IMPROVEMENTS IN PLOUGHING AND TILLING LAND BY STEAM POWER, AND IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Hornsby, junior, of Spittlegate Iron
Works, Grantham, in the County of Lincoln, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN PLOUGHING AND TILLING LAND BY STEAM POWER, AND IN
APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN."
Sealed the 10th May 1859, and dated the 27th December 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Hornsby at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th December 1858.
I, RICHARD HORNSBY, junior, of Spittlegate Iron Works, Grantham, in the
County of Lincoln, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN PLOUGHING AND TILLING LAND BY STEAM POWER, AND IN
APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in ploughing and tilling land
by steam power, and in apparatus employed therein. In adapting agricultural
steam engines such as are usually employed, that is to say, with boilers through
which horizontal tubular flues pass to give motion to ploughs and other agri-
cultural implements, I mount the winding drum or winding drums to actuate
the hauling ropes or tackle on the engine in such a position that the drum or
drums can be driven from the crank shaft of the engine by straight spur
wheels or straight gearing without the intervention of bevilled wheels, chains,
or straps, and for this purpose I in some cases mount such drums so as to run
on tubular axes, through which the axles of the bearing wheels of the engine
pass excentrically to the tubular axes. Or the drums may be mounted on
studs or axes fixed to the sides or ends of the engine, and in either case I
arrange clutch boxes (or similar contrivances through which the power of the
engine is communicated to the drums) immediately on the drums or else on

page_text: parts running at the same low speed as the drums in place of to parts running
at the bigh speed of the engine, as has been usual heretofore in engines having
winding drums mounted (whether it be on horizontal or vertical axes) on them
to give motion to agricultural implements.
The winding drum or drums for hauling ploughs or implements I sometimes
mount on a frame separate from the engine, and I connect the crank axis of
the engine with the axis which drives the drum or drums by an intermediate
shaft jointed to the end of each of the axes in such a manner that these axes
and the intermediate shaft will revolve together as if they formed one piece,
and this notwithstanding any slight difference of direction between the engine
axis and the axis which drives the drum or drums. This latter axis carries a
pinion which drives a spur wheel on the axis of the drum or drums; these are
when two drums are used both mounted loosely on the one axis, and are alter-
nately made to revolve with the axis by clutches so as to wind the ropes upon
them. By this arrangement the power of the engine is transmitted to the
drums by straight spur wheels, and at the same time the clutches run at the
low speed of the drums; this combination presents advantages not before
obtained. In order to prevent the frame carrying the drums from moving
while at work, I mount it on disc wheels or coulters either fixed on the frame
or to levers mounted on it, and which disc wheels or coulters cut into the land.
In ploughing or tilling land according to my Invention, I place the engine
and winding apparatus at one side of the field and near the centre of the side,
and the hauling ropes are led along a strip of land across the centre of the
field, which I term the "midland," to a pulley carriage, which as the work pro-
gresses traverses along the midland. The pulley carriage carries two pullies,
one for each hauling rope, and the ropes pass round these pulleys in opposite
directions, the one passing to the right and the other to the left of the
carriage, and they work with two ploughs or implements which are alternately
hauled by the ropes from the headlands up to the midland, and whilst one
plough or tilling implement is in action, the other, together with its hauling
rope, is taken back by a horse or otherwise to its headland again to come into
action, and to be drawn up to the midland, while the other plough or imple-
ment and rope are being taken back by the same means to their headland.
Or the engine may be placed on the headland instead of the midland, in which
case the ropes pass along the headland to pulley carriages, which traverse the
headland as the work progresses, and the ploughs or implements are alternately
hauled to the headland and taken back by a horse or otherwise, as before
described.
In some cases I employ in a similar manner an engine and winding drums

