CERTAIN IMPROVE- MENTS IN SOWING, MANURING, AND CULTIVATING LAND, AND IN CERTAIN OF THE IMPLEMENTS USED THEREIN
Year: 1850

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SAMUEL
NEWINGTON, of Knole Frant, in the County of Sussex, M.D., send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Eleventh day of
January (One thousand eight hundred and fifty), in the thirteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Samuel Newington, my exors, adiñiors, and assigus, Her especial
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Samuel
Newington, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Samuel Newington, my exors, admñiors, or assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term of
years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, in the
Islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and in all Hei
Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVE-
MENTS IN SOWING, MANURING, AND CULTIVATING LAND, AND IN CERTAIN OF THE
IMPLEMENTS USED THEREIN;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso,
that I, the said Samuel Newington, shall cause a particular description of the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her

page_text: Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in
and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Samuel Newington, do hereby declare that the nature of my said improvements,
and the manner in which the same are to be performed, are fully described
and ascertained in and by the present Specification thereof, reference being
had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say:
Firstly, my Invention consists of an improved method of tilling and sowing
land, which I carry into effect by means of what I call a "band dropping
drill." Figure 1 is a cross section, Figure 2 a plan, and Figure 3 a back
view, of the said implement or machine. A, A, is a framework consisting of
two upright styles connected together by means of cross rails B, B; C, C, are
seed boxes, which are secured to the framework by means of screws D, D;
and E, E, are coulters (two, three, or more), one for each seed box, which are
attached to a slotted bearing piece F by means of screws and nuts, as shewn.
Each seed box should, of course, be on a line with its corresponding coulter,
and the distances between the sets of boxes and coulters must be regulated (by
means of screws and nuts aforesaid) according to the width desired to be
maintained between the rows of seed. G, G, are two wheels, upon which the
drill is mounted; and I, I, coupling boxes by which those wheels may be
connected to or disconnected from the axlo H, so as to allow of the machine
being wheeled about from place to place without producing any action upon
the seed-depositing part of the machinery, except when the coupling boxes are
gear with the wheels. K, K, are two rose or crown wheels, with teeth of a
vandyck shape, affixed to the axle H, which, on the rotation of the axle, com-
municate an alternating motion to the bar L, which has its bearings in slots
formed in the framework. Flat spaces are left between the teeth of the rose
wheels, which allow of the bar L and the vibrating plates 6 standing at rest
for the instant while the seeds are being dropped out of the cups d, d'. The
wheels K, K, are so proportioned in size to the bearing wheels G, G, that a
shift of the bar L is produced every four inches which the bearing wheels
travel over, and every shift of the bar causes a deposit of seed to take place
from the whole of the seed boxes by means of the arrangements to be next
described, and which are separately represented in Figure 4 and Figure 5,
Figure 4 being a vertical section of one of the seed boxes, and Figure 5 a
plan of the same. A² is a pipe or spout, which is inserted into a hole in the
bottom of the seed box, the lower end of which, when in its place in the
in

page_text: machine, falls within the cleft of the coulter, as represented in Figures 1 and 3.
b is a plate which oscillates upon the centre c, and is provided with two holes
or cup-shaped seed recesses d, d¹, which are so disposed that when the plate is
made to move from one side to the other, they come immediately over the top
of the spout A", and allow of the seeds which are contained in the cups falling
through the spout; a plan of the plate 6 is given separately in Figure 6, where
the black lines show it in the position which it occupies at one end of the
stroke in onc direction, and the red lines its position at the end of the stroke in
the reverse direction. E¹ is a tail piece, which is formed on the plate b, and
takes into one or other of the rectangular notches f.f. formed in a plate
affixed to one side of the oscillating bar L, so that when that bar is made to
oscillate by the machinery being wheeled over the surface of the ground, the
seed recesses d, d', come alternately over the spout and drop their contents.
g is a guard, which is screwed to the front of the seed box (occupying a place
immediately over the mouth of the spout A³), and has a row of bristles h, h,
affixed to each side of it, which serves to sweep off without bruising or injuring
any surplus seed which may be contained in the cups d, d¹. When the
machine is drawn over the ground by means of the handle M, the coulters
form furrows, into which each deposit of seed is regularly dropped at measured
distances apart, and the earthing over of the seeds is accomplished by means of
the blades N, N, affixed to the back ends of the coulters.
The drill just described may be readily altered, so as to serve the purpose of
dropping or distributing manures (instead of seed). Figure 7 is a vertical
section, Figure 8 a plan, of the drill, as thus modified. O is a hopper for con-
taining manure, which extends across the machine from side to side; P, a bar,
which has its bearings in slots formed in the ends of the hopper, and is connected
to the vibrating bar L by means of arms R, R, so that the bar P partakes of
the same movements as the bar L. p, p, is a plate or strip of metal, which is
affixed to one side of the bar P, and which has its lower edge serrated, so that
as it vibrates it causes the manure to flow in a regular and continuous stream
from a longitudinal opening formed in the bottom of the hopper. p', p', are
wires attached to the bar P, to prevent the manure becoming choked, or
jamming in the upper part of the hopper. R' is a regulating plate, which
is adjustable by the screws S, S, and by which the longitudinal opening in the
hopper for the escape of the manure can be made of any size, to suit the
quantity of manure it is wished to deposit.
Or the machine may be so arranged as to deposit at the same time both
seed and manure.

