IMPROVEMENTS IN PLOUGHING AND TILLING LAND
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Fowler, junior, of Havering, near Romford,
in the County of Essex, Engineer, and David Greig, of Barkingside, also
in the County of Essex, Farmer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
PLOUGHING AND TILLING LAND."
Sealed the 17th June 1856, and dated the 28th February 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Fowler and David
Greig at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition,
on the 28th February 1856.
We, JOHN FOWLER, junior, of Havering, near Romford, in the County of
Essex, Engineer, and DAVID GREIG, of Barkingside, also in the County of
Essex, Farmer, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVE
MENTS IN PLOUGHING AND TILLING LAND," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in ploughing and tilling land
when steam power is employed. For this purpose several ploughs or tilling
implements are placed at each end of a frame, in order that when the imple-
ments at one end of the frame go out of work the implements at the other end
of the frame may come into action; the frame is mounted on an axle in the
middle and moves thereon as on a fulcrum. The machine has two or more
wheels to run on, and is moved to and fro across the land by means of wire

page_text: ropes, put into motion by a barrel or barrels caused to rotate by a steain
engine. By this arrangement, when the machine arrives at the end of its
course in one direction, in place of having to turn it round, one set of imple-
ments go up out of action, and the other set of implements descend and come
into action, and this is effected by the draft of the wire rope taking place in 5
the opposite direction.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Fowler and David Greig in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 28th August 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
FOWLER, junior, of Havering, near Romford, in the County of Essex,
Engineer, and DAVID GREIG, of Barkingside, also in the County of Essex,
Farmer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the nineteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said John
Fowler and David Greig, Her special licence, that we, the said John Fowler
and David Greig, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
we, the said John Fowler and David Greig, our 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
"IMPROVEMENTS IN PLOUGHING AND TILLING LAND," upon the conditions (amongst
others) that we, the said John Fowler and David Greig, our executors,
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our hands and seals, or
under the hand and seal of one of us or them, sliould partieularly 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 we, the said John Fowler and David Greig, 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 (that is to say):

page_text: This Invention has for its object improvements in ploughing and tilling land
when steam power is employed. For this purpose several ploughs or tilling
instruments are placed at each end of a frame, in order that when the imple-
ments at one end of the frame go out of work, the implements at the other
end of the frame may come into action; the frame is mounted on an axle in
the middle, and moves thereon as on a fulcrum. The machine has two or
more wheels to run on, and is moved to and fro across the land by means of
wire ropes, put into motion by a barrel or barrels caused to rotate by a steam
engine. By this arrangement, when the machine arrives at the end of its
course in one direction, in place of having to turn it round, one set of imple-
ments go up out of action, and the other set of implements descend and come
into action, and this is effected by the draft of the wire rope taking place in
the opposite direction.
Having thus stated the nature of our said Invention, we will proceed more
fully to describe the manner of performing the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 is a side elevation, and Figure 2 a plan, of a machine baving a
peculiar combination of several ploughs arranged in two sets, one set coming
into action when the other set goes out of action, by reason of the two sets of
ploughs being applied to two ends of a lever frame. In the arrangement
shown there are two sets of four ploughs, but other numbers of ploughs may
be similarly combined and used.
a, a, is the lever frame, the nature and construction of which are clearly
shown in the Drawing; this lever frame moves on a fulcrum or axis b. The
lever frame and the frame with which it works are carried by a pair of wheels
c, c, the axles of which can be raised or lowered by means of screws and
nuts d, e. Each plough may be of any ordinary construction; f is a wheel
which is shifted from end to end of the frame which carries the lever frame,
and is intended to support the hinder end (of the outer frame) for the time
being; 9.9, are the draft rods, which are fixed at g', and they have screw or
adjusting nuts h, h, by which their position is regulated in respect to the bar or
stop i, carried by the outer frame k. The wire ropes by which the machine
is moved are attached to the hook j; there are similar draft rods and appa-
ratus attached to the other part of the lever frame, but the same are not
shown in the Drawing; k, k, is the frame to which the wheels are applied, and
within which the lever frame works. By this combination there is no necessity
for going about when the ploughs arrive at the end of a course, for in place

page_text: thereof, the ploughs which have been out of work come into work, and those
which have been in work go out of work.
In witness whereof, we, the said John Fowler and David Greig, have
hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-sixth day of August,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
Witness,
ROBERT SCOTT,
Blacksmith, Hainault Forrest.
JOHN FOWLER, JUN. (MD)
DAVID GREIG.
(L.S.)