IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR CULTIVATING LAND
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Allin Williams, of Baydon, in the County of
Wilts, Farmer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR
APPARATUS FOR CULTIVATING LAND."
Sealed the 30th May 1856, and dated the 7th December 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Allin Williams at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
7th December 1855.
I, JOHN ALLIN WILLIAMS, of Baydon, in the County of Wilts, Farmer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR CULTIVATING LAND" to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
implements & framework for carrying the same for cultivating land, such
implements answering, by slight modifications and adaptations, as scarifiers or
grubbers, rafter ploughs, horse hoes, and drags.
These implements are carried in a suitable frame running on wheels, having
a pair of swivel or guide wheels placed in front of the frame with a pair of
fixed wheels, one on each side of the frame at the rear, the draught being
The beams of the several imple-
effected by hooks in the ordinary manner.
ments (five or less being used) work at each end on vertical guide bars, and
are raised or lowered from or into the soil as required at each end simul-
taneously, or in a parallel manner, by suitable chains passing over a roller and
pullies, the roller being worked by cross lever handles, & a wheel and pinion,
if required. Each implement may be raised separately at the back end by a

page_text: handle attached thereto for that purpose, the beams being jointed to these
vertical sliding blocks at the front end of the machine. When the machine
is used as a scarifier or grubber, common plough bodies are employed, with
land sides and coulters attached, and having the ordinary point used for
carrying the common ploughsbare, the coulter being used only when found
desirable.
The peculiar share which I propose to adopt consists of an ordinary plough-
share, with a left-hand fin formed upon it. A small turn-furrow of a peculiar
construction is fitted to the plough body, and consists of a steel plate, fitted or
formed with a knife or cutting edge at right angles or thereabouts to its sur-
face, working under the furrow and severing the same, so that one portion of
the furrow slice will be cut and laid over the other part, thus leaving an uneven
surface for the harrow teeth, in the subsequent operation of harrowing, to lay
hold of. When used as a rafter plough, the second and fourth implements or
:beams are removed, and the common turn-furrows may be attached to the
rest, & used in the ordinary manner with the common ploughshare and.
coulter. When used as a horse hoe, the second and fourth implements are
removed, and the plough body and coulter are employed with the peculiarly
formed share, which I have herein-before described with reference to the
scarifier, such share being rather wider in the fin, if required, and the small
turn furrow is dispensed with.
In the rafter plough and horse hoe, the two outside implements are suitably
adjusted laterally by means of slots in the framework. When used as a drag,
the plough bodies and coulters are removed, and an ordinary drag tine is
attached by bolts to each beam..
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Allin Williams in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 7th June 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
ALLIN WILLIAMS, of Baydon, in the County of Wilts, Farmer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said John Allin Williams, Her special license that I, the said
John Allin Williams, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others

page_text: as I, the said John Allin Williams, 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 "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR CULTIVATING LAND," upon the!
condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Allin Williams, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 John Allin Williams, 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 accompanying Drawings, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
My said. Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
implements and framework for carrying the same for cultivating land, such
implements answering, by slight modifications and adaptations, as scarifiers or
grubbers, rafter ploughs, horse hoes, and drags.
These implements are carried in a suitable frame running on wheels, having
a pair of swivel or guide wheels placed in front of the frame, with a pair of
fixed wheels, one on each side of the frame at the rear, the draught being
effected by hooks in the ordinary manner. The beams of the several imple-
ments slide at each end on vertical guide bars, and are raised or lowered from.
or into the soil as required at each end simultaneously, or in a horizontal or"
parallel manner, by suitable chains passing over a roller and pullies, the roller
being worked by cross lever handles, and a wheel and pinion, if required.
Each implement may be raised separately at the back end by a handle attached
thereto for that purpose, the beams being jointed to vertical sliding blocks at
the front end of the machine. When the machine is used as a scarifier or
grubber, common plough bodies are employed, with land sides and coulters
attached, and having the ordinary point used for carrying the common plough-
share, the coulter being used only when found desirable.
The peculiar share which I propose to adopt consists of an ordinary plough-
share, with a left-hand fin formed upon it. A small turn-furrow of a peculiar
construction is fitted to the plough body, and consists of a steel plate, fitted or:
formed with a knife or cutting edge at right angles or thereabouts to its

