IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY APPLICABLE TO TILLAGE AND FOR OTHER AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES
Year: 1847

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SIR
JOHN SCOTT LILLIE, of Fulham, in the County of Middlesex, Knight
Companion of the Bath, and Lieutenant Colonel in Her Majesty's
Army, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by
Her Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United King-
dom of Great Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster the
Fourteenth day of October One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven,
in the eleventh year of Her reign, did for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
'cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Sir John Scott Lillie, my exc-
cutors, administrators," and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole
privilege, and authority that I, the said Sir John Scott Lillie, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Sir
John Scott Lillie, my executors, administrators, 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-upon-Tweed, in the islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney,
Sark, and Man, and also in all Her said Majesty's colonies and plan
tations abroad, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY APPLICABLE
TO TILLAGE AND FOR OTHER AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES;" in which said Letters

page_text: Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said Sir John Scott Lillie,
should cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her 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 beign thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the
said Sir John Scott Lillie, do hereby declare that the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, are fully
described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof,
reference being had to the drawings hereunto annexed, and to the
figures and letters marked thereon; that is to say, my Invention consists,
firstly, in the construction of carriages to which ploughs, harrows, or
other agricultural implements may be attached, and, secondly, in the
construction of carriages, with suitable contrivances for moving, the
whole of which are further explained in the accompanying drawings
and following description: The drawing No. 1, represents different
views of the carriage for tillage; Figure 1, shows a side view, Figure 2,
a plan of the same, Figure 3, an end view, Figure 4, two views of the
manner proposed for raising and lowering the transverse wheels, and
Figure 5, an enlarged view of the whelp wheel, round which a rope is to
pass to draw the carriage endways The same figures and letters are
used to identify the same parts wherever they occur. A, A, and A, X, are
wheels on which the carriage is to be moved when the ploughs and other
implements are not at work, and which are at right angles to the line
of land to be operated upon; the wheels A, A, are loose on the axle,
which axle is bearing upon a pivot pin at one end, and the other is fur-
nished with a nut and screw for the purpose of being raised or lowered
(see Figure 4), and the wheel A, X, is hung on a pivot yoke, so that
it may be guided by a handle in any required direction. B, B, B, are
wheels revolving in bearings fixed to the frame, for supporting the
carriage when going in the direction of its length. C,.C, are two square
stave or skeleton drums to revolve on their axis, over which an endless

page_text: railway passes, formed of planks of wood or other suitable material,
united by iron hinges or of wrought iron plates hinged to each other
so as to turn freely over the square staves or drums and circulate
around the bearing wheels of the carriage, and thus form a continuous
railway, a pair of these drums being placed for this purpose at
each side of the carriage. D, D, is a double mould or ridge plough
fixed to the carriage so as to precede the wheels and clear the furrow
or path between the ridges for their reception, any of which may
be raised or lowered as occasion require; attached to one of the
bearing wheels B, there is a spur tooth wheel bolted on for the purpose
of driving a spur pinion, fixed on the end of an axle extending across
the frame; on this axle I fix radial or curved pins similar to harrow
lines, hoes, or other suitably shaped points for breaking up the land,
and coulters or cutting irons to the frame to precede these revolving
instruments, and thus, by scarifying or cutting the land into narrow
longitudinal slips, afford greater facilities for the more effectual
breaking of the soil by these revolving implements. The proportions
and dimensions of these machines must be dependent on the amount
of power to be applied and the nature of the soil to be operated upon,
and the materials of which they are to be constructed will be
dependent upon the climate and other circumstances. In some cases
I propose to fix a high-pressure steam engine on the before-mentioned
frame, of power and construction suitable to the purpose, somewhat
similar to the drawing No. 3; the power of this engine to be com-
municated by tooth gearing to the whelp wheel E, which, on being
caused to revolve, will draw on the rope, and thus propel the carriage
endways; each end of this rope is to be fastened at the side of the
field by grapnels of sufficient strength, hooking on a plank in ditches
or other cuttings, in order to afford sufficient resistance to the motive
power; a transverse section of this plank, &c. is shown at Figure 6.
The tranverse wheels before described for moving the carriages sideways,
in order to provide against the necessity of turning on the headlands,
may be dispensed with, and the carriages (after the implements are
raised out of the ground by suitable levers) may be thus hauled on light
platforms placed on rails at right angles to the bearing wheels, and the

