in turnip thinning machines
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 24th June, 1887
Complete Left, 23rd Mar., 1888
Complete Accepted, 27th Apr., 1888
I, THOMAS WARDLAW, of Tough Mill, Dunfermline, Fifeshire, Miller and Farmer,
do hereby declare the nature of my invention to be as follows:-
My Invention has reference to improvements in turnip thinning machines, and
comprises a new or improved motion, or arrangement of mechanism, for thinning out
the young turnips transversely from the tops of the drills into the furrows, auto-
matically as the machine traverses in the furrows over the drills of turnips, and
which will effect this object in a better and more expeditious manner than heretofore.
And the nature and novelty of my invention consist in a new arrangement of
mechanism whereby the thinning blades are made to rotate continuously in a
horizontal manner while the machine traverses in the furrows over the drills of
young turnips.
In carrying my improvements into practice, under one arrangement 1 mount in
suitable pillow block or bush bearings, in a suitable horizontal raising and
lowering framing, preferably oscillating on the running spindle of the front rollers,
or that of the drawing wheels, in any ordinary construction of turnip thinning or
scarifying machine, preferably drawn by shafts and one horse traversing the centre
furrow and behind the sets of front rollers, which run on the curved sides of
each drill, or the drawing wheels, a transverse horizontal shaft. This shaft is
rotated by a chain or sprocket wheel preferably mounted on its outer end, from an
endless chain passed over a corresponding wheel mounted at the end of the front
rollers, or their spindle, or the spindle of the drawing wheels; or the transverse
shaft might be actuated through toothed wheel gearing from the rollers, or the
drawing wheels of the machine.
The horizontal transverse shaft has a bevel wheel mounted on it behind each set
of rollers, which gears into and drives a horizontal bevel pinion mounted on the
upper end of a vertical spindle above the centre of each drill of young turnips. This
vertical spindle is supported and carried in hollow standards or brackets secured to
the machine framing, and carries a crosshead or horizontal framework at its lower
end, to which are attached vertical rods having horizontal blades or hoes at their
lower ends. When a crosshead is used, two vertical rods and blades would preferably
be fitted to it, one at each of its outer ends, so as to revolve horizontally and

page_text: alternately between the same division of plants successively as the machine is traversed,
and thus ensure the thorough thinning of the young turnips. But one, four or more
thinning blades may be used as found most desirable.
When the machine was traversed by the horse in the furrows between the drills,
the horizontal shaft would be rotated, and transmit its motion through the bevel
gearing to the vertical spindle above each drill carrying the crosshead and knives or
hoes, and these would rotate in a continuous horizontal manner and thin out the
young turnips as the machine was traversed along the drills.
The vertical rods carrying the blades or hoes are made adjustable on the crosshead
so as to be raised or lowered, and also shift laterally or horizontally to leave the
number of plants desired; and the distance between the plants can be regulated by
having different sizes of power transmitting wheels, and thus by doubling the speed
at which two hoes are used only one hoe is necessary, or by lessening the speed by
half, four hoes or blades would be required.
Movable clutches would preferably be fitted behind the bevel wheel or wheels on
the transverse shaft, so as to shift these out and into gear when desired. And angled
or curved oscillating knife blades or scarifiers would preferably be mounted at the
centre or inner sides of the front rollers adjustable on the same oscillating frame as
the thinning blades and their driving gear so as to cut or shape off the upper sides of
the drills just behind the rollers and in front of the thinners and thus give the latter
a more regular path of young turnips to act on. The height of the frame carrying
the thinning knives and scarifiers, would be regulated by levers or other equivalent,
which could raise the thinning blades and scarifiers quite off the drills, as for turning
and reversing the machine at the ends of the furrows. Or otherwise the vertical
revolving spindles only may be raised through their frames and bushes and driving
wheels when the frame was desired to be stationary.

page_text: Improvements in Turnip Thinning Machines.
I, THOMAS WARDLAW, of Tough Mill, Dunfermline, Fifeshire, Miller and Farmer,
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 the following
statement in writing, reference being Ind to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
My said Invention has reference to improvements in turnip thinning machines, and
comprises a new or improved notion or arrangement of mechanism, for thinning out
the young turnips transversely from the tops of the drills into the furrows, auto-
matically as the machine traverses in the furrows over the drills of turnips, and which
will effect this object in a better and more expeditious manner than heretofore.
