IMPROVEMENTS IN SOWING OR DEPOSITING SEEDS IN THE EARTH
Year: 1852

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Peter Forbes, of Shettleston, in the County
of Lanark, North Britain, Millwright, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SOWING OR DEPOSITING SEEDS IN THE EARTH."
Sealed the 20th April 1853, and dated the 13th November 1852.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Peter Forbes at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 13th November 1852.
I, PETER FORBES, of Shettleston, in the County of Lanark, North
Britain, Millwright, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SOWING OR DEPOSITING SEEDS IN THE EARTH"
to be as follows:―
This Invention relates to the combination of a simple sowing appa-
ratus with a common plough, in such manner that the three several
operations of ploughing or forming the furrow, the dropping of the
sced, and the covering over of the seed with earth, are all simulta-
neously accomplished, without involving either additional horses or
attendance. A short transverse shaft is placed in suitable bearings
across the plough, just behind the mould board, and fitted with a

page_text: plain running wheel, to work along the earth in the bottom of the
furrow, in the track of the sole shoe. This shaft projects on one
side, and has fast on such projection a small toothed pinion,
revolving in the bottom of a seed holder, suited for all kinds of
grain or seeds, and formed with a proper seed discharge aperture.
The seed is dropped just behind the line of the mould board, and
immediately that it is dropped part of the furrow is undermined by
a secondary cutter or small mould board, and inade to fall over in
conjunction with a portion of the previous furrow, and cover up
the deposited seed: When the plough_finishes..a-furrow,--the
ploughman lifts up the actuating runner from the furrow bottom
_by_a_small_lever, the wheel being retained,-when-so-lifted,-by-a
suitable detent. This lifting action shuts off the discharge of the
seed from the holder until the plough is turned and entered for a
second furrow, when the lowering of the wheel again opens the
seed 'discharge, and the operation goes on as before. The arrange-
ment is capable of application to all kinds of plough, and may be
used at any time of the year.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters
Patent, filed by the said Peter Forbes in the Great Seal Patent 2
Office on the 12th May 1853."
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
PETER FORBES, of Shettleston,' in the County of Lanark, North
Britain, Millwright, send greeting.
year
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her 2
Letters Patent; bearing date the Thirteenth day of November, in
the of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two,
the, sixteenth year of Her reign, did for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said Peter Forbes, Her
special licence, that I, the said Peter Forbes, my executors, 3
administrators; and assigns, or such others as I, the said Peter
Forbes, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any..
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all

page_text: 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 SOWING OR DEPOSITING
SEEDS IN THE EARTH," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Peter Forbes, by 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 Peter Forbes, 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, reference being had to the
accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon, that is to say:
My said Invention relates to the combination of a simple sowing
apparatus with a common plough, in such manner that the three
several operations of ploughing or forming the furrow, the dropping
of the seed, and the covering over of the seed with earth, may be
all simultaneously accomplished, without involving either additional
horses or attendance. A short transverse shaft is placed in suitable
bearings across the plough, just behind the mould board, and this
shaft is fitted with a plain running wheel to work along the earth
in the bottom of the furrow, in the track of the sole shoe. This
shaft projects on one side, and has fast on such projection a small
toothed pinion, revolving in the bottom of a seed-holder, suited for
all kinds of grain or seeds, and formed with a proper seed discharge
aperture. The seed is dropped just behind the line of the mould
board, and immediately that it is dropped part of the furrow is
undermined by a secondary cutter, or small mould board, and made
to fall over in conjunction with a portion of the previous furrow,
and cover up the deposited seed. When the plough finishes a
furrow, the ploughman lifts up the actuating runner from the

