IMPROVEMENTS IN IMPLEMENTS FOR CULTIVATING LAND
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Littleboy, of Straffan, in the County of
Kildare, Ireland, Land Steward, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN IMPLEMENTS FOR CULTIVATING LAND."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Littleboy at.
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents with his Petition, on the
17th November 1862.
I, CHARLES LITTLEBOY, of Straffan, in the County of Kildare, Ireland,
Land Steward, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention for "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN IMPLEMENTS FOR CULTIVATING LAND," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
combined implement for ploughing and subsoiling at one operation, and con-
sists in the adaptation to any ordinary or other plough of a subsoiler made to
follow the ploughshare and turn-furrow or mould board, and made adjustable
in height so as to subsoil at any desired depth. Facility is thus afforded for
ploughing light and subsoiling deep, and vice versa, according to the nature of
the ground, the two operations being accomplished simultaneously, and leaving
the subsoil thoroughly broken up after the implement has once passed over it.
The principle of the Invention consists in the adaptation and attachment to
any ordinary plough (whether worked by animal or steam power) of an

page_text: instrument which breaks up the subsoil without turning it, and without inter-
fering with the simultaneous action in the ordinary way of the plough upon the
surface above the subsoil, such instrument being removeable from the plough
at pleasure.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Charles Littleboy in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
16th May 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
LITTLEBOY, of Straffan, in the County of Kildare, Ireland, Land Steward,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Charles Littleboy, Her special license that I, the said Charles
Littleboy, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said Charles Littleboy, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter 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 IMPLEMENTS FOR CULTIVATING LAND," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Charles Littleboy, my executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, or under the hand and
seal of one of them, should particularly 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 Seal Patent Office within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Charles Littleboy, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in. what manner the same-
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, that is to say :-
My said Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
combined implement for ploughing and subsoiling at one operation, and consists
in the adaptation to any ordinary or other plough of a subsoiler made to

page_text: follow the ploughshare and turn-furrow or mould board, and made adjustable
in height I so as to subsoil at any desired depth. Facility is thus afforded for
ploughing light and subsoiling deep, and vice versa, according to the nature
of the ground, the two operations being accomplished simultaneously and
leaving the subsoil thoroughly broken up after the implement has once passed
over it.
The principle of the Invention consists in the adaptation and attachment
to any ordinary plough (whether worked by animal or steam power) of an
instrument which breaks up the subsoil without turning it, and without
interfering with the simultaneous action in the ordinary way of the plough
upon the surface above the subsoil, such instrument being removeable from the
plough at pleasure.
And in order that my said Invention of improvements in implements for
cultivating land may be properly understood, I shall now proceed to describe
certain modifications under which my improvements may be judiciously carried
out in practice, that is to say, in cultivating land with the plough the implement
penetrates the earth to a given depth, 'but the soil at the bottom of the furrow
is left by the smooth sole of the plough and the weight of the implement in a
hard and compact state, and with a smooth surface, through which water
cannot readily penetrate; the consequence of this is, that the growing crops are
injured to a considerable extent by the presence of surface water in too great
a quantity, so that the delicate fibres forming the root of the plant and rotted from
excess of moisture, as well as being prevented from penetrating the subsoil by
the herein-before mentioned injurious action of the plough increasing its density:
Now my Invention is intended to obviate this evil, which I accomplish by
so arranging the ordinary ploughing implement that it breaks up the subsoit
simultaneously with its action on the surface soil. This is accomplished in a
very easy but at the same time satisfactory manner by attaching to the rear of
the mould board of the plough a supplementary implement which effectually
breaks up and thoroughly disintegrates the subsoil at the bottom of the furrow.
This supplementary implement or subsoiler consists of a digger or grubber which
penetrates and loosens the subsoil to any required depth, so as to prevent the
surface water lodging about the roots of the growing crop, but, without interfering
with the beneficial permeation of the moisture through the soil. The form of
the subsoiler may be modified in various ways according to the peculiar nature
of the soil to be operated upon or to suit the particular views of the user.
Under one modification it consists of a grubber or stirring implement, the lower
part of which is made of a triangular form, somewhat similar to the front
extremity of the plough, and with its point extending forward; this part of
-

page_text: the implement is arranged either at right angles or otherwise to a vertical
stem piece, of which it forms a continuation. The upper part of the stem
forms a flat bar, which has a slot made in it so that it may be fastened by means
of a bolt and nut to the framing of the plough; but in lieu of this arrangement
I prefer fitting to the plough a socket to receive the upper end of the stem
of the subsoiler. This socket is fitted at the rear of the mould board and
between the front part of the handles, so that the subsoiler extends downwards
behind the plough in a suitable position for loosening the soil beneath. The
socket is made with duplex prolongations at the back part, by means of which
it is firmly secured to the frame which forms the prolongations of the handles.
Holes are formed in the stem of the subsoiler, so that by means of pins it may
be firmly secured in the socket, which is formed to admit of the stem passing
easily through it. This arrangement admits of the subsoiler being fixed to any
suitable height, so as to cause it to penetrate the subsoil more or less according
to the nature or fertility of the land under operation.
Another mode of arranging the subsoiler, by means of which it may be
adapted to any form of plough, consists in jointing the upper part of the stem
of the subsoiler to a hand lever, the front extremity of which is bent in a
downward direction and centred on a stud projecting laterally from the beam.
This lever extends in a backward direction, so that its free extremity is within
convenient reach of the driver. A vertical slot is formed in the hand lever
to admit of a segmental guide passing through it. This guide is fixed to one
of the cross rails between the handles, and a series of holes is made in it, so
that, by means of a pin which passes through the lever and the guide, the lever
may be adjusted to any required height, and in this way the depth to which
the subsoiler penetrates may be regulated according to the nature of the soil.
The projecting point of the subsoiler enters the compact earth at the bottom of
the furrow, and lifts up the soil, which is further divided by the stem of the
implement as it passes along, which acts in manner similar to that of the coulter.
The subsoil of the furrow may be broken up by means of a single subsoiler,
or the plough may have fitted thereto two or other convenient number of these
subsidiary implements, which are carried by a suitable bracket piece extending
across the framing of the plough. The adjustable arrangement of the subsoiler
admits of the ploughing being regulated according to the nature of the soil;
thus the implement may be arranged for light ploughing and deep subsoiling,
or if found more advantageous the ploughing may be deep and the subsoiling
comparatively shallow. This implement may be also readily adapted to work
in concert with the various modifications of steam ploughs that have been
brought into use, and would prove equally efficient in obviating the evils that

page_text: have been herein-before pointed out. By means of this combined plough and
subsoiler the cultivation of the land is improved, as the thorough disintegration
of the soil facilitates the growth of the plants sown therein, and results in a
large increase of the crops.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe in conclusion, that what I consider novel and
original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent, is,―
First, the system or mode of combining a subsoiler with ploughs, which
adjunct is used for the purpose of breaking up or disintegrating the subsoil
or compact earth forming the bottom of the furrow made by the plough, as
herein-before described.
Second, the arrangement and construction of a subsoiler formed in one
or more parts, and its application to ploughs, so as to work in conjunction
therewith as herein-before described, or any mere equivalent for the said
arrangement.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Littleboy, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of May, One thousand eight hundred
and sixty-three.
CHAS. LITTLEBOY. (L.S.)