IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY EMPLOYED Digara RAISING AND TREATING PEAT AND BOG EARTH OR SOIL
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Hodges, of Penny Hill, Bagshot, in the County
of Surrey, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY EMPLOYED
Digara RAISING AND TREATING PEAT AND BOG EARTH OR SOIL."
Sealed the 29th November 1864, and dated the 17th June 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Hodges at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 17th
June 1864.
I, JAMES HODGES, of Penny Hill, Bagshot, in the County of Surrey, do
hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
EMPLOYED IN DIGGING, RAISING, AND TREATING PEAT AND BOG EARTH OR SOIL,"
to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in machinery employed in
digging, raising, and treating peat and bog earth or soil. For these purposes
machinery is combined, as hereafter described, in such manner that a con-
tinuous trench is excavated, and the peat or bog earth or soil is raised there-
from, and when treated by suitable mechanism, by which the peat or bog earth
is subjected to pressure and subdivision to extract the moisture, and moulde
or formed into blocks or bricks, is carried away from the machine from one or
both sides, to be formed or stacked in hacks or otherwise to be dried.
The machine consists of a long rectangular vessel constructed by preference
of iron, so as to be water-tight, and capable of floating when placed on water.
This vessel is decked over, or formed with suitable platforms or stagings to
[Price 8d.]

page_text: support the working machinery placed and fixed thereon, and which is
actuated by suitable gearing driven by a steam engine or other suitable power
carried by the vessel. At the fore end of the vessel one or more parallel
rotatory cutter shafts or axes are applied, which are driven by the steam engine
or other power; these shafts are capable of being raised or lowered in order
to regulate the depth at which the peat or bog earth shall be cut. The edges
of the cutters radiate from the centres of their respective shaft, and the cutter
blades are of a spiral form, so that as their edges penetrate the peat or bog
earth or soil, the portion thereof progressively is caused by the form of the
blades of the rotating cutters to move onwards within a shield or boxing
enclosing the spiral blades, and eventually to be forced through gratings or
narrow passages in the hinder part of the shield or boxing where the blades
work, by which means the peat or bog earth is not only subjected to con-
siderable pressure, but its fibre is cut or broken, and this cutting or breaking
is increased to any extent required by means of rotating or other blades, which
cut or break up the fibre of the peat or bog earth as it is forced through the
gratings or narrow passages before mentioned. The peat or bog earth is next
raised or moved by means of an endless chain of buckets or carriers or by
other mechanism to the hopper of a machine, where the peat or bog earth is
subjected to pressure by a succession of rollers after the peat or bog earth has
been received into recesses around a cylinder, the succeeding rollers acting
nearer and nearer to the axis of the cylinder, in order that each roller may act
effectively on the contents of each recess, notwithstanding the contents have
been acted on and pressed by the previous roller or rollers. The recesses in
the cylinder are perforated with numerous small holes, so that the water as it
is pressed from the peat or bog earth may get away from the recesses in the
periphery of the cylinder. The pressed peat or bog earth after it has passed
under and has been acted on by the pressure rollers is delivered from the
recesses by plungers applied to the recesses, the stems of which plungers pass
through the bottoms of the recesses, and are acted on by cam surfaces, or
otherwise, so as to force them outwards to deliver the compressed peat or bog
earth from the recesses. Between the several recesses there are radial knives
or blades, which divide the peat or bog earth in the several recesses one from
the other, so that the contents of each recess is when delivered separate from
the quantity in the next recess. These radial blades or knives are forced
outwards as the cylinder rotates, and after the recesses between which the
radial knives or blades work have been filled with peat or bog earth. In some
cases these compressed or moulded masses of peat or bog earth will be in a
condition to be dried, in these cases the moulded and compressed masses are

page_text: 1
received from the machine on to an endless apron or carrier, by which they
are carried over the side of the vessel, and when taken therefrom they are
stacked in hacks or otherwise on the side or sides of the trench. In other
cases compressed masses of peat are by other parts of the machinery sub-
mitted to the action of rotating or other knives or instruments, by which the
compressed masses are subdivided and again forced through gratings or narrow
passages, the fibre during its progress being further cut and broken, as before
described, after which the peat or bog earth is again formed into blocks by
similar machinery to that above described, or by other forms of machines,
such as have before been used for compressing peat or bog earth or other
materials into blocks or bricks, and such blocks are to be carried away from
over the sides of the vessel to be dried. By these arrangements it will be
seen that not only is the peat or bog earth raised and prepared or manu-
factured into blocks or bricks on the spot, but trenches are made which
facilitate the drainage of the peat or bog earth intermediate of the trenches.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Hodges in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
10th December 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
HODGES, of Penny Hill, Bagshot, in the County of Surrey, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said James Hodges, Her special licence that I, the said James Hodges, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James
Hodges, 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
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
EMPLOYED IN DIGGING, RAISING, AND TREATING PEAT AND BOG FARTH OR SOIL,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James Hodges, iny
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their
or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascer-
tain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was

