IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR HOEING TURNIPS AND OTHER CROPS, PARTLY APPLICABLE
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Beckwith, of Thornton Watlass, Bedale,
.
in the County of Yorkshire, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY FOR HOEING TURNIPS AND OTHER CROPS, PARTLY APPLICABLE
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Beckwith
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 20th June 1874.
I, WILLIAM BECKWITH, of Thornton Watlass, Bedale, in the County
of Yorkshire, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR HOEING TURNIPS AND OTHER CROPS, PARTLY
APPLICABLE TO OTHER DRAUGHT AGRICULTURAL MACHINES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to improved arrangements of machinery for
hoeing turnips and other similar crops by means of a rotary or vibrating
cutter. For this purpose the hind wheels of the machine give motion
to bevil wheels to actuate a shaft on which a rotary cutter is mounted
transversely to the furrow, in order to cut or hoe out the young plants

page_text: and leave tufts, the cutter being formed in sections with open spaces
between them.
A vibrating or reciprocating cutter may be substituted for the rotary
cutter previously described, according to the character of the land or
crop to be operated upon.
Disc wheels are arranged to run on each side of the furrow to aid in
keeping it together and to remove those plants that are on either side of
the centre. A lever is arranged for throwing the bevil wheels in and
out of gear, other levers being arranged for raising the cutters out of the
ground and for changing the direction of the fore wheels.
The draught is so arranged that the horse or other animal is placed on
one side of the centre of the machine-so as to walk between the furrows,.
levers being so arranged as to adjust and compensate the sideway action
upon the frame and axle of the machine.
The machine is for one or more rows. In double rows the horse
valks in the furrow in the centre of the machine. These machines are
made with shafts if required, the bevil wheel pinion and shaft will move
sideways so as to cut the turnips or other crops in uneven rows or broad
east and are worked by a lever, the turnips can be left in tufts any
distance required by means of the large cogged wheel.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Beckwith in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 19th December 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
BECKWITH, of Thornton Watlass, Bedale, in the County of Yorkshire, 2
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, 3
give and grant unto me, the said William Beckwith, Her special
license that I, the said William Beckwith, my executors, admini-

page_text: strators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Beckwith,
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
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR HOEING TURNIPS AND OTHER CROPS,
PARTLY APPLICABLE TO OTHER DRAUGHT AGRICULTURAL MACHINES," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Beckwith, my
executors 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 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 William Beckwith, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to improved arrangements of machinery for
hoeing turnips and other similar crops by means of a rotary or vibrating
cutter. For this purpose the hind wheels of the machine give motion
to bevil wheels to actuate a shaft on which a rotary cutter is mounted
transversely to the furrow, in order to cut or hoe out the young
plants and leave tufts, the cutter being formed in sections with open
spaces between them.
A vibrating or reciprocating cutter may be substituted for the rotary
cutter previously described, according to the character of the land or
crop to be operated upon.
Disc wheels are arranged to run on each side of the furrow to aid in
keeping it together and to remove those plants that are on either side of
the centre. A lever is arranged for throwing the bevil wheels in and
out of gear, other levers being arranged for raising the cutters out of
the ground and for changing the direction of the fore wheels.
The draught is so arranged that the horse or other animal is placed

page_text: furrows, levers being so arranged as to adjust and compensate the
sideway action upon the frame and axle of the machine. This part of
the Invention is applicable to other draught agricultural machinery.
The machine may be arranged either for one or more rows.
In double
rows the horse walks in the furrow in centre of the machine. These
machines are made with shafts if required, the bevil wheel pinion and
'shaft will move sideways so as to cut the turnips or other crops in
uneven rows or broadcast, and are worked by a lever. The turnips can
be left in tufts any distance required by means of a large cogged
wheel.
And in order that my Invention may be clearly understood and
readily carried into practice, I will proceed to describe the Drawings.
Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a machine for hoeing turnips
and other growing crops, arranged and constructed in accordance with
my improvements.
Figure 2 also shows a perspective view of a similar machine on a
smaller scale.
:
a, a, is the framing of the machine which is drawn by a horse or 2
other animal attached thereto by a chain b, one end of which is
connected to the machine by a hook at c and the other end to the
lever d, so that the horse can walk between the furrows on one side of
the machine. Holes are formed in the lever d in order to adjust the
position of the chain 6 to suit the nature of the land and crop to be a
operated upon. The lever d which receives one-half of the draft of the
horse is mounted so as to move freely on a pin d¹ carried by the arm d²
fixed to the framing a in Figure 1; but in the other, Figure 2, the
lever d is mounted so as to move freely on the upright e. The shorter
arm of the lever d presses upon one end of the lever f carried by and
moving on a pin on the arm f¹ fixed to the frame a. The other end of
the lever is connected in Figure 2 by the rod g to the hind axle h on
the side opposite to the draft of the horse. This arrangement of the
draft is for the purpose of keeping the machine in a straight line whilst
the horse is pulling on the opposite side.
L

