IMPROVEMENTS IN SEED SOWING MACHINES AND MANURE DISTRIBUTORS
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Henry Sams, of Bon Accord Works,
Aberdeen, North Britain, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SEED SOWING MACHINES AND MANURE DISTRIBUTORS."
Sealed the 10th June 1870, and dated the 15th December 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Henry Sams at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
15th December 1869.
I, JOSEPH HENRY SAMS, of Bon Accord Works, Aberdeen, North
Britain, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN SEED SOWING MACHINES AND MANURE DISTRIBUTORS," to be as
follows:-
The object intended to be effected by the present Invention is to
enable machines or apparatus for sowing seed broadcast or otherwise,
and distributing manure, to be made with high wheels so as to reduce
the draught sow or distribute near the ground and of any desired
breadth, such machines or apparatus to be capable of being easily taken
through narrow gateways or along roads. To this end I make the
hopper or box of sufficient length and strength and of suitable materials.

page_text: On the top of one end of this hopper and in the centre I fix an axle so
that the journal projects a certain distance over the end of the hopper.
At the other end of the hopper I have a bar of iron, wood, or other
suitable material with journals at both ends and a groove running
longitudinally between the two journals. This double axle I place on
the top and in the centre of the hopper. A stud or pin attached firmly
to the hopper passes through the groove in the double axle so that it
will swivel on it. One journal projects a certain distance over the end
of the hopper and the other lies on the hopper and is fastened securely
to a "stop" by means of a bolt, pin, or other fastening passing through
the bar. The wheels are placed on the journals of the axles and support
the hopper or box between them. Shafts or a pole are attached to the
centre of the box, and it is now ready for distributing seed or manure.
To enable the machine to pass easily through a gateway or along a
road, I have at that end of the hopper where the fixed axle is placed
and at a certain distance from the end of the hopper, a cross bar of
wood, iron, or other suitable material projecting over each side of the
hopper and held in its place by a stud or pin on which it works and
swivels freely; this is for a fore carriage steerage. At each end of the
bar I fix metal brackets projecting slightly above the bar and some way
downwards. In the lower part of these brackets I fix studs or pins
either in one position or working in grooves in the brackets. I then
take two bars of wood or iron with small wheels working on studs at
the ends and with holes made in them at convenient distances from the
centres of the wheels. I place the bars with the wheels on the studs
in the brackets attached to the cross bar of the fore-carriage, and when
the machine is sowing they are secured in a horizontal position. When
taking the machine through a gateway or along a road, I pull up the
bars and wheels of the fore carriage steerage into a vertical position, so
that the wheels rest on the ground on each side of the box, and I fix
the bars in the vertical position by means of bolts or pins passing
through holes in them and through holes in the brackets attached to
the cross bar, or by any other suitable fastening. The action of pressing
the wheels of the fore steerage on to the ground raises the land wheel
from off the ground. I then take off this land wheel and roll it to the
other end of the hopper. I take out the pin or bolt which holds the
double axle in its longitudinal position and pull it round, and with it
the wheel attached to the one end until the axle lies straight across the
box and the one wheel at the side of the box, the groove in the bar of