page_text: combined together and traversing on the midland; when this is done, a pulley
carriage is not required. By these arrangements less hauling rope is employed
than is requisite when working according to other systems. My system may
be modified by employing two engines with one winding drum in connection
with each, and placed on each headland. The hauling rope from each
engine is in this case passed along the headland on which the engine stands to
a pulley carriage on the same headland, which traverses as the work pro-
gresses, and the engines work alternately to haul each one its own plough or
implement from the midland to the headland. By this arrangement I am
enabled, while still obtaining the advantages of my system, to avoid the use of
horses, by connecting the ploughs or implements by a rope, so that the
working plough, or the one passing from the midland to the headland, is
caused to bring back the other plough or implement (then out of work) to the
midland. In a similar manner engines traversing on the headlands may be
employed, no pulley carriages being then necessary.
The pulley carriage which I employ is mounted on ordinary wheels, and is
furnished with levers on which coulters are mounted, and these by penetrating
the land, hold the carriage firmly in position while the work is being done,
and when the carriage has to be shifted after each traverse of the plough or
implement, the edges of the coulters pass through the land with facility com-
pared with the sideway strain which the carriage is capable of resisting, and
if while shifting the carriage one of the coulters meets a stone or root, it rises
together with its lever, and so clears itself. The coulters can be forced into
the land to any required depth by weights or other means; or the levers may
be furnished with instruments which are not suitable for cutting through the
land in any direction, but which, when the pulley carriage has been moved to
its place, are forced into the land by the levers or other instruments, and are
by them withdrawn when the carriage has to be moved. In place of pulley
carriages anchored pulleys may be employed, the anchors being moved from
time to time as the work progresses.
The traction ropes which I prefer to employ consist of iron or steel wire
laid on to a core of hemp or other fibre. In arranging ploughs suitable for
steam ploughing, I combine three or a greater number of sets of mould
boards, shares, and coulters together in suitable framework, and in addition I
combine with each such set so combined an instrument known as a skim
coulter to remove the surface in front of the mould board, and cause it to be
buried. I also mount the shares of each set on what are termed lever necks, so
that the direction of the share either horizontally or vertically can be altered:
as the work requires.
..

page_text: When it is desired to adapt the plough for use in fenny land, I substitutė
for the fixed coulter of each set a revolving disc coulter; this change will
enable the plough to work much more efficiently in such lands. I also in
some cases fix behind the mould board of each set a subsoil tine, penetrating
the land to a greater depth than the plough itself; and I sometimes apply
such subsoil tines to implements consisting of but two sets of mould boards,
shares, and coulters combined together in suitable framework.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Richard Hornsby in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
27th June 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RICHARD
HORNSBY, junior, of Spittlegate Iron Works, Grantham, in the County of
Lincoln, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Richard Hornsby, Her special licence that I, the said Richard
Hornsby, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Richard Hornsby, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN PLOUGHING AND TILLING LAND BY STEAM POWER, AND IN APPARATUS
EMPLOYED THEREIN," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Richard Hornsby, 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 Richard Hornsby, 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:―

page_text: This Invention has for its object improvements in ploughing and tilling
land by steam power, and in apparatus employed therein. In adapting
agricultural steam engines, such as are usually employed, that is to say, with
boilers, through which horizontal tubular flues pass to give motion to ploughs
and other agricultural implements, I mount the winding drum or winding
drums to actuate the hauling ropes or tackle on the engine in such a position
that the drum or drums can be driven from the crank shaft of the engine by
straight spur wheels or straight gearing without the intervention of bevilled
wheels, chains, or straps, and for this purpose I in some cases mount such
drums so as to run on tubular axes through which the axles of the bearing
wheels of the engine pass excentrically to the tubular axes; or the drums
may be mounted on studs or axes fixed to the sides of the engine, and in
either case, I arrange clutch boxes (or similar contrivances through which
the power of the engine is communicated to the drums) immediately on the
drums, or else on parts running at the same low speed as the drums in place
of to parts running at the high speed of the engine, as has been usual
heretofore in engines having winding drums mounted (whether it be on
horizontal or vertical axes) on them to give motion to agricultural implements.
Figure 1 is a side view, and Figure 2 a transverse section of an ordinary
agricultural steam engine, having winding drums combined with it in such a
manner as to be driven from the crank shaft of the engine by straight spur
gear, and in the arrangement shown the drums are brought into a convenient
position to be so driven by mounting them on tubular axes through which
the axles of the bearing wheels pass excentrically. a is the crank shaft of the
engine on which the fly wheel b is fixed; it also carries the pinions c, c,
gearing with the spur wheels d, d; these wheels are mounted loosely on the
tubular axes e, e, and are prevented moving laterally by suitable stops. The
tubular axes e, e, are fixed by bolts to circular pieces of boiler plate e¹, e¹,
placed within them, and these plates are attached to the sides of the
boiler by wrought-iron frames e², e, and the plate e on one side is also fixed
to a horn e, springing from the standard which carries the bearing of the
crank shaft, on the other side an angle piece e is bolted to the top of the frame
e, and passes up to the top of the plate e¹, and is bolted to it; f,f, are the
winding drums which are also mounted on the axes e, e; these drums can be.
thrown in and out of gear with the wheels d, d, as is desired; this is done by
means of handles g, g, mounted on short axes which also carry arms h, h, and
these arms are each jointed to three rods i, i, (one only of which is shown in
Figure 2;) the rods i, i, pass, through an opening in the centre of the plate e¹,
and are at their further ends jointed to levers j, j, turning on standards k, k,

