A NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINE FOR DEPOSITING GRAIN AND MANURE
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Pierre Ratel, of Paris, in the Empire of France,
Gilder on Metals, for the Invention of "A NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINE
FOR DEPOSITING GRAIN AND MANURE."
Sealed the 5th October 1858, and dated the 12th April 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Pierre Ratel at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 12th
April 1858.
I, PIERRE RATEL, of Paris, in the Empire of France, Gilder on Metals, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "A NEW OR IMPROVED
MACHINE FOR DEPOSITING GRAIN AND MANURE," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to a sowing or depositing apparatus, applicable for
depositing all kinds of seed. It will sow or deposit either in line or quin-
cuncially, either one, two, three, four, or any number of seeds at a time.
By this machine I can deposit (either with or without the seed) solid or
pulverulent manure in regulated proportions determined beforehand. It is
equally applicable for cultivation on a large or small scale. It consists of,
first, a hollow roller of wood or metal, mounted and fixed on an axis, which
is carried by two wheels, also fixed thereto. The exterior surface of this roller
has small cups or holes therein disposed at equal intervals over the entire
periphery. These holes are the moulds or receptacles for the grain, which
according to their size receive one, two, three, four, or a greater number
of seeds. This roller, supported above the ground by the wheels receives
rotary motion therefrom when the depositing or sowing apparatus is put in
action.
Secondly, a fixed hopper, placed over the cylinder; it is mounted and fixed
to the frame of the carriage. The lower and exit orifice of this hopper is in

page_text: close proximity to the roller throughout its length, and gives an outlet at such
lower part to a small quantity of seeds which fall into the cavities of the roller
as it rotates immediately below it. These seeds having been lodged in the
cavities are carried round by the rotary motion and deposited in the ground.
In order to sow a greater or less number of seeds the cavities or cups of the
cylinder are arranged at greater or less distance apart.
In order to deposit or sow manure, I employ a second depositing or sowing
apparatus in every respect like that herein-before described, which deposits
the manure either before or after the seed.
In order to sow quincuncially, the holes, cups, or cavities in the rollers are
arranged accordingly.
The wheels carry a frame supporting a platform for the supply of seed and
solid or liquid manure.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Pierre Ratel in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 11th
October 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PIERRE
RATEL, of Paris, in the Empire of France, Gilder on 'Metals, send greeting:
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Pierre Ratel, Her special licence that I, the said Pierre Ratel,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Pierre
Ratel, my 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 "A NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINE
FOR DEPOSITING GRAIN AND MANURE," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said Pierre Ratel, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Pierre Ratel, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
:-
This instrument, which I term a sowing harrow and scarifier from the use
made of it in these three operations, is far superior to those constructed at the
present day; its greatest advantage is in being able to use it in three different
operations without adding any other additional parts thereto; it also possesses
other advantages which are mentioned in the course of the description. It is
represented in the annexed Drawing, in which Fig. 1 shows the elevation of
the instrument complete. Fig. 2 shows the plan of the same instrument
with the box used as a receptacle for the seed removed. Fig. 3 shows a
vertical longitudinal section on line A, B, Fig. 2; in this Figure the shares
are represented removed from contact with the ground. Fig. 4 shows a new
arrangement for the suspension of the shares. Fig. 5 shews a longitudinal
section of the box containing the seed before commencing the operation. The
same letters of reference represent like parts in all the Figures where they
recur.
a, framework of the machine, which is of iron and of the form of an
irregular pentagon. b, bearing wheels, which may be either fixed or moveable
on the shaft which carries them at pleasure. One of the chief features of the
instrument is the property it has that when it arrives at the headlands of
a field it is able to turn short round without losing any ground. c, shaft of
the wheels which are rendered fixtures thereon by means of small pins.c
which pass through the shaft and naves of the wheels when returning home.
The pins c are removed and transferred to the holes c¹¹ so that the shaft may
remain immovable. The machine is prevented deviating to the right or left
when once the pins c are placed. d, wheel having four notches on its
periphery placed on the shaft c; it serves by means of a key to render the
shaft completely immovable. e, key passing through the framework and
engaging itself in the notches made in the wheel d. f, second wheel, also
having four notches on its periphery; it is mounted on one of the bearing
wheels of the apparatus, serving by means of the same key e to fix the shaft on
which it is mounted. g, front wheels of the machine; they are of smaller
diameter than the others, and mounted on the same shaft. h, shaft, carrying
the front wheels g having a fixed vertical stem or rod in the centre, which
supports the front of the frame work a. i, i, bars bolted to the front of the
framework a, which serve to carry the swing bar and also the pole. j, swing

