IMPROVE- MENTS IN AGRICULTURAL OR FARM IMPLEMENTS OR APPARATUS
Year: 1859

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Waller at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 8th February
1859. Partly a communication from William Rogers, residing at
Toronto, Canada West.
I, WILLIAM WALLER, of Chesterfield, in the County of Derby, Mechanical
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN AGRICULTURAL OR FARM IMPLEMENTS OR APPARATUS," (partly a com-
munication from abroad,) to be as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention comprehends improvements in various agricultural imple-
ments or apparatus used in farm operations, and has generally for object to
reduce their cost and increase their efficiency.
An improvement in ploughs consists in casting together the beam and
head, or the beam and body, or the beam and mould board, or the sole plate,
or slade and share. According to another improvement the sole plate or
slade and share are forged together.
Another improvement consists in fastening the coulter to the share or to the
sole plate, or in uniting these parts by casting, welding, or otherwise. The
coulter so connected may have its upper end inclined forward or backwards,
and in some cases attached to the beam, in others not. By another improve-
ment, the beam and head of the plough may be united by "fishing," and the
fishing plates may form the body of the plough.
An improvement in harrows consists in constructing them with inclined
bars, branching in opposite directions from longitudinal bars lying in the line
of draught. These longitudinal centre bars are jointed, so that the two halves
are capable of folding together; a pair of such folding halves constitute a
single harrow, two or more of which may be arranged side by side.

page_text: An improvement in reaping machines consists in mounting the reel (by
means of which the grain is laid to the cutters) upon a frame capable of easy
adjustment. By another improvement the reel blades are mounted upon
arms, which are made capable of easy adjustment as regards their inclination
to the axis, so that the sweep or radius of the blades can be adjusted to suit
different circumstances.
By another improvement the motion of the endless web for laying the cut
grain at the side of the machine is made alternately fast and slow, so as to lay
the grain in bundles. The requisite motion may be obtained by means of
eccentric wheels or other suitable gearing, or instead of this plan a tray or
cradle may be arranged at the end of the endless web to hold the grain until
the quantity to form a bundle is accumulated, when it may be deposited by
the withdrawal of the tray.
An improvement in horse or hand rakes consists in placing a slide on
the teeth which project forward, such slide having attached to it the ends of a
couple of cords or chains, which pass to pulleys, and return to be attached by
their other ends to the rake head, the rake being drawn by means of the
pulleys. As the hay or corn to be collected accumulates, it presses the slide
back towards the head, and when necessary it is discharged by slightly retard-
ing the movement of the head by means of a handle fixed to it, the slide
moving forward again. By a slight movement also of the handle the rake is
made to clear the rig after the discharge.
An improvement in presses for cheese, curds, fruit, or other substances,
consists in constructing such presses so that the weight of the cheese or other
matter produces the pressing action. To this end the apparatus is mounted
upon a table, which is carried by rods or levers jointed to a standard in such a
way as to keep the table horizontal. When the cheese or curd in the mould
is placed upon the table, the cover secured, and the support removed, the
whole tends to descend, but in doing so imparts an angular motion to the
levers, by which angular motion of the levers the presser is made to act, being
connected thereto for that purpose. The compressing force may be increased
by placing a weight upon the table, or one or more of the levers may be
extended beyond the standard to receive weights by which the compressing
force may be regulated.