page_text: of this modification. The framework of this machine is necessarily much
stronger than that of the single machines before described, but the principle
of action and the moving parts are nearly the same. A, A, is the framework;
B, B, the rails, to which the seed boxes C, C are attached. The seed boxes
are shewn as attached to the front of the machine, in order that the moving
parts which produce the distribution of the manure may stand quite clear of
those which regulate the fall of the seed. O is the manure hopper, which is
provided with a sliding bar P and regulating plate inside of it, all as before
described. K, K, are the rose or crown wheels, which give motion to the
vibrating bar L, which again gives motion both to the sliding bar P and to
the vibrating cup plates of the seed boxes. T, T, represents a system of
leverage, by which the attendant can throw the bearing wheels out of gear
with the shaft, and allow the machine to travel without either distributing
manure or seed. No coulters or earthing blades are fitted to this modification
of the machine, but they may be added if required.
The parts on which the sowing action of my improved drop drill depends
may also be readily added and adapted to various cultivating implements and
machines in ordinary use, such as cultivators, scarifiers, &c.
Secondly, my Invention consists of an improved subsoil pulverizer, which
may be employed either for stirring the surface of the soil, or for stirring both
the surface and subsoil at the same time. A perspective view of this imple-
ment is given in Figure 11. A is the beam; B, a front coulter or tine,
which is provided with a cutting edge at front from a to b, and terminates in a
chisel point at the lower end. C, C, are other similar coulters or tines which
are attached to a slotted bar or guide D, which is attached to the beam and the
lower end of the handles E, E, by means of an iron clip F, which admits of the
slotted bar or guide being raised or lowered to any suitable height accordingly
as it is desired to make them enter to a greater or less depth, whereby a free
passage is left for the uprooted weeds, and the working of the implement does
not become thereby impeded. The guide wheel G also admits of a similar
adjustment of height. The whole of the tines may be set to enter the same
depth into the earth, or the two hinder ones may be set deeper, and stir and
pulverize the subsoil along with the surface soil.
This implement last described may also be employed for hoeing purposes;
or for earthing up potatoes, or as a seed sowing and manure distributor.
When used for hoeing, the coulters are armed with moveable shares, such as
represented in Figure 12; and when for earthing up potatoes, the two hinder
tines are removed, and a double share, of the description represented in
Figure 13, is attached to the slotted bar D..

page_text: For sowing seed, or for distributing manure, either of the implements repre-
sented in Figures 1 and 7, after having their handles removed, may be attached
to the slotted guide bar D, Figure 11, in which case they would form a horse
implement for sowing, or for manuring, or for performing both operations
simultaneously. If the seeds are to be drilled into the ground, the coulters for
drawing the furrows are affixed to the slotted guide bar.
Figure 14 is a side elevation of a tine; and Figure 15 a plan of a hoeing
share, shewing a method of connecting the two together, so that they may
present little or no obstacle to the implement in passing through the ground.
A. is a slot formed in the sole of the tine, into which the fore part, x, of the
share is inserted. The share is. made slightly concave, and fixed with the
convex side uppermost. The tine also is curved, so that the heel B and
front C shall be on a level, or nearly so.
::
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim as of my
Invention is,
Firstly, the sowing and tilling of land by means of the hand dropping drill
represented in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, and before described; that is to
say, in so far as regards the shifting bar L and oscillating plate b, and
their combination with the other parts with which they are in necessary
connection.
Secondly, the modification of the said machine, whereby it is adapted to the
manuring of land, represented in Figures 7 and 8, and before described.
Thirdly, the modification whereby the said machine is adapted both to
sowing and manuring, represented in Figures 9 and 10, and before described.
Fourthly, the application of the machine firstly herein-before described,
or any of the modifications thereof, or any of the peculiar parts of the said
machine or modifications, to other machines for sowing, manuring, and
cultivating land.
And, fifthly, the subsoil pulverizer represented in Figure 11, and before
described, in so far as regards the combination of the slotted guide bar D
with the other parts in necessary connection therewith, and the method of
connecting the share to the tine, as exemplified in Figures 14 and 15.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Newington, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eleventh day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty.
SAMUEL (L.s.) NEWINGTON.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Eleventh day of July, in the
year of our Lord 1850, the aforesaid Samuel Newington came before our said
Lady the Queen in Her Chancery and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, and all and everything therein contained and specified in form above
written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the
tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Eleventh day of July, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and fifty.