page_text: the double axle allowing the wheel to clear the end of the box in
turning and to get it a proper distance from the side of the box. I then
put the wheel taken off the other end on to the second journal of the
double axle, and securely fasten the axle to the hopper by suitable
means. Thus to go through a gateway or along a road I have the
hopper or box supported at the one end by means of the moveable fore-
carriage steerage, and at the other end by means of the two large land
wheels. Shaft bars are attached to the cross bar of the fore steerage,
and the shafts are taken from off the centre of the box and attached to
the shaft bars.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Joseph Henry Sams in the Great Seal Patent on
the 15th June 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
HENRY SAMS, of Bon Accord Works, Aberdeen, North Britain, send
greeting."
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of December, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Joseph Henry Sams, Her special licence
that I, the said Joseph Henry Sams, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Joseph Henry Sams, 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 ex-
pressed, 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 SEED SOWING MACHINES
AND MANURE DISTRIBUTORS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Joseph Henry Sams, my executors or administrators, by an in-
strument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that 1, the said Joseph Henry Sams, 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 :-
The object intended to be effected by the present Invention is to
enable machines or apparatus for sowing seed broadcast, and distributing
manures to be made of any desired breadth with high wheels so as to
reduce the draught, and sow or distribute near the ground, such machines
or apparatus to be capable of being easily taken through narrow
gateways or along roads. With the above object I make the hopper or
box of sufficient length and strength and of suitable materials; on the
top of one end of this hopper, and in the centre I fix an axle so that the
journal projects a certain distance over the end of the hopper. At the
other end of the hopper I have a bar of iron, wood, or other suitable
material with journals at both ends, and a groove running longitudinally
between the two journals. This double axle I place on the top and in
the centre of the hopper. A stud or pin attached firmly to the hopper
passes through the groove in the double axle so that it will swivel on
it. One journal projects a certain distance over the end of the hopper,
and the other lies on the hopper and is fastened securely to a stop by
means of a bolt, pin, or other fastening passing through the bar. For
larger and heavier machines I prefer to use a fixed axle in the shape of
a triangle as shewn by the dotted lines in Fig. 2. The double axle
crosses the hopper at right angles, and the other projects over the end
of the hopper parallel to it. The wheels are placed on the journals of
the axles and support the hopper or box between them. Shafts or a
pole are attached to the centre of the box, and it is now ready for
distributing seed or manure. To enable the machine to pass easily
through a gateway or along a road, I have at that end of the hopper
where the fixed axle is placed, and at a certain distance from the end
of the hopper a cross bar of wood, iron, or other suitable material,
projecting over each side of the hopper, and held in its place by a stud
or pin on which it works and swivels freely; this is for a fore carriage
steerage. At each end of the bar I fix metal brackets projecting slightly
above the bar and some way downwards. In the lower part of these
brackets I fix studs or pins, either in one position or working in grooves
in the brackets; I then take two bars of wood or iron with small wheels
working on studs at the ends, and with holes made in them at convenient

page_text: distances from the centres of the wheels; I place the bars with the
wheels on the studs in the brackets attached to the cross bar of the
fore carriage, and when the machine is sowing they are secured in a
horizontal position. When taking the machine through a gateway or
along a road I pull up the bars and wheels of the fore carriage steerage
into a vertical positition so that the wheels rest on the ground on each
side of the box, and I fix the bars in the vertical position by means of
bolts or pins passing through holes in them and through holes in the
brackets attached to the cross bar, or by any other suitable fastening.
The action of pressing the wheels of the fore steerage on to the ground
raises the land wheel from off the ground; I then take off this land
wheel and roll it to the other end of the hopper, I take out the pin or
bolt which holds the double axle in its longitudinal position and pull
it round, and with it the wheel attached to the one end until the axle
lies straight across the box, and the one wheel at the side of the box,
the groove in the bar of the double axle allowing the wheel to clear the
end of the box in turning, and to get it a proper distance from the side
of the box; I then put the wheel taken off the other end on to the
second journal of the double axle, and securely fasten the axle to the
hopper by suitable means; or when the axle a, a, is made in the form
of a triangle, as shown in Fig. 2 and fixed, I take off both large wheels
and place one on one journal of the cross axle, and the other on the
other. Thus to go through a gateway or along a road I have the
hopper or box supported at the one end by means of the moveable fore
carriage steerage, and at the other end by means of the two large land
wheels. Shaft bars are attached to the cross bar of the fore steerage,
and the shafts are taken from off the centre of the box and attached to
the shaft bars. For the discharge of seed or manure from the hopper
I prefer to use the Patent "waved discs," the second discharger described
in the Specification of Patent No. 1298, A.D. 1869, but I do not limit
myself to this one form of discharger. For manure I make these "waved
discs" of a larger diameter and with a suitable sweep. When sowing
manure I attach disturbing rakes in the hopper, which are made to rock
on axes by the "waved discs." If required I also attach pipes and
coulters to the machine.

