A NEW OR IMPROVED TURNIP TOPPING AND TAILING MACHINE
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Duncan Ross, of Hilton Farm, in the County of
Inverness, North Britain, for the Invention of " A NEW OR IMPROVED
TURNIP TOPPING AND TAILING MACHINE.”
Sealed the 3rd March 1876, and dated the 27th December 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Duncan Ross at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th December 1875.
I, DUNCAN Ross, of Hilton Farm, in the County of Inverness, North
Britain, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "A NEW
OR IMPROVED TURNIP TOPPING AND TAILING MACHINE," to be as follows:-
This Invention has reference to a new or improved construction and
arrangement or combination of the parts of an agricultural machine
for cutting off the tops or leaves and the tails or roots of turnips
close above and below the body of the turnips respectively while in the
drills where they grow.
The nature and novelty of the Invention consist in having a sharp
angled blade or knife carried by vertical and lateral arms on the frame
of the machine over and under each drill to cut at one time or during

page_text: one traverse of the machine, so that these knives will cut the tops and
tails of the turnips in the direction of the traverse of the machine over
them, and in a plane parallel to the drills and surface of the field or
nearly so, in contradistinction to the manner of cutting turnips hereto-
fore by reciprocating and revolving knives acting and cutting laterally
or transversely across the drills.
The frame of the machine may be of the simplest construction, such
as those of grubbers and some kinds of drill dressers and ploughs, or
the frames of these implements themselves might be used by having
the vertical and lateral arms filled so as to be attached thereto instead
of the grubbers or ploughs, namely, with a central longitudinal beam,
carried over a central furrow on one or two guiding wheels running
therein at the front end, and a long transverse bar or frame behind,
having the two rear carrying wheels mounted near the outer ends and
running in the adjacent furrow on each side of the furrow below
the centre of the machine and guiding wheel, and with the usual
two guiding arms in the middle at the extreme back end of the
machine, so that the attendant can walk in the centre furrow between
the two drills of turnips (over which the frame is carried) to be
cut or dressed. The stems and arms which carry the cutting knives
stretched or rigid, are made to rise and fall in guides or on joints
in the frame, which might also be adjustable on the wheel arms or
carriers, and have a lever or hand screw led from these to where the
attendant guides the machine, to set the knives to cut at any desired
height to suit that of the turnips and drills. The upper knives
might lie at an angle inwards or outwards at the front on each side of
the longitudinal beam between the front and back wheels, so as to cut
the tops and push or leave the cuttings in the centre or side drills, as
preferred, all in front of the under or root cutting knives, which are
secured to the long back transverse rail, and preferably project behind
it, so as not to cut the roots or disturb the earth or turnips until after
the tops have been cut off. The vertical stems of the upper knives
would be kept on one side or other of the drill, so as not to disturb
the tops of the turnips, and each lower knife might be made strong and
rigid, with a single stem quite above or out of the way of the earth
and cut-off tops, and have the angled blade part bent or curved down
so as to cut into the drill with as little friction as possible.
Although only two duille of tummian hawn ha
t at

page_text: once, wider machines may be made to cut three or more at a time,
having a corresponding number of upper and lower knives, which
might be at very various angles, but from 45° to 25° seems to act well
in ordinary crops; and the machines may be drawn by horses or oxen,
as harrows and ploughs are, or they may be driven by manual or motive
power, as most convenient for their size; but in any case they are
easier driven and make cleaner work (as they do not cut or scatter
the turnips) than other turnip topping and tailing machine heretofore
in use.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Duncan Ross in the Great Seal Patent Office
- on the 27th June 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, DUNCAN
Ross, of Hilton Farm, in the County of Inverness, North Britain, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of December, in
the year of our Lord One thousand cight hundred and seventy-five, in
the thirty-ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Duncan Ross, Her special
licence, that I, the said Duncan Ross, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others, as I, the said Duncan Ross, 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 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 "A NEW OR
IMPROVED TURNIP TOPPING AND TAILING MACHINE," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Duncan Ross, my executors or admi-
nistrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
their hands and seals, 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,

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Duncan Ross, 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 in writing, reference being had to the accom-
panying Sheet of Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon, that is to say :—
My said Invention has reference to a new or improved construction
and arrangement or combination of the parts of an agricultural machine
for cutting off the tops or leaves and the tails or roots of turnips close
above and below the body of the turnips, respectively, while in the drills
where they grow.
And in order that the nature and novelty of my said Invention, and
the mode of performing or putting it into effect or practice, may be
properly understood, I will now proceed to describe the several Figures™
on the Sheet of Drawings which I have hereunto appended for that
purpose, the same letters of reference indicating the same parts in all
the Figures.
Figures 1 and 2 aro a side elevation and a plan, and Figure 3 a back
end clevation, all of one modification or arrangement of the parts of a
turnip topping and tailing machine constructed in accordance with and 2
illustrative of my said Invention.
Referring to those Figures 1, 2, and 3, the Invention substantially
consists in having a sharp angled blade or knife A and B, carried by
vertical and lateral arms a, b, and a¹, b', on the frame C, 0, 0, of the
machine over and under each drill, indicated by red lines z, z, to cut at 2
one time or during one traverse of the machine, so that these knives A
and B will cut the tops and tails respectively of the turnips in the
direction of the traverse of the machine over them (indicated by the red
arrows in Figure 2), and in a plane parallel to the drills and surface of
the field or nearly so, in contradistinction to the manner of dressing 3
turnips heretofore, by reciprocating and revolving knives acting or
cutting laterally or transversely across or with cutters at right angles to
the drills.
The main frame C, C³, C", of the machine may be of the simplest
construction (such as those of grubbers and some kinds of drill dressers 3
and ploughs, or the frames of these implements might themselves be

