IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CON- STRUCTION OF PLOUGHS
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Reid, of Woodside, in the County of Kincardine,
North Britain, Farmer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CON-
STRUCTION OF PLOUGHS."
Sealed the 5th September 1879, and dated the 27th March 1879.
Sealed the 5th September 1879, and dated the 27th March 1879.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Reid at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 27th March 1879.
GEORGE REID, of Woodside, in the County of Kincardine, North Britain, Farmer.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF PLOUGHS."
This said Invention has reference to an improved construction of double reversible
plough which has many advantages over such ploughs as heretofore in use,
particularly as to simplicity of construction and regular and automatic action, and
which besides producing better work will save much time and labour in the execution
thereof. This new or improved construction of plough and mode of actuating the
same consist as follows:-The main frame of the plough consists of a strong central
beam, preferably of flat iron on edge, with an ordinary link or shackle jointed to
its front drawing end, with the usual lateral row of holes in front for attaching the
drawing chains and swingle trees to in proper drawing position. The front end of
this main frame is carried by a swivel joint and pin near the middle of a short cross
shaft with rolling and carrying wheels running on the unploughed ground, the one
wheel next the furrow or edge of the drill being cut is made broad and with a deep
curved guide rim on its outer edge which runs along and guides the plough parallelly
and equally off the last cut furrow. This wheel and axle being fitted with a forked
or bow armed lever projecting back to the rear end of the plough for swivelling and
setting them to any desired angle to guide the plough. The back end of the main
frame is carried by a broad guiding and balancing wheel or roller carried on a strong
stud so as to run on the uncut part of the field. The frames of the actual cutting
parts of the plough and turning-over mould-boards being secured to the middle
part of this main beam frame vertically over each other with the sole and sock of
the one plough horizontal below and the other above, and both ploughshares and
mould-boards on the outside of the main central frame opposite to that of the back
dome-ended carrying roller, and a double or two-ended colter is secured to one side

page_text: of the beam, or it might be two separate colters, by one or separate sockets and
pinching screws or other equivalent fixing immediately in front of or between the
points of the socks and ploughshares, one set or pair of which cut the furrow in
one direction across the field, and the other back again along the same furrow,
making a fresh, regular, and parallel cut every time from the unploughed part by
turning or rolling the whole frame over on its two inner carrying wheels or rollers
by a strong lateral horizontal lever secured to the rear end of the main central beam
or frame while the horses are turning the plough at the end of each furrow for a
fresh cut, thus saving the round-about system of ploughing the field in sections,
always passing the end of the unploughed part and the finished furrows at each
fresh cut across the field, enabling the furrows to be cut on hilly parts nearly
as easily as on level parts by cutting and laying the furrows regularly right
across the field either all down or up the hill. For giving various depths of furrows
the ploughshares and their frames and coulters are made to shift up and down on
the main central beam, or otherwise larger or smaller wheels or rollers may be used
mounted on their axes in front of and behind the plough part; and for giving any
desired width of furrow the front guide rimmed wheel may be shifted out or in on
its axis by shifting and setting collars or washers, and by setting and fixing the
guiding lever to its holding arm projecting laterally from the back end of the centre
beam. At the starting of any particular regular piece of land or ploughing, or at
the end of the furrows, no further steering or guiding is necessary except regular
attention to the proper drawing of the horses to keep the rim of the guide wheel
always bearing gently up against the vertical edge from which the last furrow was
cut. The carrying and guiding wheels work and carry the whole weight of the
plough on the hard, even, unploughed part of the field, which has the effect of
making this new plough much lighter of draught than other double ploughs, always
heretofore guided in the bottom of the last cut furrow.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said George Reid in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 24th September
1879.
.
GEORGE REID, of Woodside, in the County of Kincardine, North Britain, Farmer,
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF PLOUGHS."
My said Invention has reference to an improved construction of double or
reversible plough for cutting back in the same furrow and from the face or side of
the land as it cut forward without crossing and coming back round the ends of the
rigs, and which has many advantages over such ploughs as heretofore in use,
particularly as to its simplicity of construction and regular and automatic action,
and which besides producing better and more regular work without making the
common deep "rig" furrow either up or down hill or across, laying the furrows
either regularly all down or up hill, saves much waste of power, time, and labour
in the execution of the work. In order that the nature, novelty, and mode of
performing or putting my said Invention into effect or practice may be properly
understood, I shall now proceed to describe the two Figures 1 and 2 on the
accompanying Sheet of Drawings which represent a side elevation and a corre-
sponding plan of one modification and general construction or combination of the
parts of my new or improved double or reversible wheel plough, similar letters of
reference indicating the same parts in both Figures where these are shown.
Referring to these Figures 1 and 2, my new or improved construction of ploughs
and mode of actuating the same consist essentially as follows:-The main frame of
the plough consists of a strong central beam A, preferably of flat malleable iron on
edge, with an ordinary link or shackle A" jointed to the front drawing end A' of
the beam A, and having at its front end the usual lateral row of holes A2 for
attaching the drawing swivel hooks, chains, and swingle trees too in proper drawing
position for the horses. The front end of this beam or main frame A is carried by a
horizontal swivel joint and vertical pin a near the middle of a short cross front guiding
axle B fitted with two rolling, guiding, and carrying wheels B', B", both running on
The one wheel B¹
the unploughed ground in front of the ploughs F, F, proper.
next the furrow or edge of the drill being cut, and indicated by the line 1--1 in
Figure 2, runs on its broad rim B', and with a deep curved guide flange b' on its
1 of the last cut furrow, so as to
outer edge, which runs along the face edge 1
guide the whole plough parallelly and equally off this face. The wheel B" on the
inner end of this shaft B is of the same diameter as B¹, but narrower in the rim,
with a rounded domed inner end, and a sharp shallow feather 6" to grip or mark
the ground when desired at near the width of the next return cut of the plough..
This steering wheel and axle B¹, B, are fitted with a strong forked or bow armed
lever C, C¹, embracing the wheel B¹, and projecting back to the rear end of the
plough as an automatically steering arm C¹ for setting the axle B and its
wheels B¹, B", to any desired angle to guide the plough. The back end of the
main beam A is carried by a broad guiding and balancing wheel or roller D carried
on a strong stud axle D¹ secured to the beam, so as to run on the uncut part of the
field, and which, as well as the wheel B¹, are both fitted with cleaning scrapers
D, B. The frames F, F, of the actual cutting parts f of the two ploughs, with
their socks f¹ and turning over mould-boards fll, are secured to the broad vertical
limbs A³ on the middle part of this main beam frame A vertically over each other,
with the sole and sock f¹ of the one plough horizontal, and as much below and
the other above the periphery of the drum D as the depth of the furrow to be cut
and turned with both ploughshares f and socks and mould-boards f¹, f¹¹, on the
outside of the main central frame A opposite to that of the back carrying roller D,
which is also rounded or domed on the inner end. Double or two opposite cutter
ended colters E, E, are secured to one side of the beam A by a shifting deep socket