page_text: fixed to the plate e', and giving motion to slides 1, 2, which work in slots in
the axis e; the slides 7 have grooves in them which embrace a hoop fixed to:
the interior of the drum f, and thus, when the slides are moved, they carry :
the drums with them, and the clutching is effected by projections f¹ on the
side of the drums entering openings formed at intervals in the sides of the
wheels d, d; the axle m of the road wheels passes through holes in the plates
el, e, as is shown. When mounting the drums on studs or axes fixed to the
sides of the engine, I place such studs or axes at points marked n, and spur
wheels on these studs gear with the pinions c, c, and the winding drums are
capable of sliding on the studs in and out of gear with the spur wheels.
The winding drum or drums for hauling ploughs or implements, I some-
times mount on a frame separate from the engine, and I connect the crank
axis of the engine with the axis which drives the drum or drums by an
intermediate shaft jointed to the end of each of the axes in such a manner
that these axes and the intermediate shaft will revolve together as if they
formed one piece, and this notwithstanding any slight difference of direction
between the engine axis, and the axis which drives the drum or drums, this
latter axis carries a pinion which drives a spur wheel on the axis of the drum
or drums; these are when two drums are used both mounted loosely on the
one axis, and are alternately made to revolve with.the axis by clutches so as to
wind the ropes upon them. By this arrangement the power of the engine is
transmitted to the drums by straight spur wheels, and at the same time the
clutches run at the low speed of the drums; this combination presents
advantages not before obtained. In order to prevent the frame carrying the
drums from moving while at work, I mount it on disc wheels or coulters,
either fixed on the frame or to levers mounted on it, and which disc wheels or
coulters cut into the land. Figure 3 is a side elevation of a winding
apparatus arranged in the manner above described. a. a, is a rectangular
frame of timber carried by four wheels mounted on the axles b, b; the
axis c'is mounted in bearings on the frame a; it has keyed on it the spur
wheel d, driven by the pinion e; on the upper axis f, the two winding drums
g, g, for giving motion to the plough or implement, and also the winding
drum h, for giving motion to the pulley carriage, are all carried by the axis
c, on which they can turn freely, except when made fast with it by the
clutches i, i, and j; the clutches i, i, are placed interior of the drums, and
they are connected together by feathers laying in grooves made from end to
end of the axes c, and the feathers are continued on and fixed to the ring k,
which receives the fork for working the clutches; the feathers do not rise
above the surface of the axis, except at the points where they are connected

