IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR DIGGING, PRESSING, AND MOULDING PEAT
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Stettinius Clark, of 19, Warwick Street,
Charing Cross, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the In-
vention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR DIGGING,
PRESSING, AND MOULDING PEAT."-A communication from Abraham Fitts.
Sealed the 24th December 1856, and dated the 19th July 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Stettinius Clark at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
19th July 1856.
I, WILLIAM STETTINIUS CLARK, of 19, Warwick Street, Charing Cross,
in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR DIGGING,
PRESSING, AND MOULDING PEAT," (a communication), to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to various mechanical arrangements to be used in the
digging and preparation of peat as fuel, consisting of the following parts:-
Firstly, an apparatus consisting of a number of parallel blades secured to a
stem or handle, and a removeable one to cut the remaining side, and to turn
under the ends of the parallel blades for the purpose of cutting off the bottom
and holding the cut portion between the blades when they are raised.
The Invention consists, secondly, of a working or mixing apparatus for
making the peat into the muddy consistency known as necessary in making

page_text: "hand peat," in connection with a cylinder and piston, or equivalent device,
for pressing it through or into a mould.
The last part of the Invention consists in connecting these with a carriage
crane and receiving car or platform, and a track laid temporarily alongside of
where the peat is to be dug or the machine used; thus preparing the peat in 5
the best manner, and giving every facility to carry it off even if the meadow be
covered with water, the digger working equally well under water, and cutting
any desired depth.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed.
by the said William Stettinius Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 30th December 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
STETTINIUS CLARK, of 19, Warwick Street, Charing Cross, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the twentieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Stettinius Clark, Her special licence that I, the said William
Stettinius Clark, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said William Stettinius Clark, 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 MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR DIGGING, PRESSING, AND
MOULDING PEAT," a communication from Abraham Fitts, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said William Stettinius Clark, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
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 Stettinius Clark, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is

page_text: to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement:-
My Invention consists of the following parts:-First, an apparatus for
digging the peat, consisting principally of a number of parallel blades secured
to a stem or handle, and a moveable one to cut the remaining side and to turn
under the ends of the parallel blades, cutting off the bottom, and holding
the cut portion between the blades when they are raised.
Second, a working or mixing apparatus, for making the peat into the muddy
consistency known as necessary in making "hand peat," in connection with a
cylinder and piston, or equivalent device, for pressing it through or into
a mould.
Third, the connecting these with a carriage crane and receiving car or
platform, and a track laid temporarily alongside of where the peat is to
be dug or the machine used.
To construct my Invention, make a track or railway with two flat rails A, A,
(see Drawings, Fig. 1 and 2,) wide enough for a wheel to run on each edge of
a rail; connect these rails by cross ties B, B, as often as necessary to keep them
in place; make the car E, with its wheels C, C, with flanges outside, so as to
run on the outside edge of the rail A, and having two uprights F, F, to support
the piece G which sustains the upper end of the crane H. The crane H is
made with pivots at the top and bottom, so as to turn round and bring the
digger over the mixer. The digger is made of two or more blades I, I, I,
Fig. 1 and 3, connected at the top to the stems K, K, and having the back
corner at the bottom rounded, as shown at L and J, for the moveable knife or
fork M to play round. The knife M is made with thin arms, by which it is
attached to the blades I, I, by pins, which make the centres for it to turn on;
the position of these pins on the plates I, I, will vary according to the tenacity
of the material to be cut, and held between the plates, though in most cases
they may be placed a little back of the middle of the blade, and about the same
from the end as from the back. The knife M, or fork, as it may be, may
be made with prongs, as in the Drawings, or its lower edge may be straight
or serrated; in either case its whole length is made sharp to cut like the ends.
of the blades I, I,when they are forced into the peat, the knife M being in the
position shown at L. To the upper part of M, fasten the cord 7, passing
up to the upper part of the stems K, through a staple or pully, and
down in front as in Fig. 1. This digger is arranged to slide in the end
of the crane H, and has cords or chains fastened to the stem K, near the
top and bottom, passing over pulleys at P, O, and N, to the windlass R,