page_text: and gripper E' (or other equivalent fixing) immediately in front and projecting
down between the points of the socks f¹,"f¹, and ploughshares f. one set or pair
of which cut the furrow in one direction across the field, and the other back again
along the same furrow, making a fresh regular and parallel cut, and turning it over
every traverse of the plough across the field from off the unploughed part and
face 11. The plough frames F, F, are carried by a right and left handed
screw J to the frame A, the turning of which separates or draws the ploughs
together to regulate the depth of cut, steadied at the rear end of the mould-
boards ff, by shifting lateral bars fill, f111, secured by a shifting socket g on
the lateral hand lever G, which also has notches G₁ for setting and holding the
steering lever C¹ in any angular position desired, the mould-boards f¹, f¹¹, being
further secured to the frame of the plough F by internal brackets fs. The plough
is turned by the horses at the end of each cut or furrow by the man raising the
back end of the steering lever C, thus throwing down the small front wheel H
carried on an arm H¹ secured on and projecting out from the axle B, so as to turn
on the main roller wheel D, and this wheel H running on the unploughed land; and
when it is thus quite turned end-wise the whole plough frame is rolled over on the
rounded domed ends of the wheels D and B" by the strong lateral horizontal lever
arm G secured to the rear end of the main central beam or frame A until the
plough F that was uppermost is turned down into the same last cut furrow, and the
steering lever C₁ set for a fresh return cut commenced in the same furrow to the
other end of the field, all as stated. This plough enables the furrows to be cut on
hilly parts nearly as easily as on level parts by cutting across the incline and lay
the furrows regularly right across the field, either all down or up the hill, thus
saving the round-about system of ploughing the field in deep furrowed rigs or
sections always passing round and back by the end of the unploughed part at each
fresh cut across the field.
For giving various depths of furrows the ploughshares and their frames and
colters are made to shift up and down on the strong lateral arms A³ of the main
beam A; or otherwise larger or smaller wheels B, B, and D may be used, mounted
on their axes in front of and behind the cutting part of the plough. And for giving
any desired width of furrow the front guide rimmed wheel B' may be shifted out
or in on its axis B by fixing pinching screws and shifting and setting collars b, and
by setting and fixing the guiding lever C, C, to its holding arm G, projecting
laterally from the back end of the centre beam A, at the starting of any particular
regular piece of land or ploughing or at the end of the furrows. No further steering
or guiding is necessary except regular attention to the proper drawing of the horses
to keep the rim of the guide wheel always bearing gently up against the vertical
edge 11 from which the last furrow was cut. The carrying and guiding
wheels B1, B, D, steer and carry the whole weight of the plough on the hard, even,
unploughed part of the field, which has the effect of making this new plough much
lighter of draught than other double ploughs, always heretofore guided in the bottom
of the last cut furrow by hand, with their whole weight resting in the furrow. The
plough can also be made to act as a double furrow plough by fitting two ploughs
instead of one above and below the main beam, or to cut two furrows downhill and
one furrow uphill, or act as a grubber by fitting a grubber frame on the main beam
instead of ploughs.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I have to state that I do not confine myself to the
precise details herein described or delineated, but what I consider novel and original,
and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part
recited Letters Patent is,-
First. The general construction or combination of the parts of a double plough
carried on wheels and automatically guided in the unploughed land, cutting to and
fro in the same furrow, all substantially as herein described in reference to and
shown in the accompanying Drawings, or any mere modification thereof.
Second. The construction of an automatically guided wheel plough with the

page_text: ploughs and mould-boards over each other on one side of the main beam, so that
the plough when turned only requires to be rolled over on its wheels, all on the
unploughed land, to return and cut to and fro along the same furrow, substantially
as herein described in reference to and shown in the accompanying Drawings, or any
mere modification thereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Reid, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Twentieth day of September, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy nine.
GEORGE REID. (L.S.)