IMPROVED MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PLANTING POTATOES
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Cocks, of Monk's Hall, Gosberton, near
Spalding, in the County of Lincoln, Gentleman, for the Invention of
"IMPROVED MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PLANTING POTATOES."
Sealed the 27th August 1872, and dated the 22nd May 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Cocks at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
22nd May 1872.
I, THOMAS COCKS, of Monk's Hall, Gosberton, near Spalding, in the
County of Lincoln, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said,
Invention for "IMPROVED MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PLANTING POTATOES,"
to be as follows:-
The object of my Invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive
machine which is capable of being adapted to an ordinary plough for the
purpose of facilitating the planting of potatoes.
My improved machine or apparatus is mounted on a single running
wheel to support the framing which is connected by means of rods,

page_text: chains, or bars to the frame of an ordinary plough. The seed potatoes
are placed in a box fixed on the framing and provided with a self-acting
door at bottom, through which the potatoes pass down a curved pipe or
channel open at both ends to a series of cups attached to radial arms
mounted on the rotating axle of the running wheel, or they may be fixed
on the sides of the spokes of the latter. The cups which receive the
seed potatoes pass in succession up the curved pipe or channel which is
slotted on one side to allow the stems or bolts of the cups to pass. A
fluted or other roller driven by a chain from a pulley on the axle of the
running wheel projects through the bottom of the seed reservoir and keeps
the potatoes in constant motion so that they will roll down to the exit
opening. The rotating cups are only intended to hold one potatoe, and
although two or more may pass through the exit opening of the feeding
box into the curved pipe or channel, each cup can only carry forward
one root or bulb, the others will therefore fall backwards against the
self-acting door which covers the exit opening of the seed box, and will
keep it closed until the superfluous roots have been lifted away there-
from. The fluted roller will then push some more roots past the door
into the curved pipe or channel. As the cups continue to rotate they
will enter a second curved channel and will discharge the root therein,
and this latter will roll down on to the back of the preceding cup where
it will rest until the cup reaches the exit aperture of the curved channel,
when the root will fall into the trench or furrow made by the plough-
share on its advance. In this way by the advance of the apparatus and
the continuous rotation of the cup the potatoes or roots will be deposited
with great regularity and at uniform distances apart in the furrow. As
the size of the roots varies considerably the potatoes should be screened
so as to separate them into sizes, and the cups must be adjusted to suit
the different sizes. To this end each of the cups is provided with an
adjusting piston, by inserting which the size of the cups may be altered
as may be required.
A manure distributor may be combined with the planter for the

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Cocks in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 22nd November 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
Cocks, of Monk's Hall, Gosberton, near Spalding, in the County of
Lincoln, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of May, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Thomas Cocks, Her special licence that
I, the said Thomas Cocks, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Thomas Cocks, my executors, adminis-
trators, 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 "IMPROVED MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
FOR PLANTING POTATOES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Thomas Cocks, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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 Thomas Cocks, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and Figures marked thereon, (that is to
say) :-
The object of this Invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive
machine which is capable of being adapted to an ordinary plough or
other analogous implement for the purpose of facilitating the planting of

page_text: In the accompanying Drawings I have shewn two arrangements of
apparatus for effecting the object of my Invention.
Fig. 1 represents a side elevation of one arrangement. It will be seen
that the improved machine or apparatus is mounted on a single running
wheel a to support the frame b, b, which is connected by means of rods,
chains, or bars b', 6', 6', to the frame c of an ordinary plough. The seed
potatoes are placed in a box fixed on the framing b, and provided with a
self-acting door dat bottom through which the potatoes pass down a
curved pipe or channel e open at both ends to a series of cups f, f,
attached to radial arms f¹, f¹, mounted on the rotating axle a of the
running wheel, or they may be fixed on the sides of the spokes of the
latter. The cups f which receive the seed potatoes pass in succession up
the curved pipe or channel e which is slotted on one side to allow the
stems or arms f¹ of the cups f to pass. A fluted or other roller g driven
by a chain g' (indicated by dots in the Figure), from a pulley on the
axle d¹ of the running wheel a, projects through the bottom of the seed
reservoir d, and keeps the potatoes in constant motion so that they will
roll down through the exit opening d* into the curved spout e. The
rotating cups fare only intended to hold one potatoe each, and although
two or more may pass through the exit opening d* of the feeding box d,
into the curved pipe or channel e, each cup f can only carry forward one
root or bulb, the others will therefore fall backwards against the self-
acting door d', which covers the exit opening d* of the seed box and will
keep it closed until the superfluous roots have been lifted away there-
from. The fluted roller g will then push some more roots past the door
into the curved pipe or channel e. As the cups f continue to rotate or
move upwards they will enter a second curved channel e*, and will
discharge the root therein, and this latter will roll down on to the back of
the preceding cup f, where it will rest until the cup reaches the exit
aperture e' of the curved channel e*, when the root will fall into the
trench or furrow made by the ploughshare on its advance. In this way
by the advance of the apparatus and the continuous rotation of the cups
f, the potatoes or roots will be deposited with great regularity and at
uniform distances apart in the furrow. As the size of the roots varies
considerably the potatoe should be screened so as to separate them into
sizes, and the cups must be adjusted to suit the different sizes. To
this end each of the cups f, one of which is shewn detached in section at
Fig. 2 is provided with an adjusting pulley f 2, Fig. 2, by inserting

