ridge plough for ridging or drilling fallow lands for green crops, earthing up
potatoes. &c. By removing the plough shares & turnovers, & substituting in
their place scarifying tines, the implement is thus converted into a heavy
scarifier for summer or autumn work when the land is difficult to move. For
light work a light cheap scarifier of less weight may be made on the same
principle. When constructed only for the purpose of scarifying, each beam
will only have to carry one or two scarifying tines & subsoiler, the draught

page_text: bar having only one castor wheel, & the tillage bar two. At the headlands
the implement may be raised out of the ground by lowering the wheels on the
same plan as is usually done in horse scarifiers. A combination, for example,
of the two plans by Lord Ducie & Mr. Finlayson may be constructed advan-
tageously.
14. Seed & manure drills may be manufactured on the same principle of
taking on fresh ground by means of diagonal bars & parallel beams. The
seed & manure boxes may rest principally on the tillage bar, & the pivots on
which the beams turn may be large & hollow, so that the shoots may pass
through them. Both ends of the wire rope may be attached by bridles, as in
the plough, & one man in front may steer & another behind attend to the
seeding & manuring apparatus. In other respects, the drills would be similar
under steam to what they now are under horses. Hoes for hoeing drilled
crops may also be constructed on the same principle, & likewise harrows, the
taking on of fresh land when turning in from the headland being effected by
their working diagonally along the field, so that they have only a quadrant to
make, or from one diagonal to another. Only one diagonal bar would be
required for harrows, viz., the draught bar, so that if they were square, &
yoked by each front corner to the draught bar, nearly similar to what they
are now attached to the whippletree, each harrow would be hauled diagonally
by one corner up the land & by the other when returning, thus pulverizing the
soil in the most effectual manner.
15. The second kind of cultivators consists of a frame, supported at the
middle by two main wheels, one at each side, technically a land wheel, & a
furrow wheel, with two others front & rear on the castor principle, or other-
wise. From the landside end of the framing, inside a tillage bar, runs
diagonally to the opposite side a little in front of the furrow wheel, so that
there are two tillage bars. For comparatively level land, or land in one
plane, the tillage bars may be fixed, but for unlevel & undulating surfaces we
would prefer them to be hinged to the frame on the furrow wheel side, & to
have a horizontal motion on the other, so as to increase the angle made by
the tillage bar with the framing, or diminish it at pleasure. In other respects
cultivators of this kind are similar to those of the first, so that we need not
repeat what has already been specified.
16. The third kind of cultivators has but one tillage bar; the framing &
wheels are similar to those of the second kind, with this exception, that the
frame only requires to be about half the length. The principle of the novelty
consists in this, the turning of the working or cultivating parts as the tines of
the scarifier, breast bar of the ploughs with ploughshares, turnovers, &

page_text: coulters, the coulters, of seed & manure drills & tillage bar, each in the frame
in which it works, & not the frame itself. The tillage bar, for example, turns
horizontally on a vertical spindle at the axle of the main wheels, each end
being alternately fixed to the furrow-wheel side in front, & to the land-wheel
side in the rear, while the stalk of the common breast bar of the plough or
tine of the scarifier is turned in the boss of its own saddle by means of lever-
toothed wheel or screw work, & fixed by a clutch bolt when in the proper
direction. When ploughing the furrow wheel liberated from the main middle
axle by a clutch box, runs in a frame from front to rear on reaching the head-
land, by simply stopping the wheel itself, & allowing the frame to move
onwards the length of the implement. For scarifying only, the main wheels
are fixed in the middle without this contrivance, such being unnecessary. when
the wheels ru upon the surface.
17. A very simple, effective, & cheap scarifier may be made in various
ways on the principle of the third kind of cultivators, such as a square frame
with tines alternately hauled by the two front corners diagonally along the
field, & supported by a castor wheel at each corner, or, what is better, a
triangular frame with three castor wheels, one at each angle, or a circular
frame with three or more supporting wheels, scarifying tines being turned at
the headland as already specified, & the implement taken out of the ground,
or lowered into it by lowering or raising the wheels in each case. In the
triangle & circle bridles two in number would be attached to the framing
opposite two wheels, & these two wheels would alternately be the leading &
land wheels.
more
18. The fourth kind of cultivators is only for scarifying, & may be con-
structed thus Take the cleft or forked part of a tree in the form of A, such
as is frequently used for sledges, put a castor wheel in front & two others
behind, one to each leg; put a tine bar across near the middle, & another
behind for carrying each the proper number of tines. Put three or
chain wheels horizontally on the top, one in front, & the other two behind,
one to cach leg or side; throw a pitch chain around these, or instead of a
chain, a strong iron ring, toothed inside, may surround any number of toothed
wheels. Attach one bridle to the front part of the chain or ring & the other
bridle to the chain or ring at the side for laying down the return rope;
steerage may either be effected by means of the castor wheel in front, or, what
is preferable, by one of the chain or toothed wheels, which would give a to-&-fro
motion to the bridle. Such an implement, of course, may be made wholly of
iron; it may be lowered into the ground, & taken out of it as already specified.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Burness in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
9th December 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME. I, WILLIAM
BURNESS, of 2, Prospect Terrace, Brixton, in the County of Surrey, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Burness, Her special licence that I, the said William
Burness, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said William Burness, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after. during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE.
MENTS IN STEAM CULTURE MACHINERY, PART OF WHICH IS APPLICABLE TO STEAM
CARTAGE AND OTHER PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said William Burness, my executors, or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals should par-
ticularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in
the Great Scal Patent Office within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
1
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Burness, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
This Invention has for its object improvements in the steam engine, hauling
apparatus, and tillage implements, as herein-after described, for the purpose
of steam culture and steam cartage, part of which improvements is applicable
to machinery for similar purposes.
First. The improvements in the steam engine consist in strengthening the
boiler & working parts, by placing them in framing, having bracing straps
of its own, exclusive of straps cooled on to the rivet joints, so that the cylinder,
connecting rods, crank shaft, fly wheel, pumps, hauling apparatus, & other parts.
are supported by this framing, instead of by the boiler & rivet-joint straps, the

