IMPROVE- MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR DIGGING, TILLING, OR WORKING LAND
Year: 1851

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
GUTHRIE, of Appleby, Chamberlain to the Earl of Stair, and residing at
Rephad, by Stranraer, in the County of Wigtown, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-fourth day of
March, in the fourteenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said George Guthrie, Her especial
license, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said George
Guthrie, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, and such others as I, the said
George Guthrie, my exors, adññiors, or assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term
of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed,
and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and in all
Her Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR DIGGING, TILLING, OR WORKING LAND;" in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso, requiring that I, the said George
Guthrie, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, shall par-
ticularly describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, and shall cause the same to be enrolled
in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters
Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
George Guthrie, do hereby declare the nature of my Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by this present instrument in writing, as follows, reference
being had to the Drawings hereunto attached, and to the letters and figures.
marked thereon, that is to say :-
My said Invention relates to certain arrangements of mechanism or appa-
ratus, to be worked by steam or other suitable motive power, for the more
effectual and economical digging or working of land than is attainable by
existing modes. And in order, that my said Invention may be readily under-
stood, I shall now proceed to describe the various Figures on the Sheet of
Drawings hereunto attached.
Figure 1 on my Sheet of Drawings represents a side elevation of a portion
of the hind or after end framing of one modification of my machine, to
which the grape fork, or 'digging or tilling apparatus, is employed; Figure 2
is a corresponding front view of the grape action alone, with its immediate
connections for giving it motion from the driving power; and Figure 3 is a
second side elevation, similar to Figure 1, but representing the grape action at
a different point of its movement.
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The entire machine, of which these Figures represent the digging action,
consists of a powerful rectangular frame, carried on four travelling wheels
with broad rims, for enabling it to pass easily over. the land to be operated upon.
The motive power is derived from a pair of steam engine cylinders, placed
one on each side the framing, and arranged to actuate tho digging apparatus
through the intervention of cranks and gearing, as also to give: the whole
machine a progressive traversing movement over the land. The front end of
the frame bears upon the centre of the axle of the front pair of wheels, 'as in
an ordinary carriage, so that the wheels may turn beneath the frame to guide
the machine, these wheels being loose on the axle to admit of turning."The
upright bearing of the frame on the front axle is so arranged that the fore end
of the frame may be elevated or depressed by suitable gearing of the two
large hind wheels; one is loose on its axle, and the other fast, to serve as a
driving wheel for propelling the machine as well in working as in travelling to
and from the field. The machine is steered at the front end by a vertical
hand wheel shaft, carrying a pinion at its lower end, gearing with a toothed
segment fast on the upright bearing of the front wheels. At the opposite end
of the frame, of which a portion is represented at A, supported on a pair of
driving wheels B, is placed the first motion crank shaft C, carrying a spur

page_text: pinion at each extremity, outside each of which pinions is a crank, worked by
means of a horizontal connecting rod from a steam cylinder on each side of the
front end of the frame. These pinions respectively gear with the large spur
wheels D; fast on the horizontal shaft D', and gearing with the wheels E and
F respectively placed above and below the wheels D. The upper wheels E
are keyed on the crank shaft G, passing across the machine overhead, the
cranks of which are jointed, as at H, to the connecting rod I; the lower end
is linked at J to the cross head of the grape apparatus, a second jointed link
or rod extending back from the same cross head..to a fixed centre K on the
frame. The lower wheels F are fast on the opposite extremities of the bottom
shaft L, which also carries cranks M, connected by jointed links N to tho
turning apparatus of the grape or fork at O. This grape or digger is in this
instance formed with three prongs P, attached to a spindle working through
the cross piece Q at the lower end of the working frame R, R. This spindle
S has liberty to revolve in the fixed cross piece Q at its lower end, and in the
fixed cross head U at its upper opposite end. At V a short spiral or screw of
coarse pitch is formed upon it, the slotted sliding piece O at the upper end
of the links N being passed over or made to embrace it, sliding also on the
two small parallel guides W fast in the grape frame.
In Figure 1 of my Drawings I have represented the grapes P as just
upon the point of entering the earth, the line of which is at X. The several
shafts and wheels revolve in the direction of the arrows; the upper
shaft G
bings down the entire grape frame and connections in a nearly vertical
direction for about half the crank's descent, the upper end of the grape frame
being guided outwards by the rod from the fixed centre K. In this condition
the grape enters the earth up to about one-half the length of stroke of the
upper crank, being supported at the back whilst it makes the dig by the fixed
cross bar Y. When the upper crank has descended about half its stroke, the
pin of the lower crank M presses on the back of the grape, drawing it back-
wards in the direction of the arrow, so as to cause it to scoop or dig away the
earth; and although the upper crank still descending causes the top of the
grape frame to descend also, yet the lower crank at the same time carries
the grape point upwards, untill the grape and frame assumes a horizontal
position. In this way the combined action of the cranks furnishes a move-
ment to the grape closely approximating to that of the ordinary spade in
digging by hand. When the grape has arrived at its horizontal position, or
nearly so, the onward traverse of the crank pin causes the links N to traverse
the slider O along the spiral of the spindle S, causing the grape and spindle

page_text: to make a seini-revolution to turn over and throw off the earth which the
grape has raised. During this movement the pinions Z on the second motion
shaft D' are carrying forward the whole machine at a slow rate, by gearing
with spur wheels fast on the driving wheels B, so as to bring the grape to a
fresh piece of the ground to be dug. The continual revolution of the crank
shafts repeats these movements, and if a series of grapes are arranged in a
line a wide space of ground is progressively dug or turned over.
In some
instances it is found necessary to cut through the surface of the earth in
parallel lines between each grape, in order that the latter may act with more
ease and certainty of effect. For this purpose a horizontal shaft is placed
near the ground just in front of the line of grapes, and carrying a series of
revolving cutting dises pressing upon the earth's surface. By another modifi-
cation, the lower cranks may be dispensed with as being in an inconvenient
position; this is effected by placing a cranked shaft overhead, and connecting
the crank pins by chains or rods with the grapes beneath, to give the latter
their requisite lift. The same cranked shaft is also made to work the turning
action of the grapes by a bell crank or pulley action, which is capable of
modification in various ways. Or, by a further modification, the lower second
crank may be dispensed with entirely, by elevating the grape points and
working the turning movement from pulleys on the upper shaft attached to
the grape movement below. By another mode, the necessary digging, action:
may be effected by grapes fast on a continuously revolving shaft, having fixed
or adjustable scrapers so planned as to remove the earth carried up by each
grape in its revolution, the object in all cases being to produce a mechanical
digging action assimilated as closely as possible to the principle of manual
digging.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect, I may observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine or restrict myself to
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 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 the grapes, forks, or
spades for digging or working land, as herein-before described.
Second, the system or mode of turning the grape or digging. apparatus.by
a screw and traversing slide, as herein-before described..

page_text: Third, the application and use of the guide apparatus for giving direction
to the grape, as herein-before described.
Fourth, the system or mode of digging or working land, by causing the
grape or digging apparatus to turn or partially revolve when loaded with
earth.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Guthrie, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-one.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-second day of Septem-
ber, in the year of our Lord 1851, the aforesaid George Guthrie came before
our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specifi-
cation aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in
form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped
according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Twenty fourth day of Santamaliar in the
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