page_text: In Figure 1 one end of the lever f is forked so as to embrace the side
framing a, and thus act thereon to keep the machine in a straight line
in place of connecting it by the rod to the hind axle as previously
described.
The action of the machine is as follows:-The hind wheels give
motion to bevil wheels j, j, which drive a shaft k on which a rotary
cutter ¹ is mounted. The blades of the cutter ¹ enter the land across
the furrow and hoe out the young plants, leaving tufts where the
spaces k*, k*, occur between the blades of the cutter ¹, as shown in
Figure 3.
The rotary cutter k¹ may be readily removed from the axis %, and a
crank and a vibrating or oscillating cutter / substituted therefor, the one
being better suited for operating on some land and crops than the other.
m is a handle for throwing the driving wheels ; in and out of gear,
n being another lever handle for causing the front end of the frame a to
slide up and down the upright e by acting on the rod and levers e*, e*, to
raise the front end of the machine and cutters out of the ground. The
lever o is employed for moving the cutters sideways when required;
is a handle for steering or changing the direction of the fore wheels e¹;
q are discs which run on each side of the furrow to keep it together,
and to move away those plants that are on each side of the centre
thereof.
P
This turnip hoeing machine is made with a wrought-iron frame.
The fore wheel axles slide with bolts to suit either turnips in rows or
broadcast. The steerage on the fore wheel shaft acts so as to turn
the machine or draw it to the centre of rows when working on hill
sides.
The machine is operated with the lever n worked either by foot or
hand to raise or settle it, both to suit uneven rows or to raise it over any
plants or encumbrance when working. The disc wheels q placed in
front of the hoes reduce the rows and press down fold yard manure, so
that the hoes (oscillating or revolving) leave the turnips in bunches
without tearing up the manure.
The oscillating cutter is used for stoney or rough land and the
revolving cutter for fine land. The revolving cutter leaves turnips
closer or wider apart by closing or widening the hoe with bolts. The
་

page_text: oscillating cutter leaves turnips wider or closer apart by raising the
crank pivot.
The working parts of the machine will move either right or left by
means of the lever o to suit hill sides, so that the hoe always works over
the row. The back wheels move on the axle closer or wider (according to
the row) by means of washers. Two ratchet wheels are fixed on the hind
wheel shaft to drive the machine when working, but throw themselves
out of gear when turning or moving backward. The spur wheel can be
thrown in and out of gear by means of the lever m in the clutch; this.
inches
wheel has three rows of cogs so that turnips can be left 9, 12, or 15
apart. Sliding the pinion on the shaft by means of a key, wedge, or
screw it will hoe turnips according to the above scale; this shaft turns
the hoes taking the revolving cutter off by means of a nut and
putting the eccentric on it moves the oscillating cutter by working in
a slot.
The draft equalizing apparatus d, f, is fixed on side of the machine
to make it draw straight as the horse walks in a furrow by the side of
the machine. The horse is yoked to a chain from the equalizer to
crook in centre of machine. The seat is fixed on the handles at the
back. A break is attached to machine to stop it from running down
hill. The cogged wheels or shaft will slide from side to side of frame
by means of the lever o to admit a connecting rod from eccentric to
oscillating cutter. The double row machine runs on three wheels, the
fore wheel running down centre of furrow. The machinery of this is the
same as the one row machine, with this exception, the horse walks in
front of machine and does not require the equalizer.
Either of the above described machines is made with shafts if
required.
The method for equalizing the side draft is equally applicable to other
agricultural machines.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention and the manner of
performing or carrying the same into practice, I would have it under-
stood that I do not confine myself to the exact details herein described,
but what I claim is,—

page_text: the manner and for the purposes herein-before described and represented
in Figures 1 and 2 of the Drawings hereunto annexed.
Secondly. I claim the improved arrangement and application of
mechanism for equalizing the side draft of agricultral machines, sub-
stantially in the manner herein-before described and represented in the
Drawings hereto annexed.
In witness whercof, I, the said William Beckwith, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of December, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
four.
Witness,
J. G. TONGUE,
Patent Agent,
WILLIAM BECKWITH. (L.S.)
34, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane.
W.C.