CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PREPARING LAND AND SOWING OR DEPOSITING GRAIN, SEEDS, AND MANURE
Year: 1841

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
LEWIS RHAM, of Winkfield, in the County of Berks, Clerk, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-fifth day of May, in the fourth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Lewis Rham, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said William Lewis Rham, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, and such others as I, the said William Lewis Rham, my
executors, administrators, 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
mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all Her.
Majesty's Colonies and Plantations. abroad, and in the Islands of Jersey,
Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PREPARING LAND AND SOWING OR DEPOSITING
GRAIN, SEEDS, AND MANURE;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso
obliging me, the said William Lewis Rham, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of
my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to
cause the same be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court. of Chancery within
part
six calendar, months next and immediately after the date of the said in

page_text: recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had,
will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Lewis Rham, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following.description thereof, reference
being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures
marked thereon (that is to say):-
F
My Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Preparing Land and
Sowing or Depositing Grain, Seeds, and Manure, consist in the peculiar
'construction of a machine suited to the performance of the several operations
of preparing the surface of the soil, dibbling the ground for the reception of
seeds, and of depositing seeds and manure in the dibbled holes with certainty
and regularity. This machine (with suitable appendages) is also capable of
being adapted to the ordinary operations of scarifying, drilling, and hoeing,"
and of clearing the ground from weeds, stubble, or roots. In the accompany-
ing Drawings, Fig. 1 represents a side elevation of the improved machine
complete; Fig. 2 is a horizontal view as it would appear from above; Fig. 3
is a vertical section taken longitudinally through the machine at a little
distance behind Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken transversely
through the machine behind the dibbles, in which several Figures the same
'letters of reference indicate the same parts of the.machine. A rectangular
frame of iron a, a, a, a, supports the whole of the mechanism, and, as a
carriage, runs upon four wheels: The larger or hinder wheels are fixed by
'keys or otherwise to a rotary axle b, b, which axle necessarily revolves as the
carriage passes over the ground, and from this rotary axle the moving power
is communicated for working the operative parts of the machine.
smaller, or fore wheels revolve loosely upon the ends of a bent shaft cc
affixed to a circular plate d, which plated and shaft chave a vertical axle e
fixed in them turning in the front part of the frame a; and at the top of this
axle a toothed wheel fis keyed for the purpose of being acted upon by an
endless screw 9, which turns the wheel and axle f; e, and thereby, steers for
inclines the position of the shaft c of the fore wheels, according to the direction
desired to be given to the carriage. Long curved levers h; h, hang upon-a
shaft i, i, at the hinder part of the frame, and are braced together in front by
bars j, j, which levers carry the crank axle k designed to work the-dibbles.
The bars j. j, are also employed to hold the angular shoes or pressers (d),
shewn detached at Fig. 7, which shoes precede the dibbles for the purpose of
working the soil and producing a smooth furrow in which the dibble holes are
!
The

