IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SOWING SEED
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles John Cox, of Ravensbourne Lodge,
Southend, Lewisham, in the County of Kent, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SOWING SEED."
Sealed the 18th April 1871, and dated the 18th February 1871.

page_text: is placed into the tube at its top, and at the foot of the front part of the
tube is an aperture with its base on the curve of the gutter, through this
aperture the seed passes on to the gutter and descends along it to be
distributed. Over the aperture is a slide, by which the quantity of seed
to pass through the aperture can be regulated by covering the passage t
at the will of the person using it. The bottom of the gutter is formed
in a curve, by which the seed is thrown along the centre line and guided
from the tube through the aperture to the fore part of the gutter for
distribution. The top of the tube may be covered over with a hinged
lid, and provision may also be made for allowing a bandle to be attached 1
to the exterior of the tube when desired.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Charles John Cox in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 17th August 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
JOHN Cox, of Ravensbourne Lodge, Southend, Lewisham, in the County
of Kent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of February, 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 Charles John Cox, Her special
license that I, the said Charles John Cox, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I the said Charles John Cox, 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 APPARATUS FOR SOWING SEED," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Charles John Cox, 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

page_text: calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Charles John Cox, 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 :-
The object of this Invention is to enable seeds to be distributed evenly
by hand, and to be spread thinly or thickly as the nature of the seeds
may require.
For this purpose I construct a seed sower of a tube having a gutter
projecting from its base at an obtuse angle. The seed to be distributed
is placed into the tube at its top, and at the foot of the front part of the
tube is an aperture with its base on the curve of the gutter. Through
this aperture the seed passes on to the gutter and descends along it to be
distributed. Over the aperture is a slide by which the quantity of seed
to pass through the aperture can be regulated by covering the passage at
the will of the person using it. The bottom of the gutter is formed in a
curve by which the seed is thrown along the centre line and guided from
the tube through the aperture to the fore part of the gutter for distri-
bution. The top of the tube may be covered over with a hinged lid, and
provision may also be made for allowing a handle to be attached to the
exterior of the tube when desired.
In order that my said Invention may be most fully understood and
readily carried into effect. I will proceed to describe the Drawings.
Figure 1 is a side view, Figure 2 a front view, and Figure 3 a longi-
tudinal section of the apparatus.
C
a is a metal tube forming the chamber for containing seed; b is a
gutter projecting from its base. There is an aperture at the foot of the
front part of the tube a for the escape of the seed from the tube into the
gutter, and a slide c is fitted to this opening to regulate the flow of the
seed, making it slower or more rapid as the person using the apparatus
may desire; d is a cone fixed in the tube a; it prevents the seeds
becoming blocked in the tube so as not to flow freely into the gutter b,
as some sorts of seeds are liable to do if the cone be omitted; e is the

page_text: lid or cover of the tube a. The apparatus is held in the hand when in
use, and as the sced flows down the gutter the apparatus is so directed
that the seed falls from the end of the gutter on to the land where it is
required. If the seeds to be sown are small it is advantageous to mix
them with dry sand before putting them into the tube a, and seeds that
tend to adhere the one to the other may be similarly treated.
I claim the construction of apparatus for sowing seed, substantially
as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles John Cox, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fourth day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.
CHA³. J. COX. (L.S.)
4th Aug. 1871.