IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR PRESSING, HOEING, AND THINNING TURNIPS AND OTHER CROPS
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Hughes, of Brampton Ash, Market
Harborough, in the County of Northampton, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR PRESSING, HOEING, AND THINNING
TURNIPS AND OTHER CROPS."
Sealed the 26th November 1875, and dated the 25th June 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Hughes at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
25th June 1875.
I, ALFRED HUGHES, of Brampton Ash, Market Harborough, in tho
5 County of Northampton, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR PRESSING, HOEING, AND
THINNING TURNIPS AND OTHER CROPS," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to facilitate the vegetation of small
seeds and the hoeing and thinning of crops.
Tnrovide a presser wheel to follow upon the line left by the coulter

page_text: -
sufficient width and weight and mounted upon a spindle. The presser
forms a broad groove in the land along the line in which the seed is
laid, and it pulverizes and consolidates the soil immediately around the
seed. It also prepares the ground for the next process.
Directly the weeds appear, whether the seed has vegetated or not, I.t
again go over the land on the same lines with a prosser consisting of a
deeply grooved disc or two separate discs adjusted to bestride the line of
the seed. This implement carries a set of hoes so arranged as to cut
the ground close up to the discs.
In the case of revolving or rotating hoes the hoes may be made to
rotate in the opposite direction to that of the discs; the object of this
is that each hoe, after the first, will always enter broken ground; and
in the event of a hoe striking a stone the forward movement of the
machine will soon clear it; whereas, if the hoe moved in the opposite
direction it might remain fixed upon the stone until it had passed under ]
the centre or axle, which would be likely to cause mischief, neither
could the hoes remain so long in action or perform the work so efficiently
as they would if they are turned the reverse way.
The object of the discs is to prevent the hoes cutting, burying, or
disturbing the seed or young plants.
"When the rows of plants have been thus cleaned laterally, similar
apparatus may be used transversely or across the rows so as to set the
-crop out in bunches. In such cases two adjustable discs may be
preferable to the grooved one.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, 2
filed by the said Alfred Hughes in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 24th December 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
HUGHES, of Brampton Ash, Market Harborough, in the County of
Northampton, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-

page_text: eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Alfred Hughes, Her special license,
that I, the said Alfred Hughes, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Alfred Hughes, my executors
5 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
O MACHINES POR PRESSING, HORING, AND THINNING TURNIPS AND OTHER CROPS,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Alfred Hughes,
my executors or administrators, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alfred Hughes, 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:-
The object of this Invention is to facilitate the vegetation of small
seeds and the hoeing and thinning of crops.
I provide a presser wheel to follow upon the line left by the coulter
of a drill in depositing seeds. The presser consists of a ring or rings of
sufficient width and weight and mounted upon a spindle. The presser
forms a broad groove in the land along the line in which the seed is laid,
and it pulverizes and consolidates the soil immediately around the seed.
It also prepares the ground for the next process..
Directly the weeds appear, whether the seed has vegetated or not, I
again go over the land on the same lines with a presser consisting of a
deeply grooved disc, or two separate discs, adjusted to bestride the line.
of the seed. This implement carries a set of hoes so arranged as to cut
the ground close up to discs.
The object of the discs is to prevent the hoes cutting, burying, or
'distushing the good on canus planta
•

page_text: When the rows of plants have been thus cleaned laterally, similar,
apparatus may be used transversely or across the rows so as to set
the crop out in bunches. In such cases two adjustable discs may be
preferable to the grooved one.
In order that my said Invention may be most fully understood 5
and readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe more in detail
the manner in which I prefer to construct machines according to my
Invention.
I construct a frame somewhat exceeding in width twice the distance
between the rows in which the crop is sown. I mount an axis on the 1
frame, on which I fix two disc wheels at such a distance apart that two
rows of the crop can just lie between them. I attach shafts to the frame
to receive the horse to draw the implement.
When the implement is to be used to press seed, I bolt on to the
disc wheels segments of a semicircular section, the semicirle being of 1
about three inches diameter.
The implement is drawn over the land, following accurately the lines
of the drill coulters, and it produces along these lines broad grooves or
wheel ruts corresponding in section to the sectional form of the seg-
ments fixed upon the discs.
For use to remove weeds and to thin the crop the machine is pro-
vided with a second axis beneath the first and parallel to it. The
second axis is driven by a pinion upon it gearing with a spur wheel of
twice its size on the axis of the discs, and it is provided with arms
carry hoes.
The toothed wheels should be mounted in such a manner that they
may be changed for other wheels of different sizes to vary the speed of
rotation of the hoes.
2
2
The discs, when the implement is to be worked for removing weeds,
are provided with concave segments, also semicircular in section, and 3
the concavity is about three inches in diameter.
The machine is driven over the land accurately on the same lines as
when the seed is pressed.
.
The hoes cut up the weeds between the rows, whilst the plants are
covered and protected by the segments on the disc wheels, which at the 8

page_text: same time by their pressure close the earth in from either side towards
the roots of the plants.
For thinning the machine is worked in the same way as for weeding,
but is run across in place of along the rows of the crop.
The axis carrying the rotating hoes is suspended from the axis of the
disc wheels by arms or hinges which can turn on the latter axis, and
rods are provided by which the arms can be swung so as to raise or lower
the axis with the hoes so that they can be put into work and there held
or taken out of work at pleasure.
The rotating hoes not only work in the space between the disc wheels,
but also on the outer sides of them for a distance somewhat exceeding
half the space between the rows, so that the spaces are completely
cleared of weeds without passing over any row a second time.
If desired machines may be constructed to operate on more than two
rows at a time.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention and the
manner of performing the same, I would have it understood that I do
not confine myself to the exact details described; but I claim the
machinery or means for pressing, hoeing, and thinning turnips and
other crops, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Hughes, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of December,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
seventy-five.