page_text: to be made. These shoes are fastened to the bars j, j, by clamps. and keys,
as shewn in Fig. 3. The rotary motion of the crank, axle:k is derived from a.
toothed wheel / fixed on. the shaft.6 of the running, wheels;. the teeth of the,
wheel, taking into a pinion m keyed upon a short axle, appended to the under.
sides. of the levers.h, upon which short: axle is also affixed: a. toothed wheel n.
taking into a piniono keyed on the end of the crank axle: The ends of the:
levers h, h, are formed into-bent arms p, p, standing up. vertically.;: to the upper..
parts of these bent arms is attached a. transverse horizontal shaft. q. Upon
this shaft.q a series of small levers r, r, r,.r, hang loosely, and, each of these,
small levers is connected at its end by a joint to the upper part of one, of the
vertical shafts of, the dibbles s,.s, s, s. To these small levers there are also
connected severally by joints one of the crank, rods t, t, t, t, which extend from
the, several cranks on the shaft k. It will now be perceived that as the.
machine passes over the ground the rotation of the axle 6 of the running
wheels will, by the train of toothed gear l, m, n, and o, as described, cause the
crank axle k to revolve in an opposite direction to that of the running wheels,.
and in so doing, through: the agency, of the rods t, t, t, t, to raise and depress.
the small, levers r, r,,r, r; successively, by which the dibbles 8, 8,,,,s, will be.
forced down into the ground and lifted up after having made the dibble holes..
In order to avoid any strain to which the lever r might be subjected by, the.
point of the dibble meeting with a stone or other hard: substance in the ground,
near the end of the lever r there is a joint allowing it to give way under any
occasional extraordinary, resistance, but this at all other times.is kept firm.by:
a powerful spring, acting upon its upper edge. For the purpose of communi-
cating a. vibratory motion to the shaft of the dibble s from the crank rod t,
a strap piece.u, having a forked end, connects the dibble shaft and the crank,
rod together, and a pin set into the shaft of, the dibble,, and, passed through.
slots in the sides of the fork, confines their actions and produces a parallel
motion between the strap u and the lever r, and thereby, moves the dibble up,
and down. By the rotation of the crank k and the action of the compound,
levers described, the dibble shaft will be brought out of its perpendicular,
position into the, inclined situations shewn by dots in Fig. 3, and, made, to,
describe a curve;, but as the carriage at the same time is moving onward, the
point of the dibble will be rendered nearly stationary (though not perfectly so),
as to the spot of ground with, which, it is brought in contact., In. order,
therefore; to prevent the point of the dibble by a slight movement. raking, a
curved recess. in the ground, or its. shaft.being bent. by, the resistance, as the
carriage, advances a small degree of vibratory action or play is allowed to the
shaft of the dibble in the forked end of the strap u, which is supported and

page_text: regulated by the elastic force of the spring v affixed to the shaft of the dibble,
and acting against the end of the forked strap. By these means- the point of
the dibble, when pushed into the ground by the descent of the crank, will be
made to remain in the same spot until it is drawn up by the ascent of the
crank in the opposite part of its rotation. Whilst the point of the dibble i
in the ground it performs a rotary movement upon its shaft which is effected
by the following means:-The construction of the dibble is shewn in the
detached vertical view, Fig. 5, which exhibits the dibble and the depositing.
valves of the machine partly in section and upon an enlarged scale; and Fig. 6
is a view of the same, as seen from above. The bulb or point of the dibble is
formed at the bottom of a tubular socket, which may be called the dibble
shank. Into this tube is inserted the lower part of the dibble shaft, which is
connected at top to the lever r, and the shaft and shank are held together by
a pin passed through the shank, which acts in a circular groove in the lower
part of the shaft, as shewn in the section. At the upper part of the shank
there are cross arms w, w, one of which arms (whilst the dibble is stationary
in the ground), by the forward progress of the carriage, is acted
upon by'a
little curved tappet pin x, fixed in a horizontal guide plate z (see Figs. 2 and 3);
which tappet pin, by striking against the arm was the carriage advances,
causes the shank of the dibble to be turned one quarter round. The object of
this rotary movement given to the dibble is to produce smoothness in the
dibble hole, and prevent the dibble drawing up any portion of the earth as
it rises. The positions of the hoppers and valves by which the seeds are
deposited in the dibble holes, are shewn in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, and upon a
larger scale at b, c, d, &c., in Figs. 5 and 6. The hopper b; made of metal
or any other suitable material, containing the seeds, is contracted at bottom,
and its lower aperture is closed by a tumbler valve c, which is a cylinder
having a small recess to receive the proper quantity of seed to be delivered at
each operation through the spout d. The tumbler valve c is made to turn
upon its axis by means of a rod e, connected at one end to a crank on the end
of the axle of the tumbler, and at the other end to the moveable shield f which
encloses the spout. The working of the shield and tumbler valve is effected
bý a-rod 9, attached at one end by a socket and point to the shank of the
dibble, and at the other end by a joint to the movable shield f. As the dibble
vibrates in the manner described in reference to Fig. 3, the shield will be
made to move upon its joint pin h into the position shewn by dots in Fig. 5,
and consequently through the rod e to bring round the tumbler valve. The
seed held in the recess of the tumbler c will, by these means, be let fall into
the spout d; but at that instant the shield, being raised, will not allow the