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS,
in which the same letters are used for the same parts in each Figure.
Fig. 1 shows the side elevation of the machine; Fig. 3 shows the
end elevation of same; Fig. 2 shows the plan of same; and Fig. 4 shows
the "disc discharger" as arranged for manure.
His the hopper; a, a, is the double axle with the groove g in it,
passing through the groove g and securing the axle at that part of the
hopper is the "stud" or "pin" p' with a strong loose collar or washer
held by a cotter pin p² fastening the axle at the other end to the hopper,
and when the axle is brought across the hopper as shown by the dotted
lines in Fig. 2 it is caught by and firmly attached to the "stop bracket" t.
a is the single axle firmly fixed to the other end of the hopper. In
Fig. 2 the dotted lines show a fixed cross axle which is suitable for very
strong heavy machines. y, y, are the shafts bolted to brackets fixed to
the side of the hopper, and c, c, are chains which run from other hooks
or brackets in the hopper to the ends of the shafts in order to equalize
the draught. Rods of iron may be used instead of chains. W and W
are the land wheels, and work on the end axles when sowing. S, W, S, W,
are the fore steerage wheels on the axle studs of the bars b, b, which
swivel on the stud bolts x, x, attaching the bars b, b, to the iron
brackets B, B, which are bolted to the steerage bar S.
handle for moving the bars b, b, and z, z, are small
the bars b, b, in a vertical position, passing through the bars b, b, and
through snugs on the brackets B, B.
.h is a loose lever
bolts which hold
In Fig. 1 the fore steerage wheels are shown by the dotted lines in a
horizontal position as they are when the machine is arranged for sowing.
The fore carriage steerago can, however, be taken off altogether by
removing the cottar pin which holds the collar over the steerage to the
stud p, on which the fore carriage swivels. K, K, are shaft bars attached
to the fore steerage, so that the shafts may be attached to it when going
along the road. It will be seen, Fig. 1, that the steerage wheels are
lower than the land wheels; by this means when putting the steerage
wheels in a vertical position the land wheel is raised off the ground, as
shewn in Fig. 3, and can be easily taken off. The dischargers d, d, d, d,

page_text: (preferably the waved discs), but of any suitable form or kind are driven
from each end. On each land wheel W and W' is fixed a large driving
pinion M; N, N, are intermediate pinions which transmit the motion
to the dischargers d, d, d, d, by means of the small pinions o, o, which
are firmly fixed to the rods r, r; q, q, are rods which work the levers
1, 1, from the centre of the machine, so that the pinions N, N, can be
taken out of gearing at once; e, e, are handles to regulate the shutting
bar. When discharging manure I prefer to have the "waved discs"
of a larger diameter and of sufficient sweep. As shown in Fig. 4 I
make them rock rakes to keep the manure well disturbed. D is the
disc; is the disc rod; R the rake frame fixed to the working shaft S
which rocks on the axis p; ff, are forks through which the disc passes,
and the cam shape of the discs makes them rock the rake R on the axis p;
t, t, are the teeth, and may be made to hinge so as to shut up hori-
zontally while being pushed into the manure and drag out vertically.
The working of this machine will be readily understood. If I wish to
distribute grain or manure I place the land wheels W and W on the
axles a, a, and a at the ends of the hoppers. I fix the shafts y, y, to
the brackets and either lift up into a horizontal position (as shown by
the dotted lines in Fig. 1) the fore steerage or take it off altogether;
then by means of levers 1, 1, and handle q I place the intermediate
pinions in gearing with the driving pinions M, M, and with o, o, and
the seed or manure will be discharged by means of dischargers d, d,
d, d, (or D, Fig. 4.) If I wish to pass through a narrow gateway or
along a road I put on the fore steerage (if taken off), let the steerage
wheels down into a vertical position, and fix them thus to the brackets
B, B, by means of bolts z, 2. I then take off the wheel Wand
trundle it to the other end. If I am using the grooved axle I take out
the pin p³ and draw out the wheel W until the extremity of the groove
strikes the pin or stud p¹, I then swing round the wheel W in the circle
indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2 until it lies square across the box
and has struck against the stop bracket t to which I bolt it.
place the wheel W on the other end of the grooved axle a, a.
triangular axle is used (as shown by dotted lines, Fig. 2). I first place
the wheel W' on one axle and then the wheel W on the other axle, having
previously arranged the steerage as before described. The shafts y, y,
are taken from the centre of the hopper and attached to the steerage
arms K. K.
I then
If the

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed or carried
out in practice, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself to
the precise details above described, nor do I claim such details per se
and apart from the purposes of my said Invention, but I claim the
arrangement as herein set forth and described, or any mere modification
thereof, and particularly,―
First. The arrangement of the machine with the axles, steerage and
appendages, as above described.
Second. The arrangement of the dischargers and pinions for seed and
manure, as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Henry Sams, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of June, in the year.
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
Witness,
ALEX. STEWART,
Clerk,
46, Chapel Street,
Aberdeen.
JOSEPH HENRY SAMS. (L.S.)