AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR HOEING AND CUTTING OUT TURNIPS AND OTHER ROOT CROPS, AFFLICABLE ALSO FOR HOEING GRAIN CROPS, AND FOR OTHER AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Mitchell, of Brandon, in the County of
Suffolk, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR HOEING AND
CUTTING OUT TURNIPS AND OTHER ROOT CROPS, AFFLICABLE ALSO FOR HOEING
GRAIN CROPS, AND FOR OTHER AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES.”
Sealed the 26th October 1875, and dated the 14th June 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Mitchell at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 14th June 1875.
I, WILLIAM MITCHELL, of Brandon, in the County of Suffolk, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED
MACHINE FOR HOEING AND CUTTING OUT TURNIPS AND OTHER ROOT CROPS, APPLICABLE
ALSO FOR HOEING GRAIN CROPS, AND FOR OTHER AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES," to be
as follows:-
and
My Invention relates to an improved horse hoe for hoeing and cutting

page_text: hoeing grain crops, for making ridges for turnips and other root crops,
for "moulding up," and for "splitting ridges."
This improved machine combines hoes for hoeing between drills, and
also transversely moving hoes for cutting out or thinning the crop.
The machine is characterized mainly by the lightness of its con-
struction, simplicity of its working parts, and the absence of any heavy
frame to carry the same.
It consists of a main axle to which the shafts
which the greater part of the machine is
are attached, and upon
mounted.
The machine is supported on two carrying wheels turning loose on the 1
axle on which they are so fitted that they may be adjusted at the proper
distance apart to suit the rows.
The hoeing between the rows is performed by four or any other
convenient number of hoes, each attached to a stem connected adjustably
(to regulate the depth of working to a hand lever mounted on the axle. 1
These hand levers are made double at the point where the axle passes
through them, so as to obtain a wide bearing on the axle, which prevents
any straining or displacement of the hoes laterally.
The hand levers and hoes are made readily adjustable along the axle,
so as to set the hoes to the proper distance apart to suit the width of 2
row. This is effected by a boss secured by set screw on the axle between
the double part of the hand lever. Each hoe is connected to a separate
hand lever, so that any one of them may be readily raised out of the
ground without disturbing the others, and the whole of these hoes may
be simultaneously lifted by a special hand lever carrying a cross rod 2
which takes under the entire set of hoes. This last-mentioned hand
lever and its cross rod are supported on a small wheel running on the
ground when not in use.
By replacing these hoes by other appliances suited to the purpose the
various operations above mentioned may be performed.
8
The thinning of turnips and other root crops is performed by one, two,
or more transverse hoes each operating on a separate row, so that several
rows may be thinned at once. Each of these hoes is made of octagonal
or other regular angular form, and is attached loosely by a pin passing
through its centre to the lower extremity of a vibrating arm, so that 8

page_text: should it strike against a stone or other obstruction it will readily turn
aside therefrom, and damage be avoided. This vibrating arm is hung
on a spindle mounted in a light frame attached to the axle, and
prolonged backwards in the form of a pair of handles, and supported on
small running wheels. The arm is vibrated by a crank on a small shaft
receiving motion from a bevel wheel loose on the axle, and coupled with
the main wheel by a clutch.
The crank pin is made adjustable, so that its radius may be varied,
and the connection of the vibrating arm and the connecting rod from.
crank are made by adjustable pins and slotted connections to enable the
extent of motion of the vibrating hoe and the depth of its working to be
regulated.
Instead of the hoe being made to vibrate it may be made to move in a
rectilinear direction, the arm to which it is attached and the spindle
also moving with it. This is effected by making the arm and its spindle
rigid in its bearings, and fitting the latter to slide to and fro in guides in
the frame.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Mitchell in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 14th December 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
MITCHELL, of Brandon, in the County of Suffolk, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said William Mitchell, Her special licence,
that I, the said William Mitchell, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said William Mitchell, 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

page_text: -
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "AN IMPROVED
MACHINE FOR HOEING AND CUTTING OUT TURNIPS AND OTHER ROOT CROPS, APPLICABLE
ALSO FOR HOEING GRAIN CROPS, AND FOR OTHER AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Mitchell, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describo 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 calender months next and immediately :
after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Mitchell, 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 Shoet
of Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is
to say :-
My Invention relates to an improved horse hoe for hoeing and cutting
out or thinning turnips and other root crops, and also applicable for
hoeing grain crops, for making ridges for turnips and other root crops,
for "moulding up and for splitting ridges."
This improved machine combines hoes for hoeing between drills, and
also transversely moving hoes for cutting out or thinning the crop.
The machine is characterized mainly by the lightness of its con-
struction, the simplicity of its working parts, the facility for cleaning
the hoes, and the absence of any heavy frame to carry the same. The
hoes work independently, and can be instantly put in or out of work
either separately or collectively.
The machine is supported on two carrying wheels turning loose on tho
axle, on which they are so fitted that they may be adjusted at the proper
distance apart to suit the rows. Upon this axle the whole of the working
parts of the machine are mounted.
The hoeing between the rows is performed by four or any other
convenient number of hoes, each attached to a stem connected adjustably
(to regulate the depth of working) to a hand lever mounted on the axle.

