IMPROVE- MENTS IN PLOUGHS AND OTHER CULTIVATING IMPLEMENTS.
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Reid, of Monkton Miln, in the County
of Ayr, North Britain, Farmer, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN PLOUGHS AND OTHER CULTIVATING IMPLEMENTS.'
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Reid at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
5th May 1871.
I, THOMAS REID, of Monkton Miln, in the County of Ayr, North
5 Britain, Farmer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PLOUGHS AND OTHER CULTIVATING IMPLEMENTS," to be
as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention has mainly for its object the fitting of ploughs and
other cultivating implements with improved appliances admitting of

page_text: controlled than hitherto.
The Invention also comprises a mode of combining two ploughshares
so as to obtain an improved ploughing action.
One improvement relates to the forward wheel, which in the case of
ploughs generally runs in the previously made furrow. This wheel
runs on a horizontal or inclined axle or stud formed on the bottom end
of a vertical or nearly vertical spindle, and this spindle is held in a
journal in a plate or saddle mounted on a shaft fixed to the forward
part of the plough beam or frame and projecting out laterally therefrom.
The spindle has a toothed sector fixed on it, with which there gears a
worm on a long rod extending back to the rear of the plough, and the
forward end of which is set in eyes on the plate or saddle. By turning
the rod the worm on it is made to act on the toothed sector so as to
adjust the wheel angularly, and as the wheel is carried on the plate
or frame in a position cither forward of or behind the shaft projecting
from the plough frame, the rod may also be used as a lever to depress
or raise the wheel relatively to the plough frame.
By a further improvement the plate or saddle carrying the wheel is
made capable of sliding out or in on the shaft projecting from the
plough frame, and a lever jointed to the plough frame has its outer
end jointed to a nut on a screwed part of the rod, so that as the rod
is turned and the nut moved by the screwing action it makes the lever
change its position angularly and so thrust out or draw in the plate
or saddle and with it the wheel, which last is thus adjusted out or in
to vary the width of furrow. Or the adjustment for width of furrow
may be made by means of a screw on the projecting shaft worked by
a pair of bevil wheels or by a worm and wheel from the rod extending
to the rear of the plough.
A second improvement consists in mounting the muzzle or hake of
a plough or other implement drawn in a similar way on a joint so
as to be capable of horizontal angular motion, and in fitting it with
a lever or other appliance whereby it can be adjusted from the rear
of the plough. The appliance preferred is a longitudinal rod screwed
near its front end and acting on a nut connected to the muzzle lever;

page_text: and in the case of ploughs this same screwed rod may, by means of
other nuts and links or connections, be made to act simultaneously on
one or more movable coulters such as are described in the Specification of
Letters Patent granted to the present applicant, and dated 19 February
1870 (No. 491).
A third improvement consists in a peculiar combination of a pair
of ploughshares for cach furrow, two such pairs being by preference
combined in one implement, although a single pair or more than two
pairs may be so combined. The forward share of the pair is shaped,
proportioned, and set so as to cut down to about half the full depth
of the furrow and turn the surface carth over into the bottom of the
previous furrow. Whilst the rear share is shaped, proportioned, and
set to cut down to the full depth of furrow and lift the subsoil or lower
earth and turn it over upon the top of the surface earth turned over
just in advance of it. With some soils when it is not desirable to bury
the surface earth the mould board of the forward share may be extended
and shaped to throw its earth across the previous furrow and upon the
earth turned out of the bottom thereof.
What is herein-before described as the first improvement is appli-
cable to wheels on either or both sides of ploughs or other cultivating
•
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Reid in the Great Scal Patent Office on
the 3rd November 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
REID, of Monkton Miln, in the County of Ayr, North Britain, Farmer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Thomas Reid, Her special licence
that I, the said Thomas Reid, my executors, administrators, and assigns,