page_text: bar; its two extremities are connected to frame a by means of two chains and
a double hook. k, frame turning on the framework a; it is formed of two
double bars supporting in two rows ten sheares intended for scarifying and
rooting up or for ploughing, and also to be used in sowing; these shares are
moveable in a line parallel to the width of the machine. l, second frame
placed behind the wheels, and like the first turning on a point of the frame-
work a having eleven shares placed in two rows; these shares are for the
same purpose, and serve for the same use as those in the first frame k. When
sowing, the shares of the first frame k drill or trace the furrows where the
seed is to be placed, while the shares of the second frame enter between those
of the first, covering up the seed with earth. m, lever and connecting rods
serving for the management of the brakes, by means of which the carrying
frames of the shares are raised from the ground at the termination of the
operation and placed as seen in Fig. 3; this arrangement of frames may be
replaced, if required, by the one represented in Fig. 4, in which a is the frame-
work. n, n, are sliding sockets carrying cross bars in which are fixed the
shares; these sockets sliding on the framework permit the widening at pleasure
of each row of shares, in which case the shares are also moveable in a lateral
direction, that is to say, the distance between each share of the same row may
be varied at pleasure. o, ploughshares. p, sowing cylinder of a single piece;
it is mounted loosely on the shaft c, and having orifices on its circumference,
the sizes of which are proportioned to the quantity of grain to be sown; at
the side of these holes, but separated by a partition, which will be herein-after
mentioned, are other orifices, also proportioned to the quantity of manure that
the grain requires; these orifices are of the same number as the shares for
forming the furrows. 1, 2, toothed wheels placed at each extremity of the
sowing cylinder p. r, r, springs fixed to the frame a, and bearing on the teeth
of wheels q, q, for the purpose of assisting the movement of the sowing
cylinder, and to remove from the orifices any manure that may adhere thereto.
s, box for containing the seed and the pulverulent manure, having grooves on
its interior, which receive partitions to separate the grain from the manure, the
thickness of which partitions separate the orifices of the sowing cylinder. This
box may be withdrawn at pleasure when the instrument is used for rooting up
weeds or as a scarifier; to prevent the passage of the grain between the box
and the sowing cylinder the box is provided with leather at its lower part; this
leather is kept in constant friction with the sowing cylinder by means of
springs s in the interior of the box. t, bar fixed or moveable at pleasure,
placed inside of the frame and in front of the sowing cylinder. u, conductors
of the grain and manure; they are fixed to bar t, and are of the same number

page_text: as the shares for forming the furrows; they receive the grain and manure as
they leave the sowing cylinder, and conduct them to the ground; their lower
extremities carry narrow tapering prongs which drag in the furrow for con-
ducting the seed & pulverulent manure therein; they are all jointed, and are
thus made independent of each other. v, rake placed behind the machine,
which may be pivoted on the frame a. a, toothed wheel mounted on the
shaft c.
y, lever carrying the rake v; its other extremity carries a roller
which slides on the periphery of the toothed wheel x, and communicates to the
rake v to-and-fro movement, by which means this instrument acts as a weeder
for separating by successive shocks the earth from the roots and the grass, and
at the same time gathering the roots up in heaps.
From the foregoing description, supposing the instrument is intended to act
as a sowing machine, and arranged as represented in the Drawings, on arriving
at the end of the field the conductor puts the machine in motion, when the
shares in front drill the furrows for the grain, and the sowing cylinder receiving
jerks from the springs r distributeds the grain from the orifices to the con-
ductors u, and the shares in the rear cover over the grain, when the operation
is terminated; on arriving at the end of the furrow, the machine may be turned
easily without losing any ground by rendering one of the wheels d or f fixed
on its shaft by means of the pins herein-before mentioned, or by means of the
key e when the wheel cannot partake of any retrograde movement of the
machine, and the cylinder also being no longer in motion does not allow any
grain or manure to escape. When the turning round is effected, the key e is
removed, and the sowing cylinder being again at liberty sows the seed when
turning, as before mentioned. A ratchet wheel z, fitted with a pall, mounted
on the framework also stops the movement of the sowing cylinder. When
returning home the shares o are taken out of the ground by means of lever m,
so that nothing may hinder the movement of the instrument which can be
directed in any desired direction the same as an ordinary cart.
In witness whereof, I, the said Pierre Ratel, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Ninth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.