IMPROVEMENTS IN IRRIGATORS OR MACHINES FOR WATERING GRASS AND OTHER LANDS, ROADS, FLOORS, FLOWERS, PLANTS, SHRUBS, AND TREES, AND APPLICABLE FOR ALL PURPOSES FOR WHICH ORDINARY WATERING POTS ARE EMPLOYED, PARTS OF WHICH IM- PROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO PUMPS FOR RAISING AND FORCING LIQUIDS
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Henry Bentley, of Bedford, in the County
of Bedford, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN IRRIGATORS
OR MACHINES FOR WATERING GRASS AND OTHER LANDS, ROADS, FLOORS,
FLOWERS, PLANTS, SHRUBS, AND TREES, AND APPLICABLE FOR ALL PURPOSES
FOR WHICH ORDINARY WATERING POTS ARE EMPLOYED, PARTS OF WHICH IM-
PROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO PUMPS FOR RAISING AND FORCING
LIQUIDS."
Sealed the 15th September 1854, and dated the 7th April 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION lef by the said William Henry Bentley,
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
7th April 1854.
I, WILLIAM HENRY BENTLEY, of Bedford, in the County of Bedford,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN IRRIGATORS OR MACHINES FOR WATERING GRASS AND OTHER LANDS, ROADS,
FLOORS, FLOWERS, PLANTS, SHRUBS, AND TREES, AND APPLICABLE FOR ALL PURPOSES
FOR WHICH ORDINARY WATERING POTS ARE EMPLOYED, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS
ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO PUMPS FOR RAISING AND FORCING LIQUIDS," to be as
follows:-
In external appearance my improved portable irrigators or machines some-
what resemble an ordinary watering pot. I introduce the water or liquid
into the body of the irrigator, through a basin fitted to the top, or
through an aperture in the top or bottom or side, having screw sockets

page_text: to receive the end of the supply pipe and screw caps to close them when
not in use. I cover the aperture which admits the water to the inside with
a strainer of wire gauze, perforated metal, sponge, or other suitable mate-
rial, to prevent the entrance of dirt. I have a long spout to the machine,
enlarged at the part where it joins the body, and provided with a rose, jet,
or spreader, to distribute the water or liquid, or closed at the end, and per-
forated with slanting apertures all round it. The rose, jet, or spreader may
be connected to the spout by a joint, to admit of its being turned from side
to side. I adapt a plunger to the spout, so that it may act as a pump; and I
make the plunger tubular, so that the water may be forced through it as it is
worked up and down in the spout, by which means a jet may be thrown to a
considerable distance and directed to any part that may be required. For the
purpose of working the plunger, I provide it with a handle, or I form on it a
screw of quick pitch with several threads, or a screw worm or spiral; and I
have a nut or collar, or equivalent contrivance, working on the screw worm
or spiral, by means of which the plunger will be caused to move up and down
in the spout, and the water thereby forced through the tubular plunger; or I
employ springs to assist in working the plunger. I also apply this mode of
working the plunger to pumps or engines for raising and forcing water and
liquids. I provide the apparatus with a swivel to the bow handle, to enable it
to be slung from a yoke, for convenience of carrying it from place to place
while in use. In cases where a constant supply of water is required, I have a
gutta percha or other tube connected to the inlet aperture, and communicating
with an elevated cistern, or with a tank, or other source of supply, so that the
liquid may be supplied under pressure or drawn into the apparatus by working
the plunger in the spout, by which latter arrangement water or liquid may be
drawn in and forced out at the same time. In some cases I apply telescopic
or other tubes to form a continuation of the tubular plunger. I apply a
strainer to the aperture of the tubular plunger, and also to any other tubes
that may be connected to it; and where several tubes are used, I make one or
more of them to serve as air chambers, if required; and in some instances I
make the plunger and tubes to work through an air chamber. In some cases
I make the bow handle hollow, and connect it by a pipe to the basin in the top
of the irrigator, so as to form a communication between the basin and the
bottom of the body. When the irrigators are of large size, I mount them
on a carriage with wheels or rollers, and I make them of any form that
may
be most convenient. I make the axle hollow, and conduct the water
to the irrigator through the axle, and I fit a rose, jet, or spreader to the
axle, and force the water through it by the same action of the plunger