page_text: or similar device to force the digger down and raise it up. The mixer,
presser, and moulder, a section of which is shown at Fig. 2, consists of a
box or frame S, in which revolves the roll T, T, which is made in two
parts, connected by a stud or pin near one side, making a crank to give
motion to the piston U working in the cylinder V, which is placed under the
box S; to the top of the box S, put the hopper W, and in the roll T, T, put
studs or arms, to project a short distance from its surface, and the inside of S
may have similar ones, if thought best, to stand between the others. The
bottom of S, which is the top of the cylinder V, is made with a valve opening
downwards, consisting of a plate X, with a slot for the piston rod to play
through, and resting on the hooks or projections Z, Z, when open; the piston U
being made with a similar one excepting that the plate has no slot in it. The
bottom of the cylinder V is made converging, to facilitate the discharge of the
worked and pressed peat through the mould 5, at its bottom, which is made
round or of any desired form, and moveable by a screw or other means, so
that one may be removed and another substituted. The car 6, Figs. 1 and 2,
is made so as to run under the other car and the press; its wheels D, D, being.
made with flanges on the inside, so as to run on the inside edge of the rails
A, A. The operation of the machine is as follows:-Having laid the track
A, A, alongside of where it is to dig, run the car E to place with the crane,
swung so as to bring the digger where it is to cut, which is then forced down,
the knife M, being in the position shown in Fig. 1; this cuts the back, and the
blades I, I, I, I, the sides (and for the first cut it will be necessary to cut the
front with a spade or similar tool, but the others of the series will not need
anything but the digger); having cut the desired depth, on raising the digger,
the knife M catches and turns under the ends of the others, cutting off the
bottom and holding the whole between the blades I, I, the knife M being in
the position shown at J, Fig. 3; then raising the digger with its load up, and
swinging the crane round so as to bring it over the mixer, and pulling the
cord 7, it turns the knife M from under the peat, and allows it to fall into the
hopper W, when the crane may be swung back and another cut taken,
advancing the cars as often as necessary for convenience in cutting. The peat
falling into the mixer is thoroughly stirred and mixed or worked, and passing
into the cylinder and through the piston is pressed together, and through the
mould 5 into the car 6, at each action of the piston, when an attendant
distributes it on the car until loaded, when another is put in its place, the
loaded one being run off to a place of deposit; thus preparing the peat in
the best manner, and giving every facility to carry it off even if the meadow

page_text: be covered with water, the digger working equally well under water, and
cutting any desired depth, even two or three cuts if necessary to take out the
whole peat to the bottom. The power to work my machine may be either
hand power, for which purpose cranks are attached to the windlass R and
roll T, T, or by the addition of pulleys in lieu of cranks; steam or horse power
may be used by putting either on a part of the car E; and the movement of
the crane either way be made to move the car for each cut, by having a
ratchet on one of the wheels, and connecting by a rod to the crane or some
similar device, rendering the machine automatic. In some cases it may be
necessary to make the arms of the knife M to extend beyond the front edge
of the blades I, I, and cords or chains fastened to them, so that when the
digger is forced clear down, the knife M may be turned under the bottom by
pulling the cords or chains, thus insuring a cutting off the bottom in all cases,
though in most cases the knife will operate itself.
My mixer gives every facility for adding other substances, such as fine coal
or saw dust to the peat, and incorporating them therewith; whilst by thoroughly
working together the different layers of the peat, it renders it all of equal
value, whilst the process of working it has its well-known advantage in pre-
paring it to burn.
It will be evident, that this machine is not only designed for digging and
moulding peat, but by dispensing with the pulveriser and moulding portion of
the machine, it is particularly adapted to cutting ditches for draining swamp
and wet lands; the crane and car for this purpose may be slightly altered, the
car need not be made so permanent or the crane as high; and when it is desir-
able to have the material taken from the ditch for the purpose of forming a
ridge along the side, the arm of the crane will be required to be longer, so as
to carry the cutters further from the car.
Fig. 4 shows the machine as applied to a hand implement, its operation
being as follows:--Press the right hand upon the handle a, which draws the
back knife M in an upright position ready for cutting, press the implement
into the earth as with an ordinary spade as far as desirable, then draw it
directly back by the handle a³, by so doing the back knife M is turned under
the bottom, cutting the material off and holding it when it is drawn out, as
will more fully appear by reference to the Drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective
view; Fig. 2 is a section of the mixer, presser, and moulder, and Fig. 3 shows
the form and parts of the digger; Fig. 4 shows the implement as applied to
a band tool.
I am aware that cranes are in common use, and that machines for working

page_text: clay and other substances are old, therefore I do not claim them as such, but
only in connection with the other parts described in the first and second clause
of this Specification; what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters
Patent, is,
First, I claim the moveable knife or fork M, as described, and shown in
Drawings Figs. 1, 3, and 4.
Second, I claim the digger, consisting of two or more blades in combina-
tion with a moveable knife or fork to cut the third side or sides, constructed
and operating as above set forth.
Third, I claim the combination of the digger, the crane, and the platform,
or cars to hold them and receive the peat.
Fourth, I claim the apparatus for mixing, pressing, and moulding, as
described.
Fifth, I claim the combination and arrangement of the digger, the crane,
the mixer, and the pressing and moulding apparatus, and the receiving car,
constituting a compact portable machine for digging, mixing, pressing, and
moulding, and removing the peat or earth, constructed and operating as above
set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Stettinius Clark, have hereunto
hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of December, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
set my
WILLIAM STETTINIUS CLARK.
(L.S.)