page_text: boiler at the same time increasing the strength of the whole. By such means,
instead of weakening the engine, as is now too frequently done, thus unfitting
it for the heavy work of steam culture & steam cartage to which it is now
subjected, thus endangering life (unless prematurely laid aside to avoid such),
we greatly increase its strength, rendering it well adapted for field or road work,
& more durable.
In carrying out this part of my Invention, the framing of the boiler may be
constructed in various ways, & may extend beyond each end of the boiler, so
as to permit the axles of the running wheels or road wheels being placed
sufficiently far asunder as to admit of more powerful hauling apparatus being
placed between them; and also so as to permit of the crank shaft & any
working parts, as for pumping, or the like, being placed at either end beyond
the boiler. The fire-place or furnace may be at either end of the boiler, as
circumstances may require. The framing may also rise above the boiler at
each side, & may support a carriage or van, or the like, for the conveyance of
manure, farm produce, as also coals, water, steam-culture tackle, &c., &c.,
from place to place.
Second. The improvements in hauling apparatus for steam culture extend
both to winding drums & endless rope or wire band drums, each of which it
will be better to specify & describe seperately, thus:-
Third. The winding drums whether attached to or detached from the engine
have a to-&-fro motion either upon the axle, or they may be fixed on the
axle, & the axle & drum together have a to-&-fro motion in both cases for
reeling on the rope evenly upon the barrel, thus keeping the hauling portion
of it as it should be, in one plane or line along the field from the implement.
This to-&-fro motion of the drum may be effected in various ways, as by screw
or rackwork, either at the periphery or axle of the drum. When the drums
move to & fro upon their axles, small friction rollers may be introduced, to
obviate tear & wear, & expense of motive power or steam.
Fourth. On the endless rope system, one, two, or more vertical drums, in
one or more planes, may be placed on one side of the boiler, or both sides, or
both ends of it, or conjointly with two loose horizontal guide pulleys below the
boiler or boiler frame for turning the rope, & force from a vertical to a hori
zontal path, & vice versa. The two guide pulleys may be in one plane, when
the distance between the outside vertical drums will permit of it, or the one
may be placed below the other. And it will be seen that what we here mean
by a vertical plane & a horizontal plane, are any two planes which will permi
of the rope being taken tangentally & transversely from the drum to the
pulley, & from the pulley to the drum, so that the plane of the drum may

page_text: make, in different cases, different angles with the plane of the pulley. I prefer
two, three, or five single vertical drums on one side of the boiler frame, all in
one plane, with two horizontal guide pulleys below the boiler, each in a sepe-
rate frame, the one underneath the other, the number of vertical single drums
increasing with the increase of force or steam power applied. And, as in this
case, the two horizontal guide pulleys revolve the one below the other, so the
two outside vertical drums are placed the one lower than the other, so as to
take off the rope from & guide the rope on to the horizontal pulleys,
tangentally & transversely, the rope thus passing from a horizontal to a vertical
path, & vice versa, in harmony with the laws of force & motion, or without
transverse action on the grooves of the drums & pulleys, by which the tear &
wear upon the rope is greatly reduced in comparison with other plans.
When detached from the steam engine & actuated in a seperate carriage, as
subsequently described, the position of the drums & guide pulleys would be
similar to what is here stated.
Fifth. An endless wire band may be actuated for hauling purposes in
agriculture by passing it round a large horizontal plain drum below the boiler
or boiler frame, or in a seperate carriage or a vertical drum at the side or end
of the boiler, or in a seperate carriage. And to prevent it slipping, a friction
strap or belt may be used for holding it on closely to the periphery of the
drum; such straps may be constructed in various ways & of different kinds
of materials. They may also be used to prevent the ordinary wire ropes or
wire ropes of any kind, slipping upon grooved drums.
Of the various ways of carrying out this part of the Invention relative to
friction straps, three examples will be given for illustration, and in each case we
shall suppose the common wire rope to be used; the other system or wire band
being the more simple of the two plans. In each case, under both systems of
rope traction, the friction strap not only prevents the band slipping on the
plain drum, & the rope in the groove of the other; but by its action on the
opposite side of the band or rope, it also distributes the force mbre evenly over
the different strands of the rope or band, thus reducing tear & wear, & in-
creasing strength & durability. In each of the three examples we shall also
suppose the strap to be constructed of a pitch chain, covered on one side with
short pieces of wood, or with gutta percha, plated rope, or any such materials
or combinations of them, for acting on the wire rope. Premising, thus, then
in the first example, we throw this band over the vertical drums, & a single
pulley, or two, or more pulleys below, so fixed that any degree of tension may
be given to the strap. A small chain wheel above may be made to press down
the strap, so as to make it embrace a larger portion of the peripheries of the

