IMPROVEMENTS IN PLOUGHS AND OTHER CULTIVATING IMPLEMENTS
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Smith, of Little Woolstone, in the County
of Bucks, Farmer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PLOUGHS AND
OTHER CULTIVATING IMPLEMENTS."
Sealed the 29th April 1856, and dated the 11th January 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION. .left by the said William Smith at tlie Office
of the, Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 11th January
1856.
.I, WILLIAM SMITH, of Little Woolstone, in the County of Bücks, Farmer,
do hereby declare the nature of the Invention.for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PLOUGHS
AND. OTHER CULTIVATING IMPLEMENTS " to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in ploughs and other
cultivating, implements, which are put in motion when in use by steam or
other power, actuating a barrel or barrels, on to and off.which ropes are wound.
And my present improvements have for their object means of turning a plough
or cultivating.implement at the end of its course. For this purposo I arrange
the fore part of the plough or other implement.in such manner that the two.
ends of the ropes used may.be both attached to the fore.part of the plough.or
implement,. and so that the end. of the rope-which is next to come into.use,.as
the draft. rope of the plough or implement, shall, by the working of the engine
or power, first act to turn the plough or implement, and the: end of the ropes

page_text: previously acting as the draft rope shall pass from the front as the plough
or implement turns into position; and this is accomplished by having the
coupling by which the two ends of the ropes are attached, formed with three
points of draft; one (the forward one) for the moving the plough or imple-
ment forward, and two side ones (one for each rope), into which respectively
the two ropes alternately pass as the implement comes to the end of a course;
and the end of the rope which for the time being has been out of action by
acting on one of the side points of draft, causes the plough or implement to
turn when it arrives at the end of a course, whilst the rope which has been
acting as the draft rope passes from the front to its side point of draft, and
remains there out of action till the plough or implement has again completed
a course.
Another improvement consists in applying to such descriptions of ploughs
or implements a leg or support, which is ordinarily above the land; but when
the plough or implement comes to the end of a course, the leg or support is
lowered, so as to come on the land, by which the hinder part of the plough
or implement is raised out of the land, and then the plough or implement is
turned on the leg or support, so as to come into position for performing a
return course.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Smith in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
11th July 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
SMITH, of Little Woolstone, in the County of Bucks, Farmer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the nineteenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Smith, Her special licence, that I, the said William
Smith, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said William Smith, 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 "In-

page_text: one of
PROVEMENTS IN PLOUGHS AND OTHER CULTIVATING IMPLEMENTS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said William Smith, my executors or admi-
nistrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or
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 Smith, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in ploughs and other
cultivating implements, which are put in motion when in use by steam or
other power, actuating a barrel or barrels, on to and off which ropes are
wound. And my present improvements have for their object means of turning
a plough or cultivating implement at the end of its course.
For this purpose
I arrange the fore part of the plough or other implement in such manner
that the two ends of the ropes used may be both attached to the fore part
of the plough or implement, and so that the end of the rope, which is next
to come into use, as the draft rope of the plough or implement, shall, by the
working of the engine or power, first act to turn the plough or implement and
the end of the rope, previously acting as the draft rope, shall pass from the
front as the plough or implement turns into position; and this is accomplished
by having the coupling, by which the two ends of the ropes are attached,
formed with three points of draft; one (the forward one) for the moving the
plough or implement forward, and two side ones (one for each rope), into
which respectively the two ropes alternately pass as the implement comes to
the end of a course; and the end of the rope, which for the time being has
been out of action, by acting on one of the side points of draft, causes the
plough or implement to turn when it arrives at the end of a course, whilst
the rope which has been acting as the draft rope passes from the front to its
sido point of draft, and remains there out of action till the plough or imple-..
ment has again completed a course.
Another improvement consists in applying to such descriptions of ploughis
or implements a leg or support, which is ordinarily above the land; but when
the plough or implement comes to the end of a course, the leg or support is
lowered, so as to come on the land, by which the hinder part of the plough or
i