page_text: surface, working under the furrow and severing the same, so that one portion:
of the furrow slice will be cut and laid over the other: part, thus leaving an
uneven surface for the harrow teeth, in the subsequent operation of harrowing,
to lay hold of.
'
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose I shall
refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, the
same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts throughout all the
Figures.
*.*
Figure 1 of the Drawings represents a side elevation of my machine.com-
plete, arranged as a scarifier or grubber; Figure 2 is a corresponding plan of
the same;
and Figure 3, an elevation of the back end of the machine, cor
responding to Figure 1. The rest of the Figures are separate details of the
implements, which I shall herein-after more fully describe and refer to...
"A, A, is the main framing of the machine, which may be composed. either
wholly or partially of wood or iron. It is carried at the after end upon the
pair of running wheels B, B, and is guided and supported at the front end
by the two small swivel or guide wheels C, C. The. axis of these latter
wheels is connected to the vertical spindle D, which is supported by and turns
in the lower bracket E and the upper part of the framing. F, F, are two
adjustable collars, upon which the front portion of the machine rests,
and these collars may be raised or lowered on the spindle D to any desired
extent, according to the depth at which the several implements are required.
to enter the ground. G is the hauling hook, attached by a bolt and nut
to the ends of the two draught bars H, H. These bars work freely on the
axes of the guide wheels, and may be raised or lowered to suit the proper
line of draught by linking up accordingly the chain I, which is connected
to the outer ends of the draught bars. J, J, are the beams of the imple-
ments; but although I have shewn the machine as adapted for five beams,
I do not confine or restrict myself to any particular number. These beams
are arranged parallel to each other side by side in the machine, and are
capable of being either all raised simultaneously by an elevating drum T, or
separately by lever handles Y, as found desirable.
The front end of each beam is jointed at K to a sliding block L, as shewn
in the detail, side elevation and plan, Figures 4 and 5. These blocks slide
freely along the vertical guide rods M, M, fitted into the front portion of the
machine. The after-ends of the beams are steadied and guided by the vertical
guide rods N, N. 0, 0, are chains, attached to the blocks L, and passed 'each
over a guide pulley P of its own, working loosely on the transverse bars or

page_text: rods Q, Q. The other ends of these chains are then connected to the rods
R, R, which are attached at their opposite ends to the chains'S, S. These
chains are wound once or twice round the lifting drum T, to which 'they are:
secured at their other ends. U, U, are chains, which are also attached to the
lifting drum, and are connected to the after ends of the beams. V is a ratchet'
wheel on the end of the lifting drum, and W is a detent, taking into the teeth"
thereof, and carried on the framing A. A cross lever handle X is fitted on to
the end of the drum spindle, for the purpose of turning the drum. when the
beams J with their implements require elevating, the detent and ratchet
serving to keep them suspended at any desired elevation.
It will be obvious, on referring to the Drawing, that by turning the drum T
in a proper direction both ends of the beams will be raised simultaneously.
Y, Y, are lever handles, secured to the after ends of the beams, for the purpose
of raising any one of the implements out of the ground; each beam being free
to work on the bolt or pin which which joins it to its sliding block L at the
front end.
In order to keep the implements from rising out of the ground, I employ a
presser roller Z, which is worked by the lever handles a, and is connected by
the short lengths of chain 6 to the upper ends of the vertical bars c, which
are bolted to the after ends of the beams. By turning the presser roller in a
proper direction, the winding up or tightening of the chains 6 will press down'
the beams, since the ends of the bars c stand up above the presser roller. By:
linking up the chains b shorter or longer, any one or more of the corresponding
beams may be more or less acted upon by the presser roller. I lay no claim,
however, to the presser roller. d, d, are common plough bodies, bolted in the
usual way to the beams J. Although coulters may be used, if found desirable,
in scarifying or grubbing, yet I have not shewn them on the Drawing, as the
machine in most cases may be used without them, but I do not confine myself
to so using it.
:
On the ordinary front of the plough body is fitted a ploughshare e, e, (shewn
in detail plan at Figure 6), made with a right and left hand fin, that is, having
two fins in place of only one, as in the ordinary form. f is a small turn-furrow,
shewn in separate detail at Figures 7 and 8. This turn-furrow is fitted or
formed with a small knife or cutter g on its edge, standing up at right angles
or thereabouts from the plane of the turn-furrow. The object of this cutter
is to cut or slice the furrow in half longitudinally, whilst the turn-furrow is so
formed or curved as to turn this severed portion of the furrow over on to
the other portion of the furrow which remains unturned.
The implements are arranged in the machine in different positions along