page_text: .
drums, when such is required. In the second example, the band passes over
three or more pulleys or chain wheels, so situated that the band between two
of them embraces a portion of the periphery of the drum, or the peripheries of
the two or more drums, as the case may be, with any degree of pressure
required to hold the rope. The third example is a combination of three straps,
or two or more straps, say three straps one at each side of one in the centre
or between them in front of the drum, the rope being made to pass in & out,
between two friction bands in a straight line. Any degree of compression may
be given to the rope, as it thus passes in & out, by means of springs or other-
wise, so as to hold it sufficiently firm for hauling implements. Other examples
might be given, but the above are sufficient to illustrate one in each of three
different plans of using friction bands or straps.
Sixth. Where winding drums or endless wire rope grooved druins, or endless
wire band plain drums are detached from the engine, & work in seperate
carriages, then the engine carriage & drum carriage may be jointed or
hinged together, when to be put in operation by means of the shaft of the
strap drum or of the gearing wheel or chain wheel which communicates
motion from the crank shaft of the engine to the drums, so that the engine
may be made to haul itself & its hauling apparatus along the headland by
means of an anchored rope ahead without deranging the working parts of
either of these two divisions into which the system is divided, the engine being
the one division, & the hauling apparatus the other when they have to pass
over furrows or unlevel ground.
Seventh. When made for attaching to the engine & working with it in a
common carriage, the hauling apparatus in each case is so constructed that it
may be easily removed when the engine is required for steam cartage, threshing.
pumping, or other purpose. This may be done in various ways in each
system. We give the following two examples for illustration-First, in the
case of winding drums, we place one drum on each side of the boiler, the
frame in which it works being so constructed that it can be bolted & unbolted
to & from the frame of the engine at pleasure. And here we may observe
that this engine framing can be attached to any old engine boiler, & will
greatly increase its strength and durability. Second, the framing in which the
vertical drums or grooved drums and guide pulleys work may be bolted
& unbolted to and from the frame of the engine, also at pleasure as in the
first case.
Eighth. In the construction of winding drums, grooved drums, and plain
drums for wire bands, we introduce & use springs of steel or other elastic
material for the purpose of distributing unequal force, so as to equalize the

page_text: tension of the wire rope or band.
The angler is familiar with the necessity
of an elastic rod, a well furnished reel, and a gentle giving hand to save his
line when he hooks a strong heavy fish; and as it is with the angler's line, s0
is it with the wire rope in steam culture, the drum, the pulleys of the anchors
and rope carriers, the guide pulleys, & the bridle or yoking of the rope to the
implement, must all yield when the implement comes in contact with a stone,
or any obstruction in the soil to save it (the rope) from sustaining harm. In
no case do we allow the rope to work on or over rigid bearings, and this we
effect by means of springs made of steel or other elastic material; we prefer
steel springs. They may be made in various forms, & introduced into drums
in so many different ways as almost to preclude specification & discription
of the whole. The following simple plan will be suflicient to illustrate
principle: The drum, one of any of the three kinds previously specified, revolves
upon its axle, but is prevented from making a complete revolution by means
of two or more arms fixed upon the same axle in the interior of the drum
coming in contact with the springs & compressing them, so that the fixed
arms thus turn the drum in the direction they move, while the drum itself
only turns upon its axis less or more in the opposite direction, according to
the force applied, and elasticity of the springs, something analogous to what
takes place in the dynamometer. The springs may be made of any degree of
elasticity required, and are so constructed and placed that when the motion of
the drum is reversed, as when the implement reaches the headland, they come
immediately into action, no jolting being experienced. As to construction,
for this example, the springs in the case of winding drums may be eliptic
or otherwise, & placed longitudinally in the interior surface; and in the case of
single grooved drums they may radiate from the axle coming in contact with
a projection on the interior surface; or spiral springs may be used near the
extremity of the fixed arms. In either way the details of mechanism are so
obvious, that description of such is unnecessary.
Ninth. Springs of steel or other elastic materials may be in a similar manner
introduced into drums, fly wheels, rope pulleys, chain wheels, & toothed wheels
for actuating straps, bands, ropes, chains, and toothed wheel machinery when
subject to irregular force, such as are employed in connexion with traction
engines in steam cartage or steam culture by direct traction with threshing &
other barn machinery, with seed time & harvest machinery, with rotary
digging machines, with hauling apparatus in collieries, & such like. The spur
wheel of the traction engine may be of cast iron, including teeth, but we prefer
wrought iron or steel, or a combination of these with other metals & materials.
The teeth, for example, being of wood or brass or such other material so as to