And the nature and novelty of my invention consist in a new arrangement of
mechanism whereby the thinning blades are made to rotate continuously in a
horizontal manner while the machine traverses in the furrows over the drills of
young turnips.
And in order that my said invention, and the manner of performing or carrying
the same into effect or practice may be properly understood, I have hereunto appended
an explanatory Sheet of Drawings, in which the same reference letters are used to
indicate corresponding parts in all the figures where shown, the arrows indicating
the direction of rotation or motion of the moving parts. Figures 1 and 2 are a side
elevation and plan respectively of a two drill turnip thinning machine having fitted
to it my new mechanism for thinning out the young turnips transversely from the
tops of the drills into the furrows automatically with the traverse of the machine.
And Figure 3 is an elevation of the rear end of the machine showing my new
mechanism fitted thereto, and corresponding to Figure 1. While Figure 4 is an
inverted plan to a larger scale than shown in Figures 1 to 3, of one of the frame for
carrying one of vertical spindles and thinning blades, and actuating gearing.
Referring to these Drawings:-In carrying my improvements into practice, under
this arrangement, the machine has an ordinary transverse light bar frame A above,
secured to the back ends B₁ of the two shafts B, for a one horse machine, preferably
made of tube iron for lightness and strength, while the main axle C is secured as a
stationary round bar to the lower end of the frames D D¹, at the outer ends, and in
the centre respectively for the conical rollers E, E¹, preferably joined together by an
eye at E to roll loose over the sides of the two drills indicated by the dotted
lines 1--- 1 and 2-2 in Figure 2, so that they can separate to suit the width of the
drills, all stayed by the usual vertical and horizontal stays B2, B3, which carry the
new or improved working parts of the machine as hereinafter described.
By these improvements, over each drill I mount a horizontal shaft a preferably
short and projecting out laterally in a vertical bow frame b carried on parallel rods b¹
on the rear end of angled stays b bolted to the raising and lowering framing 6 to 63
preferably oscillating at (on the axis C of the front rollers E, E, (or it might be

page_text: that of the drawing wheels, in any ordinary construction of turnip thinning or
scarifying machine), preferably drawn by shafts B B', and one horse traversing the
centre furrow between the drills 1---1 and 2---2. The shaft a over each drill is
rotated by a chain or sprocket wheel a¹ preferably mounted on its outer end, from an
endless chain c passed over a corresponding wheel a" mounted at the outer end of
the rollers E, E (or the spindle of the drawing wheels if these are used); so as to be
actuated by them when pushed in by the clutch handle d at the outside carried on the
oscillating frame 3 or this transverse shaft a might be actuated through toothed
wheel gearing from the rollers E, E, or the drawing wheels of the machine when
these are used. Each horizontal transverse shaft a has a bevel wheel a² mounted on
its inner end behind each set of rollers E E, which gears into and drives a horizontal
bevel pinion a mounted on the upper end of the vertical spindle d carrying the
crosshead or disc frame e of the thinners f below, all above the centre of each drill of
young turnips. This vertical spindle d is supported and carried in the hollow
standards or brackets b, secured to the oscillating framing 1, 3, 3, and carries the
horizontal disc frame or crosshead e on its lower end, to which is attached the
vertical rods e, f, having horizontal blades or hoes at their lower ends, three
blades being shown in the Drawings, but with six arms and eyes e¹ equally
divided round the disc frame e for carrying the horizontal eyes and arms
of the vertical spindles f¹of the hoes f. When a crosshead is used two vertical
rods and blades would preferably be fitted to it, one at each of its outer ends, so
as to revolve horizontally and alternately between the same division of plants
successively as the machine is traversed, and thus insure the thorough thinning of the
young turnips. But one, two three or more thinning blades f, f¹, may be used as
found most desirable fitted in the eyes e¹ of the disc e. The blades or hoes fare
preferably formed of elliptical, or semi-circular shape in horizontal section with the
segmental edge in front, as shown in Figure 2.
When the machine is traversed by the horse in the furrows 3--3 between the
drills, 11 and 2 -- 2 each horizontal shaft a is rotated, and transmits its motion
through the bevel gearing a², a³, to the vertical spindle d above each drill, carrying
the cross arms e, e¹, and blades or hoes f. f, and these would rotate in a continuous
horizontal manner as dotted-in in Figure 2 and thin out the young turnips from the
tops of the drills as the machine was traversed along the drills. Thus the same blade
or hoef as it revolves would recross the drill or line of plants between or through the
same division or space it made when crossing in its front or forward position, taking
or removing any extra plants left, and leaving only those required.
