IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR ROLLING AND CRUSHING LAND, AND IN MACHINERY TO BE USED IN THE CULTURE OF GRASS LANDS
Year: 1841

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CROSSKILL, of Beverley, in the County of York, Ironfounder, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Eighth day of September, in the fifth year of Her reign, did, for
Herself, er heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said William
Crosskill, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that
I, the said William Crosskill, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, or such others
as 1, the said William Crosskill, my exors, adñiors, 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 upor
Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR ROLLING AND
CRUSHING LAND, AND IN MACHINERY TO BE USED IN THE CULTURE OF GRASS
LANDS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the said
William Crosskill, should cause a particular description of the nature of my
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled
in Her said 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Crosskill, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thercof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon
(that is to say)-
My Invention relates, first, to improvements on machinery used in crushing
and rolling land.
of
And, secondly, to improvements in machinery to be used in the cultivation
grass lands.
And in order that my Invention may be most fully understood and readily
carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the figures and letters marked thereon.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 represents a side view of a machine for rolling and crushing land,
constructed according to my improvements; Figure 2 is a plan thereof. a, a,
is a strong framing; and b, b, the shafts for a horse affixed thereto; c is an
axis, on which is placed a series of rolling surfaces d, d, the outer circum-
ference of each of which has teeth e, e, e, and also other teeth f, the teeth f
being at right angles to the face of the rolling surface ; and it will be observed,
that a line which would pass through the centre of any one of the cross teeth
would not be a radial line, as is indicated by the blue line g to h, the red
line i, i, showing the radial line proceeding from the centre to the outer cir-
cumference; hence, these teeth when they come down on the land will be more
vertical than if the cross teeth were each formed or affixed to either of the
surfaces d in a radial line, by which means the tendency will be to penetrate
the earth, and more effectually to break and crush the lumps of earth; and
this, added to the circumstance of each of the rolling surfaces being free to turn
on their axes and independent of each other, in place of being all affixed on
their axes, as heretofore, will render this machine much more useful than those
heretofore constructed. When this machine is to be moved on roads, a pair
of wheels, indicated by the red lines j, j, are placed on either end of the axis,
and when the machine is in use these wheels are removed. Machines con-
structed as above described will be found most useful for crushing and rolling
land under various circumstances, particularly for crushing clods and breaking
up strong land, and also for rolling wheat as soon as sown, and also for rolling
wheat upon light land in the spring after frost.
I will now describe the second part of my Invention. Figure 3 shows a

page_text: side view of a machine constructed according to this part of my Invention,
and Figure 4 is a plan, the seed chest being removed in order to show the
other parts more clearly. k, k, is the framing of the machine, which moves
on four wheels 1, 1, 1, 1, the front pair of wheels being capable of producing a
locking motion, as is well understood. The object of this machine is to cause
narrow trenches or cuts to be formed at short intervals apart in grass laud,
such cuts or narrow trenches passing through the turf into the soil below, and
then by means of suitable drills to sow seed and manure into such trenches
or narrow cuts. m. is an axis or shaft moving in bearings at n, n. To this
axis or shaft are applied the arms o, o, which by connecting links move the
bars p, which slide in grooves at their ends, and the bars p are affixed to a
series of blades or cutters 7, 9, by passing through an opening formed in the
upper part of each cutter, and such cutters pass through slits or openings in
the plate. By this arrangement, whenever the cutters 9, 9, become clogged,
which they are very liable to do, the man attending the machine causes the
cutters to be lifted, by which means the matters adhering to the cutters will
be removed; and the raising of the cutters and the adjusting the depth to
which they shall work is accomplished by the levers 8, on each of which there
is a sliding weight, in order to regulate the pressure used to force the cutters
through the turf. These levers s are affixed on the axis or shaft m, m, as is
shown; and when it is desired to lift the cutters out of action to clear them,
the person attending the machine raises the levers, and if he wishes to keep
the cutters out of action he will put a stop into a hole in the upper part
of the curved bar t under the lever, which will support the levers s and keep
the cutters out of action; and according to the depth to which the cutters are
desired to work, so will be the position of a stop inserted above the lever in
one of the holes formed in the lower part of the curved bar t, the curved bar t
being affixed to the side framing of the machine, as is shown; and in order to
raise the levers s, the workman depresses the handle on the two arms u, such
arms moving on axes w, as is shewn. are connecting rods, such connecting
rods connecting the arms with the levers s; hence the depressing of the
handle will cause the lever s, and consequently the cutters, to be lifted. The
other parts shown are similar to the parts of ordinary drills, and are well under-
stood; they will therefore require very little description here. The motion is
taken from the back axis y by a cog wheel affixed thereon taking into and
driving the cog wheel y', which takes into and drives a cog wheel y², which
takes into and drives a cog wheel y³ of the drill. z, z, are the tubes of the
drill. A is the hopper to which such tubes are attached; B is the seed and
manure chest, which moves on necks or axes at either end at C, C, and is

page_text: capable of being correctly adjusted for working on a level plane or up and
down hill by means of the handle D, the screw E, the screw wheel F, and the
bar with teeth G, as is well understood.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I would have it understood that I make
no claim to any of the parts separately, nor do I confine myself to the precise
details, provided the peculiar character of either of my improvements be
retained; but what I claim is,
First, the mode of applying the teeth f of the rolling surfaces d for rolling
and crushing land, as above described; and I also claim the placing rolling
surfaces d, having teeth on their outer circumferences, in such manner as to
turn independently of each other, as above described.
And, secondly, I claim the mode of arranging a series of cutters in a suitable
carriage for producing narrow trenches or cuts through the turf of grass land,
whereby such cutters can be lifted and cleaned from time to time, and com-
bining therewith suitable drills for sowing seed and manure in such cuts or
trenches, as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Crosskill, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-two.