page_text: increase strength & reduce the tear & wear upon the driving pinion, and also
to admit easily of repairs when a tooth breaks or is worn out. In construction
the spur wheel is similar to grooved drums as regards the springs & axle, with
this difference, that the hub or nave would form the axle, or what we would
prefer, a hollow axle for keying on to the nave. The pinion may be made in
a similar way as to teeth of wood or brass.
Tenth. This Invention embraces improvements in two kinds of anchors.
The first anchor consists of a frame borne on three or more wheels, having a
steerage motion for turning round bends and angles. This framework carries a
large horizontal pulley, or a series of pulleys in one plane, around which the
wire rope or band passes in either case; and this frame can, if required, be
lowered close to the ground when the anchor is in operation, & elevated again
when necessary. The two ends of the bearings or framing which carries the
pulley or the series of pulleys work in bosses or otherwise turn upon fulcra, so
as to permit the plane of the pulley or pulleys to correspond with the incli-
nation of the ground, thereby avoiding transverse grinding action of the rope
upon the groove of the pulley, & consequent tear & wear upon it (the rope.)
The axis or bosses of the pulley or axes or bosses of the pulleys or bearings to
which the bosses are attached, or the end axes & bosses of the pulley frame
rest. upon springs of steel or other elastic material, so as to allow the pulley or
pulleys to yield to the irregular draught upon the rope. That part of the
anchor which enters the soil may be in the form of a plough or scarifier, and
may be made to plough or scarify part of the headland, as the cultivation of
the other portion of the field progresses; or broad thin coulters may drop from
the frame in several places, or they, lance-shaped, may enter the ground on
the outside of the main wheels next to the ploughed land, & inside opposite;
in both cases close to the tyre of the wheel, where it rests upon the ground, so
as to prevent each wheel from slipping sideways. When shifting the anchor,
in taking on fresh ground, these coulters may be hauled through the soil, or
worked up & down by means of levers or such like. The anchor is moved
along the headland by an anchored rope ahead, and the drum for winding up
this rope may either be actuated by a lever or handspike, like a ship's capstan,
or by the wire rope or band, on either or both sides of the pulley, or the
engine hauling apparatus & anchor may be moved along the headlands by
means of a or 1 railway, plain or with rack & pinion, a few lengths of
short rail being all that would be required on this plan. In each case, to
prevent the anchor carriage tilting. we use a stay or prop and stay wheel on the
ploughed land side, the stay framing projecting over the opposite side of the
carriage, so as to give it a counter leverage; & this leverage may otherwise be

page_text: weighted to any extent required, the framing being outside the wheels. The
stay wheel or wheels may be placed any distance from the carriage, which the
strain upon the anchor may require, as the ground upon which this wheel rests
is the fulcrum to the system of leverage involved, instead of the ground below
the running wheels on the ploughed land side as in other anchors of this kind.
The second plan is a grapnel anchor, that part of it which enters the ground
being of the common form, or otherwise, as hereafter specified. Opposite the
pulley side we fix a handle or lever, which may be weighted like a steelyard
to keep the grapnels into the ground. It may work in pits dug for it, or in a
plough furrow drawn by a ploughman with his plough & team prior to starting
with steam; or it may work in the ditch of the headland; or instead of
grapnel prongs, the anchor may have two pulleys or grooved rollers, and be
made to work along a rope or chain, or beam of iron or wood, fixed at each
end by means of a common screw stake of iron. The pulleys of such anchors
are furnished with springs as the others in various ways.
Eleventh. The bearings of the pulleys & of the drums of the rope carriers,
& of the pulleys for guiding the ropes on to and off from the drums, rest upon
steel springs, or springs of any other elastic material, and in every case these
may be constructed & introduced in various ways, or in many different ways.
A very simple plan is to place the drums & pulleys upon the ends of steel
springs, in each case the other end of the spring being fixed to framing or the
like. In the case of endless ropes or endless bands, the guide pulleys have
also an elastic bracing action, so as to guide the rope or band taught or tense
on to the drums; we also use friction brakes to prevent winding drums
unwinding too fast when the motion is reversed at the headlands, or when the
implement reaches the headland & is about to start the other way.
Twelfth. Steel springs, or springs of any other clastic material, we also in-
troduce into the bridle which connects or yokes the traction engine or wire rope
or band to the implement. This bridle may be constructed in various ways, &
be yoked to & unyoked from any implement at pleasure. We prefer it made
so as to have a to-&-fro motion given to it for steering, as subsequently stated.
In the case of the endless rope & wire band, it may carry a drum for winding
up the slack when such is required. In some cases of scarifiers, as sub-
sequently mentioned, this drum for winding up the slack may have springs of
its own, as other drums previously specified & described, when it would thus
serve as a spring bridle. It might thus be made to do so in the case of any
implement hauled by an endless rope, which requires provision for taking
up slack.
Thirteenth. This Invention consists next of improvements in implements of

page_text: tillage, the motive power being steam. In principle the improvements are of
several kinds, and therefore we shall specify & describe each kind seperately,
thus;--
My steam plough & general cultivator consists of two parallel bars or
frames, each bar being supported at each end by a wheel, the two bars carrying
the requisite number of beams and turnovers. When at work these two bars
move diagonally along the land, the one bar being in advance of the other.
(For the sake of distinction we have technically termed the leading bar or
frame the draught bar, and the other the tillage bar; and the two ends or wheels
of each, the front and rear ends or wheels, as the case may be.) In ploughing
the front wheel of the tillage bar runs in the furrow before the first or leading
plough, and the rear wheel of the tillage bar either in the furrow of the last
plough, or on the land adjoining, as circumstances may require, and what is
the front wheel of the tillage bar in going up the land from the engine to the
anchor, is the rear wheel of the tillage bar when returning froin the anchor.
And the like is true when the implement is hauled by a traction engine
travelling over the ground. The wheels may be made on the castor, principle,
or on any other way which permits of their occupying the alternate position of
front & rear, which they have to do; and also for running in the bottom of the
furrow when ploughing, & on the surface of the ground when scarifying.
Each beam turns horizontally upon a pivot or fulcrum in a bolster, or saddle
which slides along or in the tillage bar, so as to regulate the distance between
the ploughs. The front ends of the beams are supported by the draught bar
which has castor wheels towards each end, and saddles for regulating the
distance between them, each saddle carrying a vertical pin for its own beam
turning horizontally upon, the plough beams thus remaining parallel to cach
other. Each beam carries a right & left turnover- or inould board and share,
also a breast bar & coulter common to both turnovers; likewise a right and left
skim coulter on a common stalk. Each plough has also a drag chain in front
and a subsoiler behind. The two ploughs or turnovers on each beam are
without soles or side shoes, being fixed to a subsidiary breast bar, which rests,
when working, upon the common breast bar already noticed, and which
carries the turnover. Each share and turnover, right and left, belonging to
each beam is lowered into position, and raised from it by its own subsidiary
breast bar, and this is effected either by lever, rack, and pinion, or several other
ways well known in mechanics, in similar cases. At the headland each plough
may be raised as it arrives at the proper place, or two and two may be raised in
succession, or the whole set simultaneously, and they may be entered into the
ground in a similar manner. The depth of ploughing is regulated either by