page_text: which draws the water into the irrigator. In some cases I employ the
jets from the irrigator and the axle separately instead of at the same time.
In cases where the water or liquid is required to be applied warm, or where
chemical ingredients requiring heat for their solution are to be combined with
the water, I fit a fire box or other heater to the irrigator, whether portable or
running on wheels. I also use the heating apparatus for generating steam
where such is required for use in conservatories, green-houses, or otherwise;
and I direct the steam through the spout and jet to the places where it is to
be applied. In a similar manner the heating apparatus may be employed for
obtaining vapours for fumigating purposes. In some cases I make the rollers
which support the carriage serve also for rolling the ground. I fit the carriage
with shafts, to enable it to be drawn by horses, or with a handle, by which it
can be drawn or pushed along by a man. I provide the irrigators with taps, to
enable the supply and exit to be cut off when required, and I work these
taps by screws in the same manner as the plunger, or by an ordinary handle.
I make my irrigators of clay, earthenware, or glass, combined with metal, or
entirely of clay, glass, or metal, or of wood strengthened with metal stays.
When the irrigators are mounted on wheels or rollers, I employ the rotary
motion of the wheels or rollers for the purpose of actuating the lever or handle
of the tubular plunger, so that the act of drawing or pushing forward the
machine will cause the jet to be thrown and the machine to be kept supplied.
For the purpose of washing as well as watering trees, plants, &c., I adapt a
sponge or brush to the end of the jet, by which means I am enabled to
facilitate the operation of cleaning plants, &c., when this is required to be
done.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Henry Bentley in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 7th October 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HENRY BENTLEY, of Bedford, in the County of Bedford, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the seventeenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Henry Bentley, Her special licence that I, the said
William Henry Bentley, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such

page_text: others as I, the said William Henry Bentley, 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 expressed, should and law-
fully 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 IRRIGATORS OR MACHINES FOR WATERING GRASS AND OTHER
LANDS, ROADS, FLOORS, FLOWERS, PLANTS, SHRUBS, AND TREES, AND APPLICABLE FOR
ALL PURPOSES FOR WHICH ORDINARY WATERING POTS ARE EMPLOYED, PARTS OF WHICH
IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO PUMPS FOR RAISING AND FORCING LIQUIDS,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Henry Bentley,
an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly
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 William Henry Bentley, 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 follow-
ing statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
that is to say :-
In external appearance my improved portable irrigators or machines some-
what resemble an ordinary watering pot. I introduce the water or liquid
into the body of the irrigator through a basin fitted to the top, or through an
aperture in the top or bottom or side, having screw sockets to receive the end
of a supply pipe, and screw caps to close them when not in use. I cover the
aperture which admits the water to the inside with a strainer of wire gauze,
perforated metal, sponge, or other suitable material, to prevent the entrance of
dirt. I have a long spout to the machine, enlarged at the part where it joins
the body, and provided with a rose, jet, or spreader, to distribute the water or
liquid, or closed at the end and perforated with slanting apertures all round it.
The rose, jet, or spreader may be connected to the spout by a joint, to admit of
its being turned from side to side. I adapt a plunger to the spout, so that it
may act as a pump, and I make the plunger tubular, so that the water may be
forced through it as it is worked up and down in the spout, by which means a
jet may be thrown to a considerable distance, and directed to any part that
may be required. For the purpose of working the plunger, I provide it with
a handle, or I form on it a screw of quick pitch with several threads, or a
screw worm or spiral; and I have a nut or collar, or equivalent contrivance,
working on the screw worm or spiral, by means of which the plunger will be