page_text: implement is raised out of the land; and then the plough or implement is
turned on the leg, or support, so as to como into position for performing a
return course.
Having thus stated the nature of my said Invention, I will procced more
fully to describe the manner of performing the samė.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figures 1 and 2 show a plan and side view of the fore part of a plough of
tilling implement, arranged with apparatus suitable for carrying out the first
part of my Invention. In this arrangement, a is the end of a wire rope,
which is for the time being acting as the draft rope for moving the plough or
implement forward, and is therefore at the most forward part of the draft
instrument & applied to the fore part of the plough or implenient, whilst the
wire rope b is for the time being.out of action. In working, the wire rope a
is wound on to a drum or capstan, whilst the wire rope b is unwound off a
drum or capstan, which mode of working wire ropes to move ploughs or
tilling implements by steam is not new;. and the object of my Invention is
so to construct and apply apparatus, that when so using wire ropes, that is,
changing the winding and unwinding from one rope to another, the first act
of winding shall so act; by the mode of attachment of the ropes, as to cause
the plough or tilling implement to be turned round, and then come into
action as the draft rope; whilst the other rope, which before was acting as the
draft rope, shall go out of action, by passing from the fore part of the draft
apparatus to the side thereof, and remain out of action till the plough or
implement has again completed a course, and then that it shall come again
into action, and first act by its draft on the side of the draft apparatus, so as
to turn the plough or implement laterally, and then as the plough or imple-
ment comes round, the: same rope shall come to the fore part of the draft
apparatus, and become for the time being again the draft rope, whilst in the
act of turning the plough or implement, the other rope. as it conses to be
for the time being the draft rope, shall go from the fore part of the draft
apparatus, and lie at the side thereof, till it is again wound up and again
comes into action as the draft rope. And I would state that I believe
that although the form of the draft apparatus applied to the fore part of
a plough or tilling instrument may be greatly varied, the one shown at
Figures 1 and 2 will be found. to be the most convenient. And I would state
that it is not essential that the ropes a and b attached to the draft apparatus
should be separate, as they may be.connected by an eye or connecting link.

page_text: Figures 8 and 4 show a plan and side view of another form of draft
apparatus a, in which the ends of the ropes a and b are both attached to the
pin c, and whilst the rope a is for the time being the draft rope, the rope b
is out of action at the side of the apparatus ; but so soon as the plough or
implement comes to the end of a course, and the rope 6 is the one wound up,
the first action of its draft is, as in the former case, to aid in turning the fore
part of the plough or implement out of the straight line; and as the plough
or implement is turned partly by the rope b and partly by the ploughman, the
end of the rope b will come to the fore part of the plough, whilst the end of
the
rope a will, in going out of action as the draft rope, pass from the fore part
of the draft apparatus and rest at the side thereof.
:
Figures 5 and 6 show a plan and side view of another form of "ülraft
apparatus, having ropes a and b attached thereto in such manner that they
will act as above described. In the above arrangements, the fore wheels of
the plough or tilling implement are lifted just off the ground when the plough
or implement is turning, by the ploughman leaning on the handles or levers at
the back of the plough or tilling implement, and when ploughing, the plough
or implement is guided by the aid of a lever or handle fixed to the upright
axle d, as is shown applied to the tilling implement, Figure 11; but in. place
thereof, the draft apparatus may be so arranged that the ropes a and b may in
succession, as the plough or implement comes to the end of a course, turn the
axle d as they come into action for the time being as the draft rope,
and so render unnecessary the lifting of the front of the plough or tilling
implement.
Figures 7 and 8 show a plan and side view of one form of draft apparatus
applied to the upright axle d, and Figures 9 and 10 show another form
of draft apparatus for this purpose. In both of these arrangements the rope a
is for the time being acting as the draft rope, whilst the rope b is at the side
of the draft apparatus and out of action.
In order to facilitate the turning of ploughs and tilling instruments at the
end of a course, when worked by means of ropes a and b, in the manner above
described, it is desirable to have mechanical apparatus to aid the ploughman
in lifting the ploughs or tilling instrument out of the furrows. For this purpose
I apply a leg or support, which can be readily placed down on the land, and
by the aid of which and suitable mechanism, the plough or the teeth of any
tilling implement may be readily raised out of the land.
Figure 11 shows the side view of a tilling implement. e is a leg or upright,
which when not in use is raised and kept to its highest position; but when the

page_text: plough or implement to which it is applied comes to the end of a course, the
leg is lowered, by turning the handle f, which by the pinion 9 gives motion to
the upper part or stem of the foot, by taking into the rack thereon; or the
lowering of the leg may be by other convenient mechanism. By these means
the plough or the teeth of the implement will be raised out of the land, and
facilitate the turning of the plough or tilling instrument by the wire ropes,
guided by the ploughman, as above explained.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I make no claim to any
of the parts separately; but what I claim is,―
First, the combining apparatus as herein described for applying the draft to
ploughs and other tilling implements when actuated by steam power.
And, secondly, I claim the mode of applying legs or supports to ploughs and
tilling implements to facilitate their being turned at the end of a course.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Smith, have hereunto set my 1
hand and seal, this Tenth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
Witness,
S. CARPMAEL.
WILLIAM SMITH. (L.S.)