page_text: 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 James Hodges, do hereby declare
the same is to be
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say:---
This Invention has for its object improvements in machinery employed in
digging, raising, and treating peat and bog earth or soil. For these purposes
machinery is combined, as hereafter described, in such manner that a con-
tinuous trench is excavated, and the peat or bog earth or soil is raised
therefrom, and when treated by suitable mechanism, by which the peat or bog
earth is subjected to pressure and subdivision to extract the moisture, and
moulded or formed into blocks or bricks, is carried away from the machine
from one or both sides, to be formed or stacked in hacks or otherwise to
be dried.
The machine consists of a long rectangular vessel constructed by preference
of iron, so as to be water-tight, and capable of floating when placed on water.
This vessel is decked over, or formed with suitable platforms or stagings
to support the working machinery placed and fixed thereon, and which is
actuated by suitable gearing driven by a steam engine or other suitable power
carried by the vessel. At the fore end of the vessel one or more parallel
rotatory cutter shafts or axes are applied, which are driven by the steam
engine or other power; these shafts are capable of being raised or lowered,
in order to regulate the depth at which the peat or bog earth shall be cut.
The edges of the cutters radiate from the centres of their respective shafts,
and the cutter blades are of a spiral form, so that as their edges penetrate the
peat or bog earth or soil, the portion thereof progressively is caused by the
form of the blades of the rotating cutters to move onwards within a shield or
boxing enclosing the spiral blades, and eventually to be forced through
gratings or narrow passages in the hinder part of its shield or boxing where
the blades work, by which means the peat or bog earth is not only subjected
to considerable pressure, but its fibre is cut or broken, and this cutting or
breaking is increased to any extent required, by means of rotating or other
blades, which cut or break up the fibre of the peat or bog earth as it is forced
through the gratings or narrow passages before mentioned. The peat or bog
earth is next raised or moved by means of an endless chain of buckets or
carriers or by other mechanism to the hopper of a machine, where the peat or
bog earth is subjected to pressure by a succession of rollers after the peat or

page_text: .
bog earth has been received into recesses around a cylinder, the succeeding
rollers acting nearer and nearer to the axis of the cylinder, in order that each
roller may act effectively on the contents of each recess, notwithstanding the
contents have been acted on and pressed by the previous roller or rollers. The
recesses in the cylinder are perforated with numerous small holes, so that the
water as it is pressed from the peat or bog earth may get away from the
recesses in the periphery of the cylinder. The pressed peat or bog earth,
after it has passed under and has been acted on by the pressure rollers, is
delivered from the recesses by plungers applied to the recesses, the stems of
which plungers pass through the bottoms of the recesses, and are acted on by
cam surfaces or otherwise, so as to force them outwards to deliver the com-
pressed peat or bog earth from the recesses. Between the several recesses
there are radial knives or blades, which divide the peat or bog earth in the
several recesses one from the other, so that the contents of each recess is when
delivered separate from the quantity in the next recess. These radial blades
or knives are forced outwards as the cylinder rotates, and after the recesses
between which the radial knives or blades work have been filled with peat or
bog earth. In some cases these compressed or moulded masses of peat or
bog earth will be in a condition to be dried; in these cases the moulded and
compressed masses are received from the machine on to an endless apron or
carrier, by which they are carried over the side of the vessel, and when taken
therefrom they are stacked in hacks or otherwise on the side or sides of the
trench. In other cases compressed masses of peat are by other parts of the
machinery submitted to the action of rotating or other knives or instruments,
by which the compressed masses are subdivided and again forced through
gratings or narrow passages, the fibre during its progress being further cut
and broken as before described, after which the peat or bog earth is again
formed into blocks by similar machinery to that above described, or by other
forms of machines, such as have before been used for compressing peat or bog
earth or other materials into blocks or bricks. and such blocks are to be
carried away from over the sides of the vessel to be dried. By these arrange-
ments it will be seen that not only is the peat or bog earth raised and
prepared or manufactured into blocks or bricks on the spot, but trenches are
made which facilitate the drainage of the peat or bog earth intermediate of
the trenches.
And in order that my said Invention may be more fully understood
and readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the Drawings here-
unto annexed.