page_text: caused to move up and down in the spout, and the water thereby forced
through the tubular plunger; or I employ springs to assist in working the
plunger. I also apply this mode of working the plunger to pumps or engines
for raising and forcing water and liquids. I provide the apparatus with a
swivel to the bow handle, to enable it to be slung from a yoke, for convenience
of carrying it from place to place while in use. In cases where a constant
supply of water is required, I have a gutta percha or other tube connected to
the inlet aperture, and communicating with an elevated cistern, or with a tank
or other source of supply, so that the liquid may be supplied under pressure,
or drawn into the apparatus by working the plunger in the spout, by which
latter arrangement water or liquid may be drawn in and forced out at the
same time.
In some cases I apply telescopic or other tubes to form a con-
tinuation of the tubular plunger. I apply a strainer to the aperture of the
tubular plunger, and also to any other tubes that may be connected to it; and
where several tubes are used, I make one or more of them to serve as air
chambers if required, and in some instances I make the plunger and tubes to
work through an air chamber. In some cases I make the bow handle hollow,
and connect it by a pipe to the basin in the top of the irrigator, so as to form a
communication between the basin and the bottom of the body. When the
irrigators are of large size I mount them on a carriage with wheels or rollers,
and I make them of any form that may be most convenient. I make the axle
hollow, and conduct the water to the irrigator through the axle, and I fit a
rose, jet, or spreader to the axle, and force the water through it by the same
action of the plunger which draws the water into the irrigator. In some cases
I employ the jets from the irrigator and the axle separately instead of at the
same time. Where the water or liquid is required to be applied warm, or
where chemical ingredients requiring heat for their solution are to be combined
with the water, I fit a fire box or other heater to the irrigator, whether port-
able or running on wheels. I also use the heating apparatus for generating
steam, where such is required for use in conservatories, green-houses, or other-
wise, and I direct the steam through the spout and jet to the places where it
is to be applied. In a similar manner the heating apparatus may be em-
ployed for obtaining vapours for fumigating purposes. In some cases I make
the rollers which support the carriage serve also for rolling the ground. I fit
the carriage with shafts, to enable it to be drawn by horses, or with a handle,
by which it can be drawn or pushed along by hand. I provide the irrigators
with taps, to enable the supply and exit to be cut off when required; and I
work these taps by screws in the same manner as the plunger, or by an ordi-
nary handle.
I make my irrigators of clay, earthenware, or glass, combined

page_text: with metal, or entirely of clay, glass, or metal, or of wood strengthened with
metal stays. When the irrigators are mounted on wheels or rollers, I employ
the rotary motion of the wheels or rollers for the purpose of actuating the
lever or handle of the tubular plunger, so that the act of drawing or pushing
forward the machine will cause the jet to be thrown, and the machine to be
kept supplied. For the purpose of washing as well as watering trees, plants, &c.,
I adapt a sponge or brush to the end of the jet, by which means I am enabled
to facilitate the operation of cleaning plants, &c., when this is required to be
donc..
In the Drawings hereunto annexed I have shewn the several methods
which I adopt for carrying into effect these my improvements. Figure 1 is a
side elevation of an irrigator or machine for watering, and Figure 2 a longi-
tudinal section of the same. A, A, is the body or case of the irrigator, which
(when filling it by hand with water or other liquid) is supplied through the
basin or chamber B, provided with an aperture C, opening into the interior of
the case. D is a slide, formed of wire gauze or perforated metal, which covers
the aperture C, and thereby prevents the entrance of any dirt or foreign
matter with the water or other liquid. E is the spout, which is made longer
than the ordinary spouts, and is continued downwards to the bottom of the
case A, where it terminates in a socket a, covered with a cap b. This spout is
made of an equal diameter throughout its length in order to serve the purpose
of a pump barrel. F is a hollow rod inside the spout E, which forms the
piston rod of the pump, and terminates in a plunger or piston c. G is a tube
which surrounds the lower portion of the piston rod, and is firmly secured
thereto, so as to work up and down with the piston rod. The tube G is of a
greater diameter than the piston rod, whereby a space is left between it and
the rod so as to form an air chamber, and thereby to increase the force of the
pump, and enable it when in work to throw the water or other liquid to a
greater distance. d is a ball valve; and c, an aperture of communication
between the pump barrel and the irrigator. f, f, are two handles attached to
the upper part of the piston rod for facility of working it. These handles are
connected by joints so as to enable them to be turned up, as shewn in Figure 1,
when it is desired to attach a rose or spreader to the end of the spont, which
spout is also perforated with holes in a slanting direction, in order that the
machine may be used as an ordinary watering pot, the water or other liquid
entering the spout through the aperture g. When it is desired to fill the irrigator
from a well or other similar source, at a distance from where the machine is
being used, I then unscrew the cap 6 and attach to the socket a a gutta percha
or other suitable flexible tube in communication with the source of supply, then