page_text: the land wheels of the draught bar and of the tillage bar, or by intermediate
wheels introduced for the purpose; and each plough has a vertical movement
by which it may be lowered or raised, so as to plough land with an uneven
surface to a uniform depth. For very stonny ground each plough may also
have a slight vertical movement by means of spring or springs, so that it
may give a little, and thus releive it from the momentum of the implement
ånd the whole force of traction when the share comes against a stone. The
draught bar and the tillage bar have each graduated stops or checks.for keeping
the plough beams at any angle with them which the work may require, so
that in ploughing or scarifying a convex or concave surface, the ploughman
may, without stopping, gradually increase the breadth of each furrow slice as
he does when holding a single horse plough behind his team, and diminish its
breadth in a similar way, so as to meet all the exigeneces of the case, or all
the demands of 'good work. From each end of the draught bar a bridle bar
or frame with a stay is fixed. The one end of this bridle bar is bolted, either
rigidly or otherwise, to the end of the draught bar; and from the opposite end
of the bridle bar one end of the stay is bolted rigidly or otherwise, the other
end being attached to the middle of the draught bar or nearer the opposite
end. Each bridle bar would thus be alternately the front bridle bar & rear
bridle bar. In the former position the hauling rope would be attached to it;
and in the latter position the rope being laid down for return or the return rope
The position of the front bridle bar would thus be at right angles with the
plough beams, and the front stay parallel, and this peculiar position determines
their construction, which can easily be effected in various simple ways, as
every mechanician will readily perceive. The implement may be steered by
the plough beams or draught bar wheels, but it would be preferable to give a
to-&-fro motion to the bridle along the bridle bar, the ploughman standing
or sitting upon a platform behind. This to-and-fro motion to the bridle may
easily be given in various ways, as by a pinion working upon a rack. The
pinion being actuated by means of a rope or chain passing round a pulley on
its axis, and extending backwards to a steerage wheel, or by a shaft & crown
wheel, and similar means. We should prefer the bridle bar to be a frame, &
the bridle to move to & fro in this frame on two small rollers in front, and
having a rack behind. To assist in turning at the headlands, a stay wheel
may drop alternately from the rear end of the tillage bar, thus preventing the
rear wheel from running backwards, and enabling the ploughman to take on
the proper quantity of fresh ground. The clove is a description of the imple-
ment when used as a plough, but by cineving certain working parts & sub-

page_text: sututing others in their places, it may be ccIverted into various other imple-
ments, as for example By removing the share and turnover, & substituting
in their places road share with or without a turnover, the implement is
converted into a broad share plough for autumn cultivation or the like. By
removing the shares, lowering both turnovers, & placing a double share upon
the ends of the two subsidiary breast bars now close to each other, the imple-
ment is converted into a ridge plough for ridging or drilling fallow lands for
green crops, for earthing up potatoes, and for other ridge works. By removing
the ploughshares & turnovers, & substituting in their places scarifying tines
or shares, the implement is then converted into a heavy scarifier for summer
or autumn work when lands are difficult to move. For light work a scarifier
of less weight may be profitably made on the same principle. When con-
structed only for the purpose of scarifying, each beam will only have to carry
one or two simple scarifying tines. The draught bar may only have one
castor wheel, and at the headlands the implement may be raised out of the
ground by lowering the wheels on the same principle as is usually done in
horse scarifiers. A combination for example, of two very old & well known
plans, the one exemplified by "Lord Ducie's cultivator," and the other by
Finlayon's grubber" may be adopted; but while such plans may be adopted
to effect cheapness, we would prefer raising the tines & lowering them, as in
the first example, for we believe that the latter will be the cheapest in the
end, both as to durability & superiority of work performed.
In constructing implements of the above or first kind, I do not limit myself
to what is above specified, such being simply the discription of a small model
made for illustration. Various other plans may be adopted in carrying out
the same principles. In mechanical detail, much will depend upon the
amount of capital the agriculturist may feel disposed to invest in steam cul-
ture. At present little money appears to be the rule, one the economy of
which may ultimately be questioned. We would, therefore, by no nieans
recommend the cheapest plan upon which our steam plough & general culti-
vator may be constructed, for although it can be made strong, simple, and cheap,
it can be made equally simple and strong, more easily worked, and much more
durable for a little more money. These favourable and important results are
accounted for by superior workmanship in general, and by those parts subject to
the greatest tear & wear being more casily kept in repair, and renewed when
worn out than implements got up at less money although on the same prin-
ciple. This is always a grand desideratum in the construction of machinery,
and it is only such parts of our implement that requires further illustration,