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure represents a side elevation of scow or barge, showing general
arrangement of machinery; Figure 2, plan of scow or barge, showing
arrangement of machinery on deck; Figure 3 represents a transverse section
of the same; Figure 4 represents enlarged section of squeezer; a section of
the pulping machine is shown at Figure 5: Figure 6 represents enlarged
plan of pulping machine; Figure 7 represents enlarged elevation of two screw
excavators and shield at end of boat; Figure 8, enlarged section of screw
excavator. In the Drawings similar letters of reference refer to like parts.
a represents the hull of the boat, on which the machinery is placed; it may
be either a barge or flat bottom scow of wood or iron of about ninety feet in
length by sixteen feet in width, and five feet in depth, very strongly put
together. This boat will also carry a steam engine of sufficient power to work
the machinery; b, b, are two screw excavators made of iron, about eleven feet
in diameter, placed at the forward end of the vessel, and rotated by two shafts
to which they are attached. These screws are so arranged as to cut to a
depth of five feet six inches below surface of water and two feet above, with
a width of nineteen feet, thus forming in one cut a canal of nineteen feet by
seven feet six inches in depth, with a forward movement of four inches per
minute, or a total movement of two hundred and forty feet in a working day
of twelve hours. Where the peat is of considerable depth one screw may be
used in place of two, in which case it will be placed in the centre line of
vessel, and provided with the same arrangement as before described. c is a
shield of wrought iron enclosing the screws and confining the peat when
excavated until it is delivered by the scraper back of the screw on to the deck
of the barge. The shields are attached to a frame at the end of the vessel,
having a vertical motion to regulate the depth of the cut. The shafts to
which the excavators are attached are provided with universal joints to admit
of this motion being obtained. d is a cutting plate, to which are attached the
cutting knives e, e; these knives are secured by means of screw bolts to the
plate, and may be taken off as required for sharpening or renewal; f is a hinged
flap to regulate the pitch of cut; g is a scraper of iron or wood placed back
of the screw, which rubbing against the shield brings the peat or other
material excavated to the opening in rear; his a counter scraper of iron
working on a pivot, provided at one end with a counterweight, and so shaped
at the other end as to press against the back of the screw, and force the peat
or other material excavated through the opening in the shield on to the
elevator i, which conveys the peat or other material from thence to the

page_text: a shaft
hopper i, as shown on the plan. This hopper is provided with a vertical
revolving shaft, to which are attached stirrers, which facilitate the movement
of the peat into the feeder: k is a feeder for filling the pockets of the squeezer,
and is a cylinder of iron or other material, within which rotates
carrying spiral arms so arranged as to force the peat into the pockets of the
squeezer. This machine consists of a large skeleton cylinder of iron, about
eight feet in diameter and three feet face, upon the circumference of which
are formed perforated pockets n, n. sixteen in number. These pockets are
about three feet in length by sixteen inches in width, and a depth varying
from five inches to eight inches, according to the position of the sliding par-
titions, as herein-after described, with perforated sides and bottoms, the tops
being open.
In addition to the perforations of the sides they are also covered
with coarse strong canvas or other suitable material to prevent the peat
passing through, but at the same time to admit of the escape of the water
forced from the peat by the compression of the rollers. m, m, are two
excentrics, placed one at each end of the stationary shaft of the squeezer
drum; these excentrics work slides, which passing up through slots in the
divisions between the pockets increase or decrease their depths as the machine
revolves; o, o, are seven rollers of iron, placed in the position on the part of
the drum, as shown in the Drawings, and work between deep flanges of the
cylinder, and extending over about one-third of the circumference, and by
means of the endless band p, by which they are surrounded, enclose six of the
pockets; their axles are so arranged as to correspond with the curve described
by the aforesaid slides as moved by the excentrics, by this means the peat
when first received into the pockets, and occupying a depth of eight inches, is
gradually in the course of a part revolution reduced to five inches by the
pressure of the rollers; p is, as before stated, an endless band of india-
rubber or other material three feet in width surrounding the rollers,
and working between the flanges of the cylinder; q, q. are springs perma-
nently attached to the moveable bottoms of pockets at each end, and as the
cylinder revolves they strike against projecting arms attached to the side
framing and force the compressed peat out of the pockets on to the elevator s,
which conveys it to the pulping machine.
By a second arrangement the rollers and india-rubber band may be dis-
pensed with, and in place thereof a strong cast-iron cover plate (see Figure 4)
accurately fitted and planed to the shape of the curve described by the
excentric movement of the sliding partitions between the pockets will be sub-
stituted. This plate will be strongly attached to the cylinder frame by hinges
and set screws, and will close the pockets and perform like duties in the same