page_text: their respective beams, that is, one is placed either in advance of or behind
its neighbour, the central beam being the longest, and having its implement
nearest to the front of the machine, which is angled at A', or shaped so as to
suit the different lengths of beams. By this means the two implements on.
either side of the central beam will come into action successively. The fins
of the shares are made broad enough to intersect each other's course, so that
the entire surface of the ground may be operated upon by them as they come
successively into action. This machine leaves the ground in a rough and
uneven state, so that when the subsequent operation of harrowing is effected,
the teeth of the harrows will be able to lay hold of the portions of the furrows
which have been cut and turned over..
When used as a rafter plough, the 2nd & 4th implements and beams are:
removed, if 5 are used, and the common turn-furrow may be attached to the
remaining three plough bodies, and used in the ordinary manner with the.
common ploughshare and coulter. If it be required to use the machine as a
horse hoe, I remove the 2nd & 4th beams, as before, and use the ordinary
plough body and coulter, in conjunction with the peculiarly formed double fin
ploughshare, herein-before described, but having a rather wider fin, if found.
desirable, whilst the peculiar turn-furrow and cutter is dispensed with. When
used as a rafter plough, the 2nd and 4th beams are removed, and the two
outside implements and beams are adjusted laterally nearer each other in the
slots h, h, made for that purpose in the main framing, by which means the
spaces between the outside and centre beams may be regulated to suit
the width of furrow desired. The lateral adjustment is equally applicable
to the horse hoe. When used as a drag the whole of the beams may be used,
but the plough bodies must be removed therefrom, and drag tines substituted
therefor, such tines being bolted to the beams by two bolts passed through
two of the three holes required for bolting on the plough bodies. These
tines are also to be made rather straighter than the ordinary tines, so that
when the after ends of any one or more of the beams are lifted, which can be
done separately by the handles Y, whilst the others are at work, the tincs
will clear themselves more freely from the soil. The machine may be drawn
either by horses, or hauled over the ground by steam power, if desired. It
may also be made with 3 beams, & when used as a rafter plough or horse
hoe, would in that case require the centre beam to be removed, whilst the
outside ones do the work.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or inay be used or carried into
effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine or restrict myself to

page_text: the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion to describe or
refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom without deviating from
the principles or main features of my said Invention; but what I consider to
be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by
the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,-
First, the general construction and arrangement of machinery or apparatus
for cultivating land, as herein-before described.
Second, the application and use of the peculiarly formed ploughshare,
herein-before referred to, having a right and left hand fin, in combination
with a common plough body, land side, and turn-furrow, for the purpose
"scarifying," or "grubbing, or horse-hoeing the land, as herein-before
described.
Third, the peculiar arrangements and combinations of implements contained
in one frame for forming a rafter plough or horse hoe, and the mode of adjust-
ing the same laterally, as herein-before described.
Fourth, the peculiar arrangement of "drag, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Allin Williams, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Sixth day of June, One thousand eight hundred
and fifty-six.
JOHN ALLIN WILLIAMS. (L.S.)