page_text: and even in this we shall not have very much more to say of such details of
mechanism.
Lightness, strength, efficiency, and durability being the cardinal points, we
prefer making the whole of our general cultivator of the best wrought iron
or steel, and every part hollow that can be so made, adopting all similar means
used to effect such results. We would therefore make the tillage bar & the
draught bar of framing, so that it could be braced by the saddles in such a
way as to give the greatest strength for any given weight of material. This
can be done in various ways. The beams, for example, may take in or pass over
on each side the saddles, or the saddles may take in, or be outside the beams.
We prefer the former, as that gives greater strength to the tillage bar, the
draught bar, and the beams of the ploughs. In this case, the pins or pivots
would be fixed in the plough beams, & turn in brass bosses in the saddles so
constructed as to exclude dust, and to be kept close to the pins as they wear,
and also well oiled. The beams may be made in a similar way, and strengthened
by means of the saddles for the coulters, common breast bars and subsoilers, so
may the bridle bars and stays. Throughout the whole parts of the implement
similar principles prevail, and mechanism may thus be easily adopted for
carrying them out. The only other details requiring illustration, are the
breast bars and mechanism for lowering & raising coulters, shares, turnovers,
and tines or subsoilers. In details of this kind various plans may be adopted,
and out of these we shall give the following two simple ones for illustration.
First, if we make the front surface of the common breast bar part of any
circle or curve of the radius the implement may require, then the hindermost
part or surface of the subsidiary breast bar forms part of a corresponding
circle, the two having a common centre, so that both right & left subsidiary
breast bars have a common axle or pivot upon which they move, and upon
this they may be worked up or down at pleasure by means of a lever or
otherwise, and keyed or fixed in any position by self-acting keys or such like
mechanism. Each plough right and left may have a coulter of its own, which
may be raised with it, or the two may have a coulter common to both, in which
case it could be raised and lowered by a clutch perpendicularly, the stalk working
through a slit or hole in its saddle, so as always to occupy the proper posi-
tion when in operation. Second, the common breast bar may form an
inclined plane, up and down which the subsidiary breast bar may slide by means
of a lever, or rack and pinion, or otherwise, and be made to key itself on the
principle of a wedge at any desired point. The object of the common breast
bar, in this, as in the first example, is to secure strength with lightness of

page_text: material, and to prevent transverse strain upon the subsidiary breast bars resting
upon it. The surfaces of the two may be grooved, or so constructed as to work
into one another in such a manner as to secure strength and prevent harm in
both examples. As the ploughs right and left would be all alike, also in both
examples respectively, the simplest and best plan of lowering and raising them
would be seperately. If a three-plough-beamed implement, for example, is
worked by levers, then it could be so made that the ploughman grasping a
lever in each hand, could on the implement arriving at the headland raise
first the front plough and then the next, elevating the third one after the imple-
ment was stopped, and vice versa when entering them (the other set), the
front plough before starting, and the other two second and third in succession.
Fourteenth. The second kind of cultivator consists of a frame, supported
by two inain wheels at the middle, one at each side, a land wheel and a furrow
wheel, and two other wheels, one at each end, on the castor principle, or
otherwise. From the land side of the framing a tillage bar or frame rüns
diagonally to the opposite side, a little in front of the furrow wheel, so that
there are two tillage bars, the one carrying right-hand turnover ploughs, and
the other left-hand. The tillage bars may be fixed, but we would prefer thein
to be hinged to the frame on the furrow wheel side, so that the diagonal angle
of the tillage bars could be increased or decreased at pleasure. In other
respects the cultivator is similar in detail to those of the first kind, so that
what we have said of the former is applicable to this, the latter or second
kind.
Fifteenth. The third kind of cultivator has but one tillage bar. The framing
and supporting wheels are similar to those of the second kind of cultivators as
to construction, but the framing does not require to be so long, about half the
length being all that is necessary. The principle of novelty consists in the
working parts, sucli as the tines of the grubber, the breast bars of the ploughs,
with their shares, turnovers, and coulters turning in the tillage bar, in which
they work, and also the tillage bar in the frame in which it works. In other
respects the details of construction as to the inechanism of the tillage bar,
plough beams, shares, turnovers, and breast bars are similar to those of the
first kind of cultivators. The tillage bar works horizontally on a vertical
spindle dropping from the axle of the main wheels, if the implement is a
scarifier only, and from a cross beam if the implement is constructed so as to
serve both as a scarifier and plough. Each end of the tillage bar is alter-
nately fixed or bolted to the furrow wheel side framing in front, and the land
wheel side in the rear, so that the vertical spindle has only to support the