page_text: by working the pump the water will be drawn into the irrigator, and thereby
filled. By this means the pump may be used both to draw the water and
also to force it. The socket a is provided with a strainer of. wire gauze or
perforated metal, in order to free the water of any dirt that may be in it.
His the bow handle, which is provided with a swivel h for suspending the
apparatus from a yoke for the convenience of carrying it; or when it is desired
to suspend it from a frame running on wheels I pass a spindle through the
tube i. In some cases I find it more advantageous to admit the water into
the irrigator at or near the bottom, which I accomplish by connecting the
basin B with the lower part of the bow handle by means of a short tube j, as
shewn in Figure 2, an aperture being left at the bottom of the handle and
opening into the interior of the irrigator. Figure 3 represents in section a
modification of the preceding arrangement, the same letters of reference
indicating similar parts. In this machine the spout or pump barrel is formed
with the thread of a screw on its outer circumference, and is attached to the
irrigator by passing it through a socket k, cut with a corresponding thread. I
also use this screw, which is of a quick pitch, for working the piston rod up
and down in the pump barrel. I is a nut tapped with a thread corresponding
to that on the barrel, and furnished with handles, whereby it is turned round.
1, 1, are rods which connect the nut with the upper part of the piston rod,
whereby as the nut is turned the piston is raised or lowered, corresponding to
the direction in which the nut is caused to revolve. In this Figure I have
also shewn the method which I adopt when it is desired to heat the water in
the irrigator, either for converting such water into steam or for dissolving any
chemical ingredients it may be desired to impregnate the water with, or for
simply warming the water to be used in that state. K is a fire box, formed in
the bottom of the irrigator, and provided with a grate m, free to slide in and
out for facility of removing it. An opening is made in the back communicating
with the handle, which thereby forms a chimney or funnel, the smoke making
its exit through the aperture n. Figure 4 indicates another method of forming
the pump barrel or spout, with an interior screw worm or spiral, and I form
upon the piston rod a boss cut with a thread, whereby as the piston rod is
turned by the handles the plunger is raised or lowered. Figure 5 represents
the manner in which I make the piston rod telescopic, whereby it can be
lengthened or shortened at pleasure. I also furnish the piston rod with a
brush, the handle of which is hollow, and communicates with the interior of
the piston rod, whereby it can be kept constantly wet when in use for cleaning
plants or for other purposes. A sponge or other substance may be similarly

page_text: applied. In Figure 6 I have shewn the brush as connected to one end of a
gutta percha or other flexible tube, the opposite end being furnished with a
hollow screw for attaching the tube to a socket on the end of the piston rod.
Figure 7 is an external view, and Figure 8, a section of a rose or spreader,
which I adapt to the spouts of my irrigators. The peculiarity in this rose or
spreader consists in my being enabled to alter the shower, so as to make it
"finer" or "heavier" at pleasure. A and B are two roses or spreaders, perfo-
rated with different sized holes, and communicating with the same tube. C, D,
is a second tube (separately shewn in Figure 9), which is passed up into the
interior of the tube C, and connected thereto by a bayonet or other suitable
joint. The tube D has cut in one side of it an opening E, which corresponds
with the openings into either of the roses A and B, so that by turning the
tube C round upon the tube D, communication can be opened between either
of the roses and the aperture E, according to the class of shower it is desired
to throw. Figure 10 is a similar arrangement, but the roses or spreaders are
formed of tubes perforated with different sized holes. Figures 11, 12, and 13
represent different forms of single roses or spreaders; Figure 14, a double
rose or spreader; and Figure 15, a triple one. In the roses represented in
Figures 14 and 15, it will be necessary, when desirous of changing the nature
of the shower, to remove it and to readjust it upon the end of the spout.
Other shaped roses or spreaders may be used, but in all cases I make the
perforations in a slanting direction so as to more effectually spread the shower,
and I also connect them to the end of the spout by either screwing them
thereto, or by bayonet joints, or by any other equivalent means. Figure 16
represents the manner in which I mount my improved irrigators upon wheels
when of too large a size to be used by hand, and also the manner in which I
combine them with rollers for both watering and rolling simultaneously. A is
the irrigator, mounted by means of the spindle a in brackets B, connected to
the side frames C by bolts and nuts c, c. These side frames terminate in the
handle D. E is one of a pair of wheels for supporting the front of the machine,
and F the roller running in eyes formed in the return G of the frames C.
The irrigator, when desired to be used, may be either raised by the handle
II or by the projecting bar I. Figure 17 represents a plan, and Figure 18
a sectional elevation of an apparatus for watering or distributing liquids over
land, to be drawn by horse or other power. A, A, is a tank or reservoir for
holding the liquid, supported upon the framework B, to which is attached the
shafts C, C. D is a hollow axle running across the framing and attached
thereto. E, E, are the wheels. F is a pipe communicating between the tank