page_text: In
manner as previously described by the india-rubber band and rollers.
place of the moveable bottoms fixed ones may be substituted, by which means
also the steel springs and striking plates will be dispensed with, and the whole
machine materially simplified. t is a pulping and moulding machine in the
form of an inverted frustrum of a cone with a cylindrical bottom or base six
feet in diameter at top and three feet at bottom, with a total height of seven
feet; within this cone are placed three or more perforated diaphragms so
arranged as to be removed if required. A vertical shaft carrying knives,
cutters, or rubbers, as shown on the plan, passes through their centres, and
when revolving the knives force the peat through the perforated diaphragms,
at the same time in its passage crushing and cutting its fibre, thus reducing
it to a homogeneous mass of pulp. After the mass has been forced through
the last diaphragm at the foot of the cone it passes into the cylinder, from
which it is expressed by means of revolving arms w, w, fixed to the vertical
shaft into the telescopic tube x, where it is moulded into the required shape
and density by the form and length of the opening it is made to pass through.
1, u, are the perforated diaphragms referred to, and may be of any convenient
number, and so arranged as to be taken out and replaced by those of coarser
or finer perforations as required by the quality of the peat being operated on;
v, v, are the knives attached to the shaft, and so arranged as to be taken off
and sharpened. The knife above the diaphragm crushes the fibre in forcing
the peat through the apertures, while the one below cuts off the fibre in its
passage downwards. y is a distributing band revolving on a truss framework
attached to the side of the vessel, and may be about sixty feet in length. The
outer end of the framework is supported by a bearing wheel which travels on
the surface of the ground; z, z, are wooden stacking racks. A is a propelling
and steering wheel arranged at the stern of the boat. The wheel is provided
with spokes in its circumference arranged at suitable distances from each
other resting on the bottom of the canal; the wheel is geared to give
sufficient motion to propel the vessel at a suitable rate for the excavators.
Having thus described in general terms the character of the Invention, I
will now proceed to describe more concisely the mode in which the entire
operation of manufacturing fuel and excavating canals is conducted.
The
.vessel being properly located in the bog or peat, the machinery is put in
motion by the action of a steam or other engine. The revolution of the exca-
vators or screws cut off a continuous slice of peat four inches in thickness,
which passing behind the thread of the screw is intercepted by the scraper at
the back, and is carried forward until it is opposite the aperture in the rear of
the shield, through which it is forced by the counter scraper, and deposited on

page_text: the elevator. By this elevator the peat is raised and tumbled into the hopper,
from whence it passes through the feeder into the buckets of the squeezer.
In its passage through the squeezer some 40 per cent. of its weight is
expressed in the form of water, and the remainder passes from the pockets by
means of the elevator into the pulping machine. In the pulping machine the
compressed masses of peat are broken up, the fibre cut into short lengths and
entirely destroyed, and the whole reduced into a homogeneous pulp, and
forced into the moulding machine. From the moulding machine, after
receiving the shape and density of bricks, they are carried by means of an
endless band to the site of the hacks or frames arranged alongside of the
canal, upon which men stack them for drying. Up to this last stage no
manual labor has been expended, the whole having been performed by
machinery. The bricks when deposited on the hacks are equal in bulk to
about 60 per cent. of the mass of peat excavated, water equal to 40 per
cent, of its weight or bulk having been squeezed out during the process of
manufacture. It now remains exposed to the action of the weather until the
bricks become hard, or of nearly the weight and density of coal, which will
require about a fortnight, by which time a considerable further reduction, both
in bulk and weight, will take place simply by evaporation, and the bricks
without further preparation or drying will be fit for market or conversion into
charcoal. A modification of the preceding machinery placed on wheels may
also be advantageously used in the construction of tunnels or of canals.
With the foregoing description of my Invention, and the mode of working
it, I beg to state that I do not confine myself to the precise details or
dimensions therein set forth, as they may be varied to suit circumstances;
but what I claim as my Invention, and wish secured to me by Letters Patent
is, the combined arrangement herein described, consisting of,-
First, the new and novel apparatus for excavating the peat or other sub-
stance on a floating vessel or on a carriage on wheels by means of revolving
screw excavators in connection with shield scrapers.
Second, the squeezer with its details of rollers, excentrics, endless band,
straining pockets, sliding divisions, and cover plates, by the use of which
acting together peat is enclosed in a chamber and deprived of some 40 per
cent. of its weight by pressing out the water.
Third, the pulping machine in its details of external casing, revolving shaft,"
knives, cutters, diaphragms, by means of which the fibre of the peat is cut,
crushed, and entirely destroyed.
Fourth, the propelling and steering wheel, by the use of which the barge is

page_text: kept in position, steered, and made to progress at exactly the speed required
to feed the cut of the screw excavators.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Hodges, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twentieth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
JAMES HODGES. (L.S.)