page_text: tillage bar while in the act of turning, the strain upon the two ends of the
tillage bar being against the side framing. The stalk of each scarifying time
turns in the boss of its own bolster, so that they act both ways, one set of
tines only being required. They are turned by means of levers, rack, and
pinion, or the like well known mechanical means, and they may be turned
in succession; but we would prefer the whole to be turned simultaneously, and
by means of levers acting clutchways horizontally. When made both for
scarifying and ploughing, the scarifying tines would be removed, and two ploughs,
a right hand and a left, working on a common pivot, substituted in the place
of each tine. The main or middle wheels would be removed, and also the
castor wheels in front and rear. The former would now form the two furrow
wheels, front and rear, the rear one being alternately either elevated or removed,
while the two castor wheels would form the land side wheels, one at the front
corner, and the other at the rear corner, or nearly so. One furrow wheel might
be made to slide in a frame from front to rear, so that three wheels would
only be required. In this kind of cultivators, as in the last or second kind,
the two end bars of the framing would form the bridle bars, so that the
steerage is the same in each of the three kinds.
Sixteenth. A very simple, cheap, and effective scarifier may be made in
various ways on the principle of the third kind of cultivators, of which we
shall give three examples, viz., first, a square or rectangular frame, with
scarifying tines, supported by four castor wheels, one at each corner. To each
of the two front corners a bridle and steerage bar would be fixed or attached,
so that the implement would be alternately hauled diagonally along the field,
first by one corner, & then the other, the scarifying tines being turned at
the headlands into the proper position, & there locked or fixed; second, or
what is better, a triangular frame with three castor wheels, one at each angle,
two bridles being placed at two angles. one at each, so that the wheels of
those two angles would alternately be the leading and land wheels; third, or a
circular frame, polygonal, or the like, supported by three or more wheels, as
in the other examples, two of them being the leading and land wheels, as also
in the other examples. In each example the frame may be of wood or iron,
may carry the requisite number of scarifying tines, which may be turned at
the headlands by levers or otherwise, as already stated, and may be taken out
of the ground, and lowered into it by lowering or raising the wheels.
Seventeenth. The fourth kind of cultivator is only for scarifying, and may
be constructed thus:--Take the cleft or forked part of a tree of the form ^,
such as is frequently used for sledges; put a castor wheel in front, and two

page_text: others behind of the ordinary kind, or they may be castor wheels also, one
wheel to cach leg; put a tine bar across near the middle, and another behind,
for carrying each the proper number of tines. Put three or more pulleys or
chain wheels horizontally on the top, one or two in front, & other two or
more behind, one to each leg or side; throw a rope or pitch chain around
these, or instead of a chain, an iron ring toothed inside, the pulleys or wheels
being in the circumference of a circle. Attach two bridles, one to the front
part of the chain or ring, and the other to the chain or ring at the side for
laying down the return rope. Steerage may be effected by means of the
castor wheel in front, but it would be preferable by one of the chain wheels
or toothed wheels of the ring, as this would give a to-and-fro motion to the
bridle. In the case of the implement being hauled by an endless rope, a
spring drum bridle, as previously alluded to, could be used for taking up the
slack of the rope. Such an implement may, of course, be made wholly or
partly of iron in various ways, and may be lowered into the ground, and taken
out of it, by raising and lowering the wheels.
Eighteenth. Seed and manure drills may be constructed on the same prin-
ciple of taking on fresh ground, by means of diagonal bars and parallel
beams, as in the first example of cultivators. The seed and manure boxes
may rest principally on the tillage bar, and the pivots on which the beams
turn may be large and hollow, so that the shoots may pass through them (the
hollow pivots). Both ends of the wire ropes may be attached by bridles, as in
the plough and general cultivator, and one man in front may steer, and
another behind attend to the seeding and manuring apparatus. In other
respects the drills would be nearly similar under steam to what they are now
under horses. Hoes for hoeing drilled crops may also be constructed on the
same principal of turning in at the headlands; so, also, may harrows; the
taking on of fresh ground when turning in from the headlands, being effected
by their working diagonally along the field, so that they have only a half-turn
to make, or from one diagonal to another. Only one diagonal bar would be
required for harrows, viz., the draught bar, so that if they were square, and
yoked by each corner to the draught bar, nearly similar to what they are now
attached to the whippletrees, each harrow would be hauled diagonally by
one corner up the land from the engine to the anchor, and by the other corner
when returning, thus pulverising the soil in the most effectual manner. Two
bridles and bridle bars would be attached to the draught bar, as in the first
example of cultivators, and the steerage effected accordingly.
=
Having thus shewn the nature of my Invention, I shall, in what follows,

page_text: notice some of its principal advantages which appear to require a somewhat
more detailed statement than they have received in the preceeding paragraphs.
1st. The whole system of machinery for steam culture & steam cartage is
so designed or projected in its several parts or subdivisions, that it may at
once be adopted as a whole, or the agriculturist may start with a very small
part, and add the other parts as he finds it convenient. He may commence,
for example, with a scarifier and anchor of the simplest kinds, two spring
bridles, and grooved drums and tackle on the endless rope systein; or a winding
drum and tackle, if he prefers such. The hauling apparatus may either be
attached to the engine, or detached from it. He may, at first, have it
detached in a strong, cheap carriage, and subsequently attached to his engine
after it has had our framing applied to it to strengthen it. The detached
windlass carriage frame may then be made the carriage frame of the best kind
of anchor, so that nothing is lost by the change. He may next make his
engine a traction engine for the conveyance of water, coal, tackle, imple-
ments, &c., to the field. He may, after this, get a second strong scarifier of
the first kind, and then add ploughs, broadshares, &c., to the same at his
leisure. Seed and manure drills, with harrows, may follow in the train. All
this may be effected piecemeal, without in the slightest degree depreciating
the mechanical value of the several parts, and without increasing very much
the total expense of getting up the system in this piecemeal way. And there
would, also, be very little difference whether the agriculturist has already an
engine, or orders a new one. Equal attention has been paid to the repairing
and renewal of parts as they are worn, broken, or otherwise rendered useless.
If any part breaks, for example, the farmer can replace it. by a spare new one,
so as not to incur a loss of steam and labour; or, what is often of more value,
season.
2nd. Another peculiar characteristic is, that the details of mechanism in
every part, and hence throughout the whole, are so contrived that they can
be almost all finished for putting together by machinery; while the several
parts when put together in each case, are calculated to insure the greatest
amount of strength for the weight of material. This arises as much from
the proper distribution of the motive power or force, and the tear and wear
upon the several parts, as upon the economy of material in their construction.
3rd. Confining, for the sake of perspicuity and brevity, this review more
closely to individual parts, we add strength, durability, and usefulness to the
engine and boiler in a much greater degree than we add expense; while we
make provision for steam cartage or the gradual abridgment of horse work in