page_text: furrow bottom by a small lever, the wheel being retained, when so
lifted, by a suitable detent. This lifting action shuts off the
discharge of the seed from the holder until the plough is turned
and entered for a second furrow, when the lowering of the wheel
again opens the seed discharge, and the operation goes on as before.
The arrangement is capable of application to all kinds of ploughs,
and may be used at any time of the year. Figure 1, on my sheet of
Drawings is a side elevation, partially sectioned, of a plough, as
fitted up for seed sowing according to my Improvements. Figure?,
is a plan of the same, corresponding with one form of seed box
represented in dotted lines. Figure 3, is a back end elevation of
the seed-sowing box detached. Figure 4, is a plan of a modification
of the sowing apparatus, as contrived for sowing potatoes or com-
paratively large articles; and Figure 5, is a transverse vertical
section of the same. The large wheel A, running in the bottom of
the furrow, is fast on the short transverse shaft B, carried at one end,
in the slotted bearing C, on the main beam of the plough, and resting
at the opposite end in a plate D, fast to the outside of the sced
sower. On the external projecting end of the shaft B, is an adjust-
able toothed wheel, or grooved pulley, E, working in the bottom of
the seed box or holder F, through which box the shaft is passed.
This box has a sliding door G, fitted to it so as to be capable of
partially closing or shutting up the seed discharge aperture II, at
pleasure; and it is attached to the plough by means of the hinged
plate I, which is attached to a corresponding piece of angle iron J,
which may be set back or forward on the perforated plato K. At
L, is a small guide cutter attached to the plate K, just in front of
the dropping seed, the line of which is thus marked out in the earth.
As the plough traverses the field, the main mould board M, turns
up the earth in the usual way, and the seed drops in the line of
the inner face of the newly-exposed earth, as marked by the piece
L. Immediately that the seed has been thus deposited, the
secondary cutter or mould board N, follows on, and, undermining
the earth, covers up the seed. At O, is the handle by which the
ploughman regulates the implement at the end of his furrow. This

page_text: handle is on the end of a lever, turning on a stud centre P, in the
main beam, the other end of the lever having a fork Q, embracing
the shaft B. Whilst the sowing operation is going on, this lever
handle stands up, as represented in Figure 1; but when the sowing
is to be stopped, the attendant depresses the handle, and fastens it
beneath a catch on one of the plough stilts; and this clevates and
holds up the wheel A, by traversing the inner end of its shaft in
the slotted bearing C. This angular movement of the shaft is
allowed for at the seed apparatus by the hinge in the piece I. At
the same time the elevation of the shaft B, lifts the forked end of
the lever R, embracing the shaft. This lever turns on a stud
centre S, and is slotted longitudinally to carry the rod of the valve
T; so that as the shaft rises this valve covers over the seed aperture
H, and stops the discharge until the shaft is again lowered. Various
forms of sowers may be attached to the plough, which is thus
capable of ploughing or turning up the earth in any condition, and
depositing the sced at the same time. When potatoes or large
seeds are to be sown, the apparatus shown in Figures 4, and 5, is
substituted for the sower which I have described. In this arrange-
ment the shaft B, has placed upon it a bevil wheel U, gearing
with a corresponding wheel V, fast on the lower end of a vertical
spindle W, supported in bearings in the plough framing. The
upper end of this spindle is passed through a flat disc of metal X,
perforated with a single hole Y, and this disc is stationary, the
spindle revolving freely through it; and immediately above it is a
similar disc Z, fast on the spindle, and perforated with a ring of
apertures a, cach of the same distance from the centre of motion as
the hole Y, in the stationary disc; cach hole in the upper dise has
a shallow collar, and as the plough traverses over the field an
attendant deposits the seed potatoes individually in the holes a, as
they come round in the spindle's revolution. Then as each of the
holes a, passes over the corresponding hole Y, beneath, it follows
that each potato is dropped through the hole Y, and thence through
the channel b, into the furrow just made by the plough, as each
individual hole a, comes over the hole Y. In this way, by sub-

page_text: stituting discs with various "pitches" of holes, the seeds may be
dropped at various determined distances asunder in the furrow,
whilst the seed so dropped may be covered over by the secondary
mould board, as already described.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of
my said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or inay
be used or carried into effect, I may observe, in conclusion, that I
do not confine or restrict myself to the precise details or arrange-
ments which I have had occasion to describe or refer to, as many
variations may be made therefrom without deviating from the
principles or main features of my Invention; but what I consider 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 arrangement and construction of mechanism,
apparatus, or means for sowing or depositing seeds.
Second, the system or mode of sowing or depositing seeds, wherein
the two separate operations of ploughing and seed-sowing are
simultaneously performed by one machine.
Third, the application and use of an adjustable seed sower
attached to a plough for the purposes herein-before described.
Fourth, the application and use in ploughs of a secondary cutter
or mould board for covering up deposited seeds.
Fifth, the system or mode of sowing potatoes or other large seeds
by means of adjustable or variable rotatory cups, as herein-before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Peter Forbes, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of May, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.