page_text: carriages thus moved sideways by a simple contrivance, similar to what
are termed crabs, used by builders on scaffolding for moving heavy
weights; but in order to render frequent operations of this kind the
less necessary, shafts or arms may be extended at each side of these
carriages, to which a variety of agricultural implements may be attached,
and by which means three ridges may be acted upon by the carriage
being moved backwards and forwards in the same tracks as frequently
as may be necessary for this purpose. In certain cases, when the
weight of this engine may be too great for the nature or state of the
land, I propose to draw the before-mentioned carriage across the field
or section of land by a steam engine placed at each side, and a rope,
chain, or band passing round drums or pulleys fixed to the engine;
these engines to be supported and moved forward on temporary rails
along the headlands at right angles to the direction in which the
operating machine is to work, and to be secured in their proper position
on the rails by grapnels, as before described. In other cases I propose
to use one steam engine only, with an endless rope passing around the
engine drum or whelp wheel at one side of the field, and around a pulley
to be fixed with its axis vertically on a suitable platform mounted on wheels
at the other, and secured to the land in a similar manner to that already
described.. In cases where these carriages may be propelled without
the aid of steam, I propose having them of a smaller and lighter con-
struction, and propelled by horses or other animal power; and in order
to prevent "poaching," or other injury to the land or crops by the feet
of these animals, they should be harnessed in such a manner as to
enable them to move, continually in the furrows between the ridges.or
wheel tracks, and they should be guided for this purpose by ropes or
cords made fast at each end, or side of the field passing through pulleys
attached to the bridle like leading reins.. The moveable rails and haul-
ing apparatus already described may be, made applicable to carts or
waggons for levelling land by the removal of the soil from the higher
to the lower grounds, to water carts for the purposes of irrigation, and
to ordinary carts or waggons for the removal of manure and such other
loads as may be required for agricultural purposes, and when such carts
are propelled by animal power they may be provided, with these endless

page_text: rails. The drawing No. 2, shows a prospective view of my proposed
Mowing Machine, and No: 3, elevations and plan of the same. Although
this machine is represented as being moved by a steam engine, I do not
confine myself to that power, as horse-power may in many cases be
sufficient. On each or both sides of this machine two broad strap
pulleys with endless bands or chains are to be placed, to which scythe
blades are to be attached, as shown in the drawings, at suitable dis-
tances from each other, to correspond with the intended velocity of the
carriage.. This machine is to be drawn across the field in a transverse
direction, as described in No. 1. Such portions of the crops on the
headlands or other parts to which this machine would prove injurious
may be previously cut down and removed by hand in the usual manner.
The power may be communicated to these strap drums either by the
engine or by a spur wheel attached to one of the bearing wheels
working into such intermediate spur wheels and pinions as will produce
the required velocity. I do not confine myself to any particular form
or details of the carriages and machinery thus described for tillage and
other agricultural purposes, as they may be varied to suit different soils,
seasons, and other contingencies inseparable from agricultural opera-
tions; but I hereby declare my Invention principally to consist, First, in
the combination before described as shown by drawing No. 1; to the
carriage thus described and propelled any number of ploughs or other
agricultural implements may be attached, but I more particularly claim
the revolving apparatus worked by tooth wheels separate from the
coulters for excavations for drainage and other purposes, or in combina-
nation with the fixed coulters or scarifiers as herein described; Secondly,
the moving machine as thus described; Thirdly, the application of these
moveable rails and hauling apparatus to all carts or waggons for agri-
cultural purposes, whether in combination or separately; and Fourthly,
the mode of applying animal power for the purposes of tillage so as to
avoid poaching or other injury to the soil or seed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Sir John Scott Lillie, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of April in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-
J. S. LILLIE. (L.S.)

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, That on the Fourteenth day of
April in the eleventh year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria,
the said Sir John Scott Lillie came before our said Lady the Queen in
Her Chancery, and acknowledged the instrument aforesaid, and all and
everything therein contained and specified in form above written, and
also the instrument aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the
Statute made in the fifty-fifth year of the reign of His late Majesty
King George the Third.
Enrolled the Fourteenth day of April One thousand eight hundred
and forty-eight.