page_text: seed to pass out below. When, however, the dibble comes to its vertical or.
quiescent situation in the ground, as described, the shield will be thrown back,
as.in Fig. 5, and the seed be pushed by the lower part of the spout through,
the aperture at bottom into the hole in the ground made by the preceding.
5. operation of the dibble; and this deposition of the seed in the previously.
dibbled hole will be effected with the most perfect exactness by the careful,
adjustment of the length of the rod g, as seen in Fig. 3. Behind the seed
hopper a similar hopper and valve of larger dimensions is placed for the
delivery of manure. i is the hopper containing the manure; k the tumbler
valve, by the turning over. of which the required quantity of manure is,
delivered into the spout 1. The movable shield m is worked by a rod n
connected to the movable shield f of the seed hopper, and consequently, as the
seeds are deposited by the shield fin one dibbled hole, the manure is pushed.
out of the shield.m in a similar way into the dibbled hole previously supplied
5.with seed. Hence it will be perceived that as the operations of the dibble,
the seed valve, and the manure valve are connected together and dependent
upon each other, they will act simultaneously. Four series of dibbles, seed
valves, and manure valves, are shewn in the Drawing at Fig. 2, as actuated
by one crank shaft, but I desire it to be understood that I do not intend to
.confine myself to any particular number. And it may be necessary to say:
that the depth to which the dibble shall be allowed to penetrate into the
ground may be regulated by turning the pinion o, o, which takes into the
segment, racks on the edges of the arms p; p, of the levers h, h, as shewn in
Figs. 1, 2, and 3. This is done by means of a handle and longitudinal
shaft p on the side of the machine, shewn in Fig. 2; this shaft having a bevel
pinion upon its end taking into a corresponding pinion on the end, of the
transverse shaft of the pinion o, o, and when the required position of the
levers.h, h, and their appendages is determined, they are held fast in that
position by a ratchet and catch q, which keeps the dibbles at their desired
height. The centres of the shaft i, whereon the levers h, h, hang, of the driving
✓ wheel 7 and of the pinion m, being nearly in a line, a small. degree, of elevation
and depression of the levers h, h, is allowed without throwing the driving
wheel and pinion..m out of gear; but if the levers are raised beyond a
certain height the pinion m will be drawn away from the teeth of the driving
wheel, when the operating parts of the machinery will be raised from the
ground, and their evolutions immediately stopped. The carriage may then be
moved upon its wheels from place to place without inconvenience, the dibbles
and valves remaining quiescent. In order to complete, the operation of sowing,
I attach to the back part of the machine, immediately behind the manure

page_text: hoppers, a series of forked-rakes r (shewn detached at Fig. 8), for the purpose:
of raking the earth over the holes in which the seeds and manure have been
deposited, and after these a roller s is made to follow, the axle of which turns:
in arms or bearings extending from the under part of the machine; for: the
purpose of pressing the ground. The steering or forward direction of the
carriage before alluded to is effected by turning the handle t; which works' the
horizontal shaft u, u; extending over the machine, the end of that shaft:
carrying the endless screw-g before mentioned, and seen in Figs. 2 and 3.
Lastly, I would observe that the improved; construction of feeding valves' for
depositing: seeds or manure, as above described, may be adapted to any
common drill, and opened and shut at regular periods by 'connecting the
rods g' and 'n or either of them with a crank moved by any convenient means;>
and that when the dibbles are taken off and the valves so connected to a
crank, the machine becomes an improved drilling machine. Also, that by
removing the shoes or pressers d, which are placed' in front of the dibbles and
attaching to the bars, j, other tools; as those shewn detached at Figs: 9;
and 10, the machine may be converted into a scarifier; skuffler, or hoe, by:
which the surface of the land may be cleared of weeds and laid open for the
operation of the drill or the dibble; and that the peculiarly formed tool,.
represented at Fig. 10, may be applied with great advantage as a harrow tine;
or as a coulter to a plough; for removing and turning over any weeds or other.
obstructions on the land....
5.
:
'
In witness whereof, I, the said William Lewis Rham, have hereunto set
my hand' and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-one.
W. L. (L.s.) RHAM.
.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same: Twenty-fourth day of
November, in the year above mentioned; the aforesaid William Lewis Rham
came before our Lady the Queen in. Her Chancery; and acknowledged the