IMPROVEMENTS IN PLOUGHS OR MACHINES FOR RAISING OR LIFTING POTATOES, FOR CLEANING OR FORKING LAND, AND FOR PLOUGHING AND PUL- VERIZING LAND AND SOWING SEED
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Corbett, of Wellington, in the County of
.
Salop, Agricultural Implement Manufacturer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN PLOUGHS OR MACHINES FOR RAISING OR LIFTING
POTATOES, FOR CLEANING OR FORKING LAND, AND FOR PLOUGHING AND PUL-
VERIZING LAND AND SOWING SEED."
Sealed the 18th February 1876, and dated the 7th September 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Corbett at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
7th September 1875.
I, SAMUEL CORBETT, of Wellington, in the County of Salop, Agricul-
tural Implement Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PLOUGHS OR MACHINES FOR RAISING OR
LIFTING POTATOES, FOR CLEANING OR FORKING LAND, AND FOR PLOUGHING AND PUL-
VERIZING LAND AND SOWING SEED," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates principally to improvements on Inventions
described in the Specifications of Letters Patent granted to me on the

page_text: 9th day of March 1872, No. 731, and the 1st day of July 1874,
No. 2282.
My present Invention consists, first, of the improvements herein-after
described in ploughs or machines for raising or lifting potatoes. Instead
of using two large travelling wheels, as represented in the Specification
of the Patent dated July 1st, 1874, with the foot, skim, or share placed
behind the said wheels, I place one travelling wheel fitted with chain,
wheel, or other driving gearing, for the purpose of driving a revolving
fork, or forks, or arms at a quicker speed than the travelling wheel.
These forks are made to revolve in a vertical plane and at right angles
or at an angle greater than a right angle to the ridge of the potatoes to
be lifted. Two or more revolving forks are supplied to each plough or
machine, one fork for light land or early potatoes, and another fork for
strong land and heavier crops. By the modifications described the
plough or machine is made much lighter, more simple, less expensive,
more easily managed, and more effective in action.
My Invention consists further of the following improvement in the
guiding of ploughs for raising or lifting potatoes:-For the purpose of
guiding the plough along the centre of the ridge of potatoes to be raised,
I fix in front of the plough and on opposite sides two conical barrels or
rollers, one in advance of the other. The larger ends of the rollers are
respectively situated outside the ridge, and by causing the rollers to
approach to or separate from one another they may be made to fit or
clip small or large ridges. By this means the plough is kept steady in
the centre of the ridge, and the work better performed than when the
ordinary guide roll is employed.
My Invention relates further to ploughs for cleaning land of stubble
or twitch. This part of my Invention consists in fixing a travelling
wheel behind the plough body to run in the bottom of the furrow; this
wheel is fitted with gearing for the purpose of driving a revolving fork
or forks at a speed quicker than the travelling wheel, the said fork or
forks being fixed diagonally behind the mould board for the purpose of
forking out all twitch or rubbish on to the surface of the land.
My Invention relates further to ploughs for ploughing, and pul-
verizing, and breaking up land, and working it into a seed bed, and
sowing the seed therein at one operation. For these purposes I fix a
cultivator line in front of the plough body to run in the centre of the

page_text: furrow to be ploughed for the purpose of breaking up the furrow before
the latter comes in contact with the mould board. I also fix behind the
mould board a travelling wheel to run in the bottom of the furrow; this
travelling wheel is fitted with chain wheel or other gearing for driving
a revolving fork at a quicker speed than the travelling wheel. The
fork is arranged diagonally across the furrow, and by running at a
quicker speed than the travelling wheel, the soil operated on first by the
cultivator tine and afterwards by the mould board is broken up by the
said revolving fork into a perfect seed bed; and for the purpose of con-
verting the plough last described into a combined pulverizer and drill
plough I connect a seed box to the plough behind the travelling wheel
to sow seeds into the furrow. The sowing apparatus is driven from the
travelling wheel which drives the revolving fork.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Samuel Corbett in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 1st March 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SAMUEL
CORBETT, of Wellington, in the County of Salop, Agricultural Imple-
ment Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Samuel Corbett, Her special
license that I, the said Samuel Corbett, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Samuel Corbett, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN
PLOUGHS OR MACHINES FOR RAISING OR LIFTING POTATOES, FOR CLEANING OF
FORKING LAND, AND FOR PLOUGHIng and PulveriZING LAND AND SOWING SEED,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that 1, the said Samuel Corbett,

