IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CULTIVATING THE SOIL, AND FOR RAISING AND SEPARATING POTATOES AND OTHER SIMILAR ROOTS FROM THE SOIL
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Palmer Hull, of 77, Upper Thames Street,
in the City of London, Agricultural Engineer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CULTIVATING THE SOIL, AND FOR RAISING
AND SEPARATING POTATOES AND OTHER SIMILAR ROOTS FROM THE SOIL."-A
communication from abroad by Moses Johnson, of Three Rivers,
Michigan, in the United States of America..
Sealed the 29th August 1871, and dated the 15th May 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Palmer Hull at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 15th May 1871.
I, HENRY PALMER HULL, of 77, Upper Thames Street, in the City
of London, Agricultural Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CULTIVATING THE SOIL,
AND FOR RAISING AND SEPARATING POTATOES AND OTHER SIMILAR ROOTS FROM THE.
Son," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a novel construction of apparatus for breaking.
up or separating the soil after it has been raised or loosened by a share
;

page_text: or shares, also for the separation of potatoes and other roots from the
soil in which they are grown.
The apparatus consists chiefly of a wheel fitted in a suitable frame
which can be drawn through the land by horse or other power, the
wheel is fluted on its periphery and has on its edges bent or curved
fingers or projections on to which the soil is thrown by shares or mould
boards arranged on the sides of the frame, the faces of the mould boards
being on the inside for that purpose. In front of the frame a single or
double share is fitted, and this is caused to enter the soil to the required
depth like an ordinary ploughshare, to lift the sod and place it on edge
until the back mould board returns it, when instead of falling into the
furrow the sod is received by the fingers or projections of the wheel,
which carry it partially round, and it falls therefrom in a disintegrated
state. Scrapers are arranged on or to the wheel to prevent clogging.
In the case of raising potatoes or other roots by this apparatus after
the earth has been loosened and lifted by the front share or shares it is
returned on to the fingers when the earth becomes disintegrated by the
rotation of the wheel and the potatoes or other roots roll outwards,
and fall on to the surface ready to be collected by hand or otherwise.
The frame of the apparatus may be of any shape, but it is preferably
made of triangular form.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Henry Palmer Hull in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 15th November 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
PALMER HULL, of 77, Upper Thames Street, in the City of London,
Agricultural Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of May, 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 Henry Palmer Hull, Her special licence
that I, the said Henry Palmer Hull, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Henry Palmer Hull, my exe-
cutors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and

page_text: •
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 CULTIVATING THE SOIL, AND FOR RAISING AND SEPARATING POTATOES
AND OTHER SIMILAR ROOTS FROM THE SOIL," (communicated to me from abroad
by Moses Johnson, of Three Rivers, Michigan, in the United States of
America) upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Henry
Palmer Hull, 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 Henry Palmer Hull, 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, reference being had to the Drawings
hereunto annexed, that is to say :—
This Invention relates to a novel construction of apparatus for breaking
up or separating the soil after it has been raised or loosened by a share
or shares, also for the separation of potatoes and other roots from the
soil in which they are grown.
The apparatus consists chiefly of a wheel a, such as I have shown in
the accompanying Drawings, Figures 1 and 2, which wheel is here
represented as being fitted in a frame 6 to enable it to be drawn through
or over the land by horse or other power, the wheel has flutes or
ribs c, c, on its periphery and bent or curved fingers d, d, project from
its edges on to which the soil is thrown by turnover shares or mould
boards e, e, arranged on or to the sides of the frame, the faces of the
mould boards being on the inside for that purpose. In front of the
frame b a double faced share f is fitted and this is caused to enter
the soil to the required depth like an ordinary ploughshare, to lift the
sod and to place it on edge until the back or turnover mould board e
returns it, when instead of falling into the furrow the sod is received
by the fingers or projections d, d, of the wheel a which carry it upwards
in a circular direction and turn it over and over so that it falls therefrom
in a disintegrated state. The unbroken earth which may be carried up

page_text: to too high a point comes foul of scrapers 9, 9, which are arranged on
or to the frame as shown so that it can be removed, the scrapers being
so shaped that the clods are caused to fall upon the fingers again before
they can roll outwards to clear them, the roll over however which they
get and the force with which they strike the fingers causes them to be
completely broken so that they fall through like powder. In the
Drawings Figures 1 and 2 I have shown that the wheel obtains its
rotation by the bite of its ribs upon the ground but it may be driven
by power at any speed if found advisable so long as the earth. becomes
disintengrated by the fingers before it falls from them. There is no
restriction to fitting the wheel fore and aft of the frame as shown, as it
may be fitted at an angle and it may have fingers only on one side
so that the delivery of stones or hard clods which do escape being broken
up would be to one side of the apparatus only, whether the wheel be
an open one or one closed up on the side opposite to that of the fingers.
Sometimes I fit the wheel a with the fingers d, d, at one side only at
right angles to the line of draught of the frame and cause it to rotate by
gearing actuated from the axle of a pair of bearing wheels in the manner
shewn in Figure 3. In this case the periphery of the wheel a (plaine
or ribbed) would be clear of the ground and the earth which is under-
run and lifted by the share and mould board ƒ would be received by the
revolving wheel, the fingers of which would riddle and disintegrate it
and let it fall through on to the ground.
If the apparatus first herein-before spoken of and shown be used-for
raising and separating potatoes or other similar roots from the soil, it
would do so in the following manner :-The earth and the roots would
be lifted together by the share and mould board, and be laid in the path
of the turnover mould board, to be afterwards thrown into the wheel
to be raised and riddled by the fingers so that the earth surrounding the
roots would break up and detach itself therefrom, falling gradually
through between the fingers and on to the ground, the potatoe or other
roots however would roll over and over upon the fingers towards the
outer ends and become deposited at the side of the track and upon
untouched ground so that they could be collected with facility. In the
second case the soil with the potatoes or other roots would be raised and
deposited at once into the wheel to become riddled and divided, when
the earth would fall through the fingers and the roots would run towards
the finger tips and off sufficiently to one side to clear the share, or avoid.

page_text: getting covered up in any way. I have spoken of the roots being thrown
off sideways clear of the track and in a continuous line, but by arranging
a receptacle at the side or sides to receive them they can be collected
in quantities and deposited at intervals according to the wish of the
attendant who could release a hinged bottom by withdrawing a spring
bolt or other fastener to let the roots fall through, the bottom being
afterwards lifted by a chain and retained in place by the action of the
bolt.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim,―
The construction and employment of a rotating wheel with fingers
on one or both sides for breaking up the soil in the manner described
and as shown in the annexed Drawings.
Secondly. The employment of one or more shares and mould boards
in combination with a rotating wheel provided with fingers in the
manner and for the purposes set forth.
Thirdly. I claim separating potatoes or other similar roots from the
soil surrounding them by the employment of a wheel provided with
fingers or projections arranged in the manner shown in the Drawings,
whether such wheel be fluted or ribbed on its periphery or left plain.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Palmer Hull, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of November, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
one.
HENRY PALMER HULL. (L.S.)