The vertical rods f1 carrying the blades or hoes are made adjustable in their
sockets e² and secured by pinching screws at 11, on the crosshead or disc e so as to
be raised or lowered to suit the depth of plants required to be left, and also shift
laterally or horizontally by the spindles e, working in the slotted bosses e¹ of the
cross arms e and adjusted and secured by pinching screws e", to leave the number of
plants desired; and the distance between the plants and number of blades or hoes
used are regulated by having different sizes of power transmitting chain wheels a¹
mounted on the end of the horizontal shaft a in proportion to the wheels all and
the diameter of running cones E E. Thus if when two blades are used the chain
wheels a have ten teeth, for three blades the rotating speed would be reduced by
placing on the horizontal shaft a a larger wheel with fifteen teeth, and for four
blades a wheel with twenty teeth; and in the same ratio for different speeds, the
driving chain wheels all on roller shaft being preferably always the same size,
and shifted in and out as a clutch in the cone pulley E to put the thinning hoe
mechanism into action. Or otherwise a movable clutch could be fitted behind the
sprocket or bevel wheels a¹, a², on the transverse shaft a so as to shift these out and
into gear when desired. And two angled or curved oscillating knife blades or
scarifiers g, 'g, are preferably mounted on one spindle 'g at the centre or inner
sides of the front rollers E E', adjustable on the oscillating frame 6³, so as to
cut or shape off the upper sides of each drill just behind the rollers E E¹, and
in front of the thinners, ¹, and thus give the latter a more regular path of

page_text: young turnips to act on. The oscillating frame 6 to 63 carrying the thinning
blades f,, and scarifiers g, g, is raised or lowered by the hanging vertical rods h
and hand levers to regulate the height of the blades f¹. The oscillating
frame b¹ to 63 is raised and lowered as described by the hanging rods h and
levers h¹, and a series of holes are formed in the upper part of the rods h for
securing them by a pin or bolt 2, to each hand lever h¹, of the machine, and by
raising the hand lever h¹ into the notches i at the top of the brackets, bolted
on the upper horizontal transverse frame A, the knives are taken out of action above
the drills 1 and 2 for turning at the ends of the fields.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what 1 claim is :-
:-
First. The general construction, or the arrangement and combination of the parts
of a machine, fitted with horizontal rotating blades or hoes for thinning out the
young-turnips transversely from the tops of the drills automatically as the machine
is traversed, substantially as herein described, in reference to and shown in the
accompanying Drawings.
Second. In turnip thinning machines, the fitting and use of blades or hoes
which rotate horizontally on vertical spindles across the turnip drills, as the machine
is traversed, and thus give the advantage that the same blade or hoe as it revolves
traverses or recrosses in the opposite direction on its return traverse, the drill or
line of plants, between or through the same division or space it made when
crossing in its front or forward position or traverse, and thus thin or remove the
plants in a duplex manner, substantially as herein described in reference to and
shown in the accompanying Drawings.
Third. In turnip thinning machines, the fitting of portable or removable horizontal
rotating blades on a crosshead, disc, or frame, so that they can be adjusted
vertically and horizontally or radially to suit the depth and number of plants
required to be left in the drills, substantially as and in the manner herein described,
in reference to and shown in the accompanying Drawings.
Fourth. In turnip thinning machines, the fitting of horizontal rotating blades or
hoes mounted on a crosshead or disc of a vertical spindle rotated by bevel gearing,
in combination with means for regulating the distance between, the plants, consisting
in the use of different sizes of chain wheels, or gearing mounted on a horizontal
power-transmitting shaft, to suit the speed and number of blades or hoes to be
used, and forward traverse of the machine, substantially as and in the manner
herein described, in reference to and shown in the accompanying Drawings.
Fifth. In turnip thinning machines, the fitting of horizontal rotating blades on
an oscillating frame which is adjusted vertically by rods and hand levers so as
to regulate the height of the plant thinning blades or take them quite up off the
drills when not in use, substantially as and in the manner herein described in
reference to and shown in the accompanying Drawings.