page_text: hauling about engine, tackle, &c. from place to place. With a large cart
body or box over the framing of the boiler in which to carry things, the
engine can do a great deal more work at much less tear and wear and expense
of steam, than by hauling a loaded tender or waggon behind it. And by
means of a very simple jin the engine can be made to load and unload itself.
4th. In the disposition of my grooved drums and pulleys on the endless rope
system, the rope as it runs out from the engine and in from the anchor, and
from groove to groove of the different drums and pulleys over, for example,
the two outside vertical drums and under the middle one, and tangentally
from the peripheries of the former over the two horizontal pulleys, does not
cross its path, but presses closely and equally to the bottom and two sides of the
grooves, thus avoiding much grinding action, tear and wear, and often sad
havoc sustained by other systems of the endless rope. On some of the best
grooved drums now in use, we have seen soft clay in the bottom of the
grooves of the drum. Thus proving that the action of the rope in passing
from one plane to another was against the side of the groove instead of the
bottom, as it should be. The consequence of this need not be mentioned,
Again, the rope is more easily put upon our vertical drums than upon
horizontal ones. Our axles can also be better kept-in oil, while they are freer
from injury by heating than when under the boiler.
5th. By the introduction of springs, in the manner specified, we not only
save and economise wire rope, but also all the other, parts of the system.
The irregular and often severe, percussive action of the implement in the
soil is transmitted by the rope to the rope carriers; anchors, and engine, and
although the fly wheel of the latter may render it imperceptible to the eye at
the engine, that does not mend the matter, but the contrary, by substituting a
greater evil, or adding a still greater evil to the one that already exists, than it
is of itself. True it is, springs, cannot annihilate this latter evil, or both evils,
but they can distribute them in every place where they are applied, and thus
deprive them, in a great measure, of their percussive & injurious, character,
thereby averting consequences accordingly.
-R
6th. Steerage to and fro by means, of a spring bridle, is superior to steering
by giving a to-and-fro motion to the ropes and still more advantageous than
steering by wheels. The latter Blair is highly objectionable, for the action of
the wheel against the ground when steering, by turning it, is to impede the
onward motion of the implement by a force sufficiently great to deflect it from
the path in which it was moving. It just amounts to this, the driving of the
implement instead of the horses, a plan which every ploughman knows-is-

page_text: sadly against himself, his implement, and his team, although often resorted to
as an alternative when the latter refuse to obey.
7th. The share of my steam plough and tines of my scarifier do not compress
the subsoil, but rather loosen it, the angle of the cutting edge being such as to
avoid extra resistance on the one hand, while, on the other hand, it rather tears
up the soil from the bottom or subsoil than wedges it up, as 'in the case of the
horse plough, and many scarifiers. In the latter case, where soles and side
shoes are used, the pressure on the bottom is equal to if not greater than the
force required to turn the furrow slice or loosen the soil. This not only
increases the resistance, tear and wear upon the implement, and consequently
the force of traction to overcome such, but it also destroys the drainage and
aeration of the land. And although we cannot annihilate this downward force,
we transfer it to the wheels of the implement, and thus avoid harm. Again,
froin the tines of our scarifier of the first, second, and third kind, where tillage
bars are used, following each other in succession, they loosen the soil better,
more easily, and to a more uniform depth, than when placed in the usual
way, especially where he ground is hard; as it generally is in summer and
autumn cultivation of stubble lands for fallow or winter crops.. If the two
leading tines of a fine tined implement are set twelve inches asunder, and the
three rear ones at similar, distances, then their joint action in the first place,
is that of an anchor, and if forced through a stubborn stiff soil, the individual
action of each tine cannot be equal, for the front two must either strip through
the soil, or break it up into large masses, so that the finishing work of the
three latter is anything but satisfactory, while the bottom is left uneven,
large unloosened projecting hills, rising often to nearly the surface. But
when the five.tines" follow each other in succession, each cutting-off from the
unloosened soil its own six inches, the work is not only better performed, but
at a less expense, all things considered.
8th. My steam plough and general cultivator. of the first kind takes on fresh
ground at the headland of itself without manual labour, missing of land, or
injury to the rope. We have shewn that it meets the demands of proper
tillage in cultivating convex and concave surfaces, a result not hitherto effected
save by single horse ploughs.. Another desideratum not hithertoo attained, is
the taking on fresh ground properly at the headland, for although the imple-
ment may be properly entered by manual labour, yet the rope, in such cases,
suffers less or more injury, however.carefully the work may be done, while in
the case of negligence or mismanagement the harm is often serious, a very
small touch transversely being worse for the rope than the greatest amount of

page_text: longitudinal strain it is called upon to sustain. Again, when the implement is
turned without taking it out of the ground, a common practice with a certain
class of scarifiers, the upshot is, not only pad work, small triangular pieces
being left unloosened, but also less or more injury to the rope and the imple-
All these objections we obviate by our first kind of cultivators.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Burness, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
WILLIAM BURNESS. (L.S.)