page_text: my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my,
or their, or one of their hands and scals, 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Samuel Corbett, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement thereof, that is to say:-
My Invention relates principally to improvements on machines
described in the Specifications of Letters Patent granted to me on the
9th day of March 1872, No. 731; and the First day of July, 1874,
No. 2282.
My present Invention consisists, first, of the improvements herein-after
described in ploughs or machines for raising or lifting potatoes. Instead
of using two large travelling wheels, as represented in the Specification
of the Patent dated July 1st, 1874, with the foot, skim, or share placed
behind the said wheels, I place one travelling wheel fitted with chain,
wheel, or other driving gearing, for the purpose of driving a revolving
fork, or forks, or arms at a quicker speed than the travelling wheel.
These forks are made to revolve in a vertical plane and at right angles
or at an angle greater than a right angle to the ridge of the potatoes to
be lifted. Two or more revolving forks are supplied to each plough or
machine, one fork for light land or early potatoes, and another fork for
strong land and heavier crops. By the modifications described the
plough or machine is made much lighter, more simple, less expensive,
more easily managed, and more effective in action.
My Invention consists further of the following improvements in the
guiding of ploughs for raising or lifting potatoes:-For the purpose of
guiding the plough along the centre of the ridge of the potatoes to be
raised I fix in front of the plough and on opposite sides two conical
barrels or rollers one in advance of the other. The larger ends of the
rollers are respectively situated outside the ridge, and by causing the
rollers to approach to or separate from one another they may be made
to fit or clip small or large ridges. By this means the plough is kept

page_text: steady in the centre of the ridge, and the work better performed than
when the ordinary guide roll is employed.
My Invention relates further to ploughs for cleaning land of stubble
or twitch.
This part of my Invention consists in fixing a travelling
wheel behind the plough body to run in the bottom of the furrow; this
wheel is fitted with gearing for the purpose of driving a revolving fork
or forks at a speed quicker than the travelling wheel, the said fork or
forks being fixed diagonally behind the mould board for the purpose of
forking out all twitch or rubbish on to the surface of the land. This
arrangement may be applied to the potato raising plough herein first
described.
My Invention relates further to ploughs for ploughing, and pul-
verizing, and breaking up land, and working it into a seed bed, and
sowing the seed therein at one operation. For these purposes I fix a
cultivator tine in front of the plough body to run in the centre of the
furrow to be ploughed for the purpose of breaking up the furrow before
the latter comes in contact with the mouldboard. I also fix behind the
mould board a travelling wheel to run in the bottom of the furrow; this
travelling wheel is fitted with chain wheel or other gearing for driving
a revolving fork at a quicker speed than the travelling wheel. The fork
is arranged diagonally across the furrow, and by running at a quicker
speed than the travelling wheel, the soil operated on first by the cul-
tivator tine and afterwards by the mould board is broken up by the said
revolving fork into a perfect seed bed; and for the purpose of converting
the plough last described into a pulverizer and drill plough, I connect a
seed box to the plough behind the travelling wheel to sow seeds into the
furrow. The sowing apparatus is driven from the travelling wheel
which drives the revolving fork.
Having explained the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to
describe, with reference to the accompanying Drawings, the manner in
which the same is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in side elevation, and Figure 2 in plan a plough
or machine for raising or lifting potatoes constructed according to my
Invention.
a is the single travelling wheel running on the side of the ridge and
ncar the bottom thereof, the said travelling wheel turning in bearings.

page_text: is
in the double beam or frame 6 of the plough (see the plan, Figure 2).
The periphery and marginal portions of the travelling wheel a are made
of the zig-zag figure represented, whereby the said wheel bites or obtains
a firm hold of the soil as it travels, and is not liable to be choked.' C
the revolving fork driven by the said travelling wheel a at a quicker
speed than that at which the said travelling wheel moves. The fork c
works in a vertical plane and is inclined to the ridge of potatoes, or the
said fork may be situated and work at a right angle to the ridge, if
desired. Instead of a single fork c two or more forks may be driven
from the travelling wheel a. Instead of making the tines of the fork c
as represented the ends of the said tines may be doubled or forked; and
in place of fixed tines adjustable tines or arms may be used.
I
I prefer to drive the revolving fork (or forks) by means of bevil
gearing d, e, but chain or other driving gearing may be employed. The
bevil gearing d, e, consists of a large bevil wheel d on a loose axis
gearing with the smaller bevil wheel e on the axis of the revolving
fork c;
a circular box encloses the bevil wheel e. The loose
bevil wheel & is thrown into and out of gear with the shaft of the
travelling wheel a by the sliding clutch g engaging with the clutch h
on the loose axis of the bevil wheel d; the sliding motion of the clutch g
is effected by the handle i and lever, the latter working in an inclined
slot in the said clutch g. When the handle i and lever k are in the
positions represented the bevil wheel d is out of gear with the travelling
wheel a and no motion is transmitted to the rotating fork c. By pushing
the handle i inwards or towards the front of the machine the lever k
works in the inclined slot and advances the clutch g on the shaft, and
engages its teeth with the teeth of the clutch on the bevil wheel d;
the said bevil wheel d is thereby put into gear with the shaft of the
travelling wheel a, and on the motion of the travelling wheel a quicker
speed is transmitted through the bevil gearing to the rotating fork c.
In front of the travelling wheel a is a foot skim or share m for
loosening or breaking up the ridge of potatoes prior to the action of the
rotating fork c upon the said ridge and potatoes. The said foot-skim or
share m is connected to the beam of the plough in the usual way.
n, p, are the conical barrels or rollers for guiding the plough along the
centre of the ridge of potatoes to be raised. These barrels or rollers n, p,
are fixed in front of the plough, one barrel or roller being fixed in
advance of the other, as represented. These guiding barrels or rollers

