AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF FORKS FOR FORKING LAND
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edwin Allan Athawes, of 63, Blackfriars Road, in
the County of Surry, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE
CONSTRUCTION OF FORKS FOR FORKING LAND."
Sealed the 31st March 1857, and dated the 23rd October 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edwin Allan Athawes at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
23rd October 1856..
I, EDWIN ALLAN ATHAWES, of 63, Blackfriars Road, in the County of
Surry, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT
IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF FORKS FOR FORKING LAND" to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object an improvement in the construction of
forks for forking land. And the Invention consists of forming such descrip-
tions of forks, each with a handle similar to those used in like descriptions of
forks, but in place of arranging the two outermost teeth in the same plane or
in a line with the central ones, the two central teeth are set forward, and the
two outermost teeth are in a plane behind the plane in which the central
teeth work. It is preferred to have the several teeth of a fork equidistant
one from the other, but this may be varied, and in some cases the two central
teeth are made longer than the outermost teeth.
h
33

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Edwin Allan Athawes in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 11th April 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWIN
ALLAN ATHAWES, of 63, Blackfriars Road, in the County of Surrey, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the twentieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Edwin Allan Athawes, Her special licence that I, the said Edwin Allan
Athawes, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Edwin Allan Athawes, my executors, administrators, and 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 "Ar
IMPROVEMENT IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF FORKS FOR FORKING LAND," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Edwin Allan Athawes, my execu-
tors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or
one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, 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 Edwin Allan Athawes, 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, reference being had to the Sheet of Drawings hereunto
annexed, that is to say :-
This fork is intended for digging between the rows and around the roots of
growing plants, fruit bushes, &c. &c., to penetrate and loosen the soil. It is
not intended to turn the soil over, but merely to loosen it to let in the air and
moisture deep to the roots of the plants.
It is preferred for general purposes to make this fork with. four tines or
teeth, but for some descriptions of land a greater number may be used. 'I do not
claim any new method of manufacturing digging forks; the novelty consists in
the arrangement and shape of the central tines, and the form and manner in

page_text: which the central tines are attached to the head or cross piece, which novelty
I claim as my
Invention.
In place of arranging the two external tines in the same plane in a line
with the central ones, the central tines are set forward, and the two outward
tines are in a plane behind the plane in which the central tines work; and
should this fork be made with five or six tines, then the same formed central
tines would be arranged in a circular or convex manner in the front. The
tines are equidistant from each other, and the central tines are made longer
than the outward tines, and the new form given to the central tines, i. e.,
the curve at the top of the central tines answers the double purpose,
first, of lifting the soil to the right hand and-to the left hand in an arched
manner, so that the soil will not readily relapse to its former position; secondly,
the under part of the top of the central tines, on coming in contact with the
ground, forms a good leverage when the fork is in use. This fork is to be
inserted in the ground in the usual way, and when forced down to the required
depth to be prised on until the points of the tines approach the surface.
It will be seen at Fig. 1 that the tines B and C are somewhat longer than
A and D, and they are all a little splayed outwards. The tines A and D are
attached to the head E in the usual way, which is old, and to which I lay no
claim; but the tines B and C are attached to the front side of the head, as
shown at F, Fig. 3, and the tops of the tines B and C are made flush with
the top of the head, as shown at E, Fig. 1, which head, Fig. 2, is slightly
curved, with its convex side to the front. A small portion of the front of the
head will be seen in dotted lines at G, Fig. 3. The peculiar form of the central
tines is shown at C, Fig. 3.
The handle is represented as broken off, thereby showing I do not bind
myself to use any particular form, length, or size, nor do I confine myself to
any particular angle of the pitch; both the hilt H, Fig. 3, and the pitch of the
handle, I propose to vary to suit the taste and requirements of different persons
and localities.
,I
In witness whereof, I, the said Edwin Allan Athawes, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
EDWIN ALLAN ATHAWES. (L.B.)