page_text: used by having the said vertical and lateral arms a, b, and a³, b¹, fitted
so as to be attached thereto instead of the grubbers or ploughs), namely,
with a central longitudinal beam C carried over a central furrow ¹
on one or two guiding wheels D by its stem D", and running therein
at the front end, as is common in such implements, and having a
long transverse bar or frame C¹ behind, with the two rear carrying
wheels D¹, D', mounted near the outer ends thereof, preferably on knee
arms D³, and running in the adjacent furrows 21, 22, one on each side
of the furrow z¹, below the centre frame C of the machine and guiding
wheel D, D¹, and fitted with the usual two guiding arms C" in the middle
at the extreme back end of the machine so that the attendant to
guide and regulate the action of the machine can walk in the centre
furrow ¹, between the two drills 2, 2, of turnips (over which the
frame C, C³, 0", is so carried) to be cut or dressed. The stems a, b, and
arms a¹, b¹, which carry the cutting knives A and B, either stretched or
rigid, are made to rise and fall in guides or on joints at a³, a", b*, in the
frame, which might also be adjustable on the wheel arms or carriers, as
at d, d', c, and have a lever, as E, with spring catch and notch or
segment e, e¹, near where the attendant guides the machine, to turn the
spindle O³, all so as to set the knives to cut at any desired height to suit
that of the turnips and drills, or any other equivalent raising and setting
lever or screw arrangement with handle led to within reach of the at-
tendant might be used for the lever E. The upper knives A, A, are hore
set at an acute angle inwards at or towards their front ends A¹ on each
side of the longitudinal beam O between the front and back wheels D and
D¹, D¹¹, so as to cut the tops outwards, and push or leave the cuttings in
the side furrows 1, 2, but, vice versa, these knives might be set out-
wards in front and cut on the inner edges, and deliver the leaves in the
centre furrow when preferred, all in front of the under or root cutting
knives B, B, which are rigid, and secured by their strong stems b, b, to
the long back transverse rail b¹, and preferably made to project at an
angle or curve outwards and backwards behind it and the knives A, as
seen particularly in Figure 2, and so cut with less draught or expendi-
ture of power than if they were set at right angles to the drill, and so as
not to cut the roots or disturb the earth or turnips until after the tops
have been cut by the cutting knives A, A'. The cutters A, A¹, are
made in this case of steel blades of such a breadth and thickness towards
the back edge and rear end as to give sufficient rigidity (like a scythe
blade) when fixed on their arms a to cut off the tops of the turnips

page_text: without yielding or vibration, and are preferably slightly curved and
bent up at the front end A², and mounted with spiral or other springs
at a above them at the front arms a, a', so that when the front end A'
of the knife is so low as to touch a large or high turnip it automatically
rises upwards and cuts the top only close to the neck, and then falls to
the normal cutting plane of the drill to which it is set; but although a
broad rigid elastic cutter such as a scythe blade is herein described for
these knives A, A', it will be understood that these blades may be made
of thin narrow band steel sharpened along the cutting edge, and
stretched tight between end carrying arms (as a, a,) by screws or other
equivalent. The vertical stems a, a, of the upper knives are preferably
kept on one side or other of the drills z, z, so as not to disturb the
tops of the turnips before they are cut, and each lower knife B may be
made.strong and rigid, with a single stem 6 quite above or out of the
way of the cut off tops, and have the back angled blade part B bent or
curved down-and-outwards at B¹ towards the back or free cutting end, as
seen in Figures 1 and 3, so as to cut into the drill with as little friction.
as possible, and after cutting off the tails or roots these lower knives
might be made to turn up or throw out the turnips when desired.
.
Although only two drills of turnips have been described as cut at
once it is to be understood that wider machines may be made to cut
three or more drills at a time by having a corresponding number of
upper and lower knives A, B, which might be set at various other
angles to that shown, but from 30° to 90° of an angle to each other, as
indicated at Figure 2^, seems to act well in ordinary crops, and the
machine may be drawn by horses or oxen, as harrows and ploughs are,
or they may be driven by manual or motive power, as most convenient
for their size, but in any case they are casier driven and make cleaner
work (as they do not cut or scatter the turnips) than other turnip
topping and tailing machines heretofore in use, and the machine shown
in these Figures is easily drawn by one horse.
Although the knives A, B, are shown with straight angled cutting
edges in the plan, Figure 2, they might be curved in a convex or
concave manner with substantially similar results.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is or may be performed, I have to state that
I do not restrict myself to the precise details herein described or

page_text: delineated, but what I believe to be novel and original and therefore
claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part recited
Letters Patent is,―
First. The general construction and use of a machine for cutting off
the tops and tails of turnips in the drill with top and underground
angled knives A, B, cutting by the direct forward draught of the
machine, all substantially in the new or improved manner herein ·
described in reference to and shown in the accompanying Drawings, or
any mere modification thereof.
Second. The construction and use of stationary angled knives A in
turnip topping and tailing machines for cutting off the tops or leaves of
the turnips by the forward draught of the machine, substantially as
herein described in reference to and shown in the accompanying
Drawings, or any mere modification thereof.
Third. The setting and fitting of the knives A on their stems a, a, so
that they automatically rise and fall in front to suit the different heights
of turnips, as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Duncan Ross, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of June, in the year
of our Lord, One thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.
Witness,
W. R. M. THOMSON,
Patent Agent,
Glasgow.
DUNCAN ROSS. (L.S.)