page_text: are capable of adjustment both vertically and horizontally in the
following manner:-Working through boxes q, q, on the beam 6 of the
plough are horizontal rods r, r, upon which other boxes 8, 8, are capable
of adjustment; the last-named boxes 8, carry vertical rods t, t, and the
latter support the conical barrels or rollers n, p. By sliding the hori-
zontal rods, r, in their boxes q, q, the rollers or barrels n, p, may be
made to approach to or be separated from one another, and by sliding
the vertical rods carrying the rollers or barrels the vertical height of
the said rollers may be adjusted. The rods 1, r, and t, t, are fixed in
their respective positions by set screws. In using the plough the larger
ends of the rollers n, p, are respectively situated outside the ridge, and
by the lateral adjustment described the said rollers may be made to fit
small or large ridges and ridges of different heights.
By combining with potato raising ploughs the adjustable barrels or
rollers n, p, the plough is kept steady in the centre of the ridge, and the
work is much better performed than when the ordinary single guide
roll is employed.
For the purpose of cleaning land of stubble or twitch I combine a
single travelling wheel with a revolving fork or forks moving at a
quicker speed than the travelling wheel, in combination with a plough
body in front of the said travelling wheel, substantially as described and
represented with respect to the potato raising plough, Figures 1 and 2,
excepting that I remove the guide barrels or rollers n, p, and substitute
therefor two ordinary guide wheels. In this case the single travelling
wheel situated behind the plough body or share works in the bottom of
the furrow.
Figure 3 represents in plan a plough for ploughing and pulverizing
and breading up land and sowing seeds at one operation constructed
according to my Invention. a is the single travelling wheel running in
the bottom of the furrow. This travelling wheel drives, in the manner
hereiu-before described, a revolving fork c (or forks) at a quicker speed
than the travelling wheel. In front of the travelling wheel is a mould
board, and at the front of the plough is a tine v, which runs in the
centre of the furrow. When the plough is in use the tine v first breaks
up the furrow, which is afterwards operated upon by the mould board u,
and finally the soil is thoroughly broken up by the action of the
revolving fork c (or forks) so as to form a perfect seed bed.
To convert the plough into a pulverizer and drill plough I fix a seed

page_text: box to behind the travelling wheel a to sow seeds into the furrow. The
sowing apparatus is driven by a band a passing over a pulley y on the
axis of the travelling wheel a, the said band working over a pulley on
the axis of the sowing apparatus in the seed box w. The seed box 10
carries at front one or more ordinary coulters.
Having now described the nature of my Invention and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do
not limit myself to the precise details herein described and illustrated,
as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of my
Invention, but I claim as my Invention,-
First. The improvements in ploughs or machines for raising or lifting
potatoes herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 of the
accompanying Drawings, that is to say, the combination of a single
travelling wheel for driving one or more revolving forks or a series of
arms, the points of the said fork or forks or arms travelling at a much
higher velocity than the periphery of the travelling wheel, with a foot,
skim, or share in front of the said travelling wheel, substantially as and
for the purpose described and illustrated; also the application of the
said single travelling wheel, revolving fork or forks or arms driven at
a higher speed than the said travelling wheel, and a foot, skim, or
share in front of the said travelling wheel for cleaning or forking
land.
Secondly. The improvements in guiding ploughs or machines for
raising or lifting potatoes, berein-before described and illustrated in
Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying Drawings; that is to say, fixing in
front of the plough two adjustable conical barrels or rollers, one in
advance of the other, the larger ends of the said conical barrels or
rollers being respectively situated outside and made when in use to clip
the ridge, whereby the plough is guided and maintained very accurately
in the middle of the ridge, substantially as described and illustrated.
Thirdly. The improvements in ploughs or machines for ploughing and
pulverizing land and working it into a seed bed, herein-before described
and illustrated in Figure 3 of the accompanying Drawings; that is to
say, the combination of the single travelling wheel, rotating fork or
forks, or series of arms driven from the said travelling wheels, plough
body, and cultivator tine, arranged in the relative positions represented;
also the combination with the plough represented in Figure 3 of a seed

page_text: box driven from the travelling wheel for converting the plough into a
pulverizer and drill plough.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Corbett, have hercunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of February, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
six.
Witness,
GEORGE WYCHERLEY CORBETT,
Wellington,
Salop.
SAMUEL CORBETT. (L.S.)