page_text: on Sheet 1 of the Drawings, Figure 1 being a plan, and Figure 2 a side
elevation, comprising the front end of the plough beam or frame 1 and
the wheel 2 with the details in connection. This wheel 2 runs on a
horizontal or inclined axle or stud 3 formed on the bottom end of a
vertical or nearly vertical spindle 4, and this spindle 4 is held in
a journal or socket 5 in a plate or saddle 6 mounted on a shaft 7 fixed
to the forward part of the plough beam or frame 1 and projecting out
laterally therefrom. The spindle 4 has a toothed sector 8 fixed on it
with which there gears a worm 9 on a long rod 10 extending back
to the rear of the plough, and the forward end of which is set in
cycs 11, 12, on the plate or saddle 6. By turning the rod 10 the
worm 9 on it is made to act on the toothed sector 8 so as to adjust
the wheel 2 angularly, and as the wheel 2 is carried on the plate or
frame 6 in a position either forward of the shaft 7 projecting from the
plough frame 1, as shown, or behind that shaft, the rod 10 may also
be used as a lever to depress or raise the wheel 2 relatively to the
plough frame.
By a further improvement the plate or saddle 6 carrying the wheel 2
is made capable of sliding out or in on the shaft 7 projecting from the
plough frame 1, and a lever 13 jointed to the plough frame has its outer
end jointed to a nut 14 on a screwed part of the rod 10, so that as the
rod 10 is turned and the nut 14 moved by the screwing action it makes
the lever 13 change its position angularly, and so thrust out or draw
in the plate or saddle 6 and with it the wheel 2, which last is thus
adjusted out or in to vary the width of the furrow. Different positions
of the wheel 2 are indicated by dotted lines as due to the combined
action of the sector 8 and lever 13.
By another modification the adjustment of the wheel 2 to suit the
width of furrow may be made by means of a screw formed on the
projecting shaft 7 and worked by a pair of bevil wheels or by a worm
and wheel from the rod 10 extending to the rear of the plough.
My second improvement consists in mounting the muzzle or bake of
a plough or other cultivating implement drawn in a similar way on a
joint so as to be capable of horizontal angular motion, and in fitting it
with a lever or other appliance whereby it can be adjusted from the
rear of the plough. This improvement may obviously be applied in a

page_text: great variety of ways, but a convenient and practically successful modi-
fication is shown on Sheet 2 of the accompanying Drawings. Figure 3
is a plan of a two-furrow plough as fitted with my adjustable muzzle,
and Figure 4 is a vertical section of the forward part of the plough
frame 1, and showing the connection of the muzzle 15 and other details
therewith. The appliance I prefer to use is a longitudinal rod 16
screwed near its front end and acting on a nut 17 connected by a rod 18
to a pair of arms 19 forming a duplex bell-crank lever with the muzzle
arms 20, as will be easily understood from the Drawing. The muzzle 15
is formed on the ends of the arms 20, which with the arms 19 work
above and below the plough frame 1 on a joint pin 21. The screwed
rod 16 may by means of other nuts and links or connections be made
to act simultaneously on one or more movable coulters such as are
described in the Specification of Letters Patent granted to me and dated
19 February 1870 (No. 491). Or the screwed rod 16 may be used
instead of a separate rod 10 herein-before described with reference to
Sheet 1 of the Drawings for acting on the forward wheel 2 so as to
move it inwards or outwards upon the laterally projecting shaft 7 fixed
to the plough frame. For this purpose a pair of links 22 jointed to the
muzzle arms 20 are connected to the saddle 6 which slides on the shaft 7
and carries the vertical spindle 4 of the wheel 2. With this arrange-
ment a simultaneous and similar lateral movement is given to the
muzzle 15 and wheel 2, but the connecting links 22 are formed with a
number of pin holes, so that the distance of the wheel from the muzzle
can be altered as may be required for different widths of furrow.
Having thus particularly described my said Invention, and the
manner of performing the same, I have to state that I do not restrict
myself to the precise details herein described or delineated, but that
what I believe to be novel and original, and claim as the Invention
secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
1. The fitting of the forward wheels of ploughs or other cultivating
implements with improved adjusting or shifting appliances substantially
such as are herein described and delineated.
2. The mounting of the muzzle or bake of a plough or other culti-
vating implement drawn in a similar way on a joint so as to be capable
of horizontal angular motion, and the fitting of it with a lever or other

page_text: appliance whereby it can be adjusted. from the rear of the plough,
substantially as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Reid, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this First day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.
Witness,
EDMUND HUNT,
Patent Agent,
Glasgow.
THOS. REID. (L.S.)