page_text: These hand levers are made double at the point where the axle passes
through them, so as to obtain a wide bearing on the axle, which prevents
any straining or displacement of the hoes laterally.
The hand levers and hoes are made readily adjustable along the axle,
so as to set the hoes to the proper distance apart to suit the width of
row. This is effected by a boss secured by set screw on the axle between
the double part of the hand lever. Each hoe is connected to a separate
hand lever, so that any one of them may be readily raised out of the
ground without disturbing the others, and the whole of these hoes may
be simultaneously lifted by a special hand lever carrying the cross rod
which takes under the entire set of hoes.
By replacing these hoes by other appliances suited to the purpose the
various operations above-mentioned may be performed.
The thinning of turnips and other root crops is performed by one, two,
or more transverse hoes, each operating on a separate row, so that several.
rows may be thinned at once. Each of these hoes is made of octagonal
or other polygonal form, and is attached loosely by a pin passing through
its centre to the lower extremity of a vibrating arm, so that should it
strike against a stone or other obstruction it will readily turn aside
therefrom, and damage be avoided. In certain circumstances a fixed
hoe of different shape is applied. Each vibrating arm is hung on a
spindle mounted in a light frame attached adjustably to the axle, and
supported on a small running wheel. Each frame is provided with a
handle oxtending backwards, by which the hoes may be instantly lifted
out of work when passing over a spot where the plant is thin. The
arm is vibrated by a crank on a small shaft receiving motion from a
bevel wheel loose on the axle, and coupled with the main wheel by a
clutch.
The crank pin is made adjustable, so that its radius may be varied,
and the connecting rod and vibrating arm are connected adjustably by
pins to enable the extent of motion of the vibrating hoe, and the depth
of its working to be regulated.
Instead of the hoe being made to vibrate it may be made to move in a
rectilinear direction, the arm to which it is attached and the spindle
LL L Mhis in affected by making the arm and its enindla

page_text: The accompanying Drawing shows a front perspective view of the
improved hoe as used for hoeing and cutting out root crops.
1
The main carrying wheels A turn loose on their axle B between
collars a secured by set screws, so as to be readily adjustable at any
desired distance apart. The axle B is straight and cylindrical without
any shoulders upon it, so that it serves as an axis for the levers, which
may be readily slid along it to the required position to suit the rows.
c, c, c, c, are any convenient number of hoes for hoeing between the
drills. They are connected adjustably to hand levers O, C, C, C, the
stalk of each hoe passing through a socket in the front end of the hand
lever, and secured by a set screw. The levers C are mounted to oscillate
on axle B. They have a sufficiently wide bearing or preferably a double
bearing on the axle, as shown. In the latter case they are forked or
made double at this point, and are retained at their proper distance
apart along the axle by a boss c¹ between the double bearing secured to
the axle by a set screw. D is a central hand lever, likewise pivoted on
axle B, and carrying at its front end a cross bar & which extends across 2
the machine beneath the front ends of levers C to lift the hoes c
simultaneously; d³ is a latch (seen in line and dotted positions) to hold
down the lever D when the hoes care to be permanently kept off the
ground; e is an L angle iron for the bar d to rest in; it is supported by
hangers e¹ from a wood cross bar E, to which the shafts F are attached
by a pivot at f. Cross bar E is supported in curved bracket arms G
mounted on the axle B. H is an arm attached rigidly to bar E, and
extending forward and connected by pins to the cross bar of the shafts;
or by removing the pins it may play freely, thus allowing the machine
to be readily steered behind by the attendant by means of one of the 3
hand levers. i, i, are the hoes for cutting out; they are both fitted and
operated alike. Each is attached to a vibrating arm fixed on a.
horizontal spindle & mounted in bearing blocks fitted in a light
slotted frame K. supported at the front part by the axle B (the frame
having bosses through which the axle passes), and at the rear by small 8
wheels travelling on the ground, and mounted in forked stems & con-

page_text: nected adjustably to the rear of frames K to regulate the depth of work
of the hoes i. I is a handle extending backwards from frame K, by
which the hoes i may be raised out of work when required; m is a
'connecting rod from a crank pin on a wheel n keyed on a shaft o
mounted in side extensions p, p, of frame K. At the front end of
shaft o is a bevel pinion in gear with a bevel wheel R loose on axle B,
and provided with a clutch r, which is made by a hand lever r³,
connecting rod ³, and clutch lever³ to engage with a similar clutch on,
wheel A, so that wheel R will rotate therewith, and so operate hoes i.
The blocks are adjustable in their frame K, and the connecting rod m is
connected adjustably by pins to stalks, so as to vary the position and
stroke of the hoes i to suit the drills.
For hoeing cereals a greater number of smaller hoes are substituted
for the hoes c, and the cutting out hoes are replaced by harrows
suspended by rods and chains.
By attaching a moulding plough instead of hoes c the machine is
adapted for the other operations before mentioned.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention
to be protected by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent
is,-
1st. The general arrangement of adjustable combined mangold,
turnip, and general purpose lever horse hoe, substantially as shown and
described.
• 2nd. Mounting the levers O, carrying hoes c, and the frames K
carrying the cutting out hoes all upon the axle B, so as to be adjustable
for various widths of rows, substantially as described.
-
3rd. Mounting the hoes o for hoeing between drills each on an
independent lever pivoting on the axle B, as and for the purpose
described, and the combination with the set of hoes and levers O
of the lever D and cross bar d for lifting the whole set of hoes at once,
as described.
4th. Hanging the vibrating cutting out hoes i on a spindle mounted
adjustably in frame K, so as to adapt the position of the hoes to the
width of drills, as described.

page_text: '
5th. Mounting the frame K carrying the vibrating cutting out hoes to
pivot on the axle B, as shown and described, so that the said hoes may
be readily lifted out of work when required.
6th. The vibrating cutting out hoes of polygonal form fitted to rotate
loosely on their stalk.
+ 7th. The application, in combination with the foregoing, of hoes for
cereals in lieu of hoes c, and a harrow for hoes i, and also of moulding
ploughs in the place of hoes c, all as and for the purposes described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Mitchell, have hercunto
set my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of December, in 1
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.