page_text: A and the axle D. G, G, are two or more pipes projecting from the axle and
opening into it. These pipes are also connected to the tubes H, H, supported
across the machine by the hanging brackets a, a, and are perforated on their
underside, so as to admit of the liquid flowing through in a shower upon the
land when the cocks b, b, are opened. I is a pump similar to that represented
in Figures 1 and 2, the hollow piston rod of which is furnished with a rose or
spreader K, for throwing a shower over the land, if desired. This pump may
be worked by the forward motion of the machine in the following manner :—
L is a tappet wheel, connected to and revolving with the wheels E, E. M is
a rod provided with a tooth, which bears upon the teeth of the wheel L, and
by which, when the machine is in motion, the rod is drawn forward. The
opposite end of the rod is attached to a bell crank lever, which is also con-
nected with an upright rod N, attached to a lever O, centered in the brackets
c, c. This lever O is connected to two side rods P, attached to a collar on the
piston rod of the pump. By these means, as the wheel L revolves, the piston
rod is alternately worked up and down, and a shower is thrown upon the land.
d is a screw cap and socket for attaching a tube for filling the tank, either
from an elevated source of supply or into which the supply is drawn by means
of the pump, in which case the rod N is disconnected from the bell crank, and
the lever O worked by hand. Roses or spreaders may, if desired, be fitted to
the ends of the axle, so as to throw a shower on each side of the machine.
Figure 19 represents a section of an improved tap, which is opened or closed
by means of a screw thread cut upon the barrel or outer tube A. A is the
outer tube or barrel, which is screwed into the irrigator or vessel. A portion
of the outer circumference of this tube is cut with a screw thread B. C is
an inner tube, which is ground into the interior of the tube A. The inner end
of this tube is formed with a cap D, which when the tap is closed firmly abuts
against the end of the tube A, so as to prevent any entrance of water or other
liquid. The tube C is perforated with two holes a, a, one at each end, the
hole a corresponds with the outlet aperture in the tube A. E is a pro-
longation of the tube C, which is fitted with a handle F, free to revolve upon
the tube E, but retained in its position thereon by the collars c, c. G, G, are
two bent rods attached to the handle F, and also to a nut H, working upon
the screw thread B upon the tube A. The action of this tap is as follows:-
Upon turning the handle F round in the direction to cause the nut to traverse
towards the back of the tap, the inner tube C is caused to slide within the
tube A, so as to free the cap D from the end of the tube A, and also to bring.
the hole a¹ beyond the end of the tube A, and thereby to admit of the water

page_text: or other fluid flowing into the tube C. This same action of the handle F also
brings the hole a immediately above the aperture b, whereby the water as it
enters the tube C flows out through the aperture 6 until it is desired to stop it
off, which is accomplished by turning the handle F in the reverse direction, so
as to bring the cap D close against the end of the tube A, as represented in
the Figure. I is a cap upon the prolongation E, which is unscrewed when it
is desired to attach to this tap a gutta percha or other flexible tube for con-
veying the water to any distance from the reservoir. K is a spiral spring,
placed between the tube A and handle F, to assist in turning the handle.. A
similar spiral may be placed upon or within the pump barrels to facilitate the
raising of the piston rods and plungers.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim,-
First, the several improvements in irrigators or machines for watering grass
and other lands, roads, floors, flowers, plants, shrubs, and trees, and applicable
for all purposes for which ordinary watering pots are employed, in so far as
regards the combination and adaptation of the parts of which the same consist,
all as herein-before described and represented in Figures 1, 2, 3, 16, 17, and 18
of the Drawings hereunto annexed.
Second, I claim the forming the pump barrels of irrigators or other engines
either with an internal or external thread of a screw, spiral, or worm, for the
purpose of working the piston rod of the plunger, in the manner herein-before
described and represented in Figures 3 and 4 of the Drawings hereunto
annexed.
Third, I claim the adaptation to the hollow piston rods of irrigators or other
similar watering apparatus brushes or sponges, in the manner and for the
purposes herein-before described and represented in Figures 5 and 6 of the
Drawing hereunto annexed.
Fourth, I claim the making the piston rods of pumps of a telescopic form,
as represented in Figure 5 of the Drawings hereunto annexed, and for the
purposes herein-before described.
Fifth, I claim the heating the water in irrigators and other similar appa-
ratus by means of fire boxes applied thereto, as represented in Figure 3 of
the Drawings hereunto annexed, and for the several purposes herein-before
described.
Sixth, I claim the method of forming taps for irrigators and other purposes,
as represented in Figure 19 of the Drawings hereunto annexed and herein-
before described.

page_text: And seventh, I claim the several forms of roses or spreaders, represented in
Figures 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 of the Drawings hereunto annexed
and herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Henry Bentley, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Seventh day of October, One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-four.
W. H. BENTLEY. (L.S.)