page_text: which into a hole made through the cups the size of the cups may be
altered as may be required. A manure distributor may be combined
with the planter for the purpose of depositing pulverized manure with,
on, or under the seed.
.
The several Figures on Sheet II., represent various views of another
arrangement.
In this as in the former instance the planting
apparatus is adapted to the frame b, b, of a plough from which the seed
box d is suspended by chains and rods b¹, b¹, but in place of a rotating
series of cups (as at f, Fig. 1), I have employed a reciprocating arrange-
ment. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the machine complete and adapted to a
plough; Fig. 4 is a longitudinal vertical section taken through the seed
box d, and the reciprocating or vibrating depositor; Fig. 5 is a plan
view of the same.
Fig. 6 is another section shewing the moving parts in a different
position to that shewn at Fig. 4. To the exit opening of the seed box d,
is adapted a curved vibrating or oscillating plate on shutters h, h, shewn
detached in plan at Fig. 7. This curved plate or shutter h, h, shewn
detached is divided vertically into two parts, as shown in the plan view.
In the upper part of each of these curved plates or shutters a hole or
opening h³, h³, is made through which the roots are thrown in the
manner hereafter explained. There are also exit openings h³ made in
the lower part of each of the curved plates or shutters. These exit
openings are made in halves, one half being in one part of the curved
plate or shutter, and the other half in the other part, and as the two
halves of the curved plates or shutters have separate motions it is only at
a certain period of that up and down motion that these halves come into
coincidence in the manner shewn at Fig. 7, so as to allow a root to pass
through. These two halves of the curved plate or shutter h are attached
to two vibrating levers i, i, whose centres of motion are at ³, and they
are worked by links j, whereby they are connected to the cranks of a
shaft k, which is driven by a chain 1, Figures 3 and 5, from a pulley on
the axle a¹ of the running wheel a. At the extreme end of the vibrating
levers i, i, and outside and behind the curved plates h, h, are blocks
m, m, to which the shutters may be also secured if desired by screws.
The said blocks are provided with cup shaped upper ends and work
through openings in the bottom of the seed box d. When at their
lowest point, as shewn at m³, Fig. 4, their cups are level with the bottom
of the seed box. A root will consequently lodge in the cup and will be

page_text: carried up by the block as it rises into the position shewn in section at
m³, Fig. 4. In that position the root will be opposite the opening of
the curved plate or shutter h, and it will be tipped through the opening h²
by means of the tapped lever n. This lever is sunk into the face of the
block m*, and pivotted thereto by the joint pin of the lever i. When the
projecting tail of this lever comes against a fixed block o, the upper end
of the lever will be jerked forward and will thereby throw the root
through the opening 2 on to the inner face of the curved plate or
shutter from whence it will tumble through the exit opening h³ on to
the ground, when the two halves of this opening come opposite to each
other as in Fig. 7. To prevent the roots being thrown too far or rolling
off the curved plates or shutters h, fixed side and front, guards may be
fitted to the curved plates and carried from the side of the box d.
In order to throw the planting apparatus out of gear and stop its
action when moving along the road or from one field to another it will
only be necessary to lift the running wheel a off the ground by depressing
the lever P, the running wheel a will then cease to rotate and the action
of the apparatus will be stopped. I would here observe that when tho
planting apparatus is not required it may be detached from the plough
which may then be used for ploughing in the ordinary manner.
planter can also be adapted to any ordinary plough by simply providing
poles or hooks to receive the suspending rods and chains.
The
Having now described my Invention of "Improved Machinery or
Apparatus for Planting Potatoes," and having explained the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I claim as the Invention secured to me by
Letters Patent as aforesaid, adapting to ordinary ploughs or other
analogous implements a machine or apparatus as herein set forth for
depositing roots or bulbs in or on the ground in regular order and
succession, as above shewn and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Cocks, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Twentieth day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.