page_text: with the clutches, otherwise they would not be able to slide through the
bearings and side plates of the drums; the clutches, as it will be seen, are
furnished with projections, and when the clutch lever is pushed to its
extreme position in one or other direction, the projections of one of the
clutches enter openings made in the side plate of the corresponding drum.
When the parts are in the position shewn in the Drawing, both the drums are
out of gear.
The clutch j, by means of which the drum h is made to
revolve with the axis, is of the ordinary description. The axis f receives
motion from the crank axis of a steam engine (a portion of which is shewn
in the Drawing) by means of the shaft l, connected to its end by a gimble
joint; the shaft is made square at the other end, and enters a socket.m,
connected by another gimble joint to the crank axis of the engine; the
manner in which the gimble joints are made may be readily understood by
the Drawing. In order to prevent the winding apparatus moving when at
work it is furnished with four disc wheels n, n, mounted on stems n', n', which
slide in guides o, o, fixed to the sides of the frame a, a. The stems n have.
rack teeth formed on their backs; pinions mounted on the short axes p, p,
take into these racks, and when the pinions are turned .handles
applied to the ends of the axes p. p, the disc wheels are driven into the
land. The stems n', n, may have tines or coulters mounted on them,.
such as are shown at Figures 3* in place of disc wheels; or coulters may be
employed mounted on weighted levers attached at one end to the frame, and at
the other end furnished with a weight which is sufficiently heavy to force the
tine into the land. In ploughing or tilling land according to my Invention, I
place the engine and winding apparatus at one side of the field, and near, the
centre of the side, and the hauling ropes are led along a strip of land across
the centre of the field, which I term the "midland," to a pulley carriage,
which as the work progresses traverses along the midland. The pulley.
carriage carries two pullies, one for each hauling rope, and the ropes pass
round these pullies in opposite directions, the one passing to the right and
the other to the left of the carriage, and they work with two ploughs or
implements, which are alternately hauled by the ropes from the headlands up
to the midland, and whilst one plough or tilling implement is in action, the
other, together with its hauling rope, is taken back by a horse or otherwise to.
its headland again to come into action, and to be. drawn up to the midland,.
while the other plough or implement and rope are being taken back by the
same means to their headland. Figure 4 is a Diagram shewing the arrange-
ment above described. a is a winding apparatus driven by an engine b, by
means (as is indicated in the Diagram) of a strap, but I prefer that it should

page_text: be directly by means of a jointed shaft, as is shown at Figure 3, or that the
drums should be mounted on the engine, as in Figures 1 and 2. c, c, are
winding ropes which pass from the winding drums to the two ploughs or
implements d, d, and e is, the pulley carriage carrying the pullies, round
which the hauling ropes pass; the arrangement of this pulley carriage is
hereinafter more fully described. f is a rope passing to a drum on the winding
apparatus for hauling the pulley carriage a distance forward after each
traverse of the implements. In place of working in the manner shewn at
Figure 4, the engine may be placed on the headland instead of the midland,
in which case the ropes pass along the headland to pulley carriages, which
traverse the headland as the work progresses, and the ploughs or implements
are alternately hauled to the headland, and taken back by a horse or otherwise,
as before described. Figure 5 is a Diagram illustrating this method of
working. a is the winding apparatus; b, the engine driving the same; c, c,
the winding ropes; d, d, the ploughs or implements; e, e, are pulley carriages,
which each carry a single pulley; f, f, are ropes for moving the pulley
carriages along the headland as the work progresses. In some cases I employ
in a similar manner an engine and winding drums combined together and
traversing on the midland; when this is done a pulley carriage is not required..
a, Figure 6, is an engine with winding drums combined with it, as is shown at
Figures 1 and 2; it has mounted in front of it two guide pulleys a', a¹, round
which the winding ropes c, c, pass to the ploughs or implements d, d. The
engine is caused to travel along the midland as the work progresses by con-
necting its travelling wheels by means of gearing in any convenient manner,
and as has heretofore been commonly done with the crank shaft of the engine.
I would remark that I do not claim the method of arranging the apparatus
last described, but I show it as a manner in which engines combined according
to my Invention may conveniently be employed. By these arrangements less
hauling rope is employed than is requisite when working according to other
systems. My system may be modified by employing two engines with one.
winding drum in connection with each and placed on each headland. The
hauling rope from each engine is in this case passed along the headland on
which the engine stands to a pulley carriage on the same headland, which
traverses as the work progresses, and the engines work alternately to haul
each one its own plough or implement from the midland to the headland. By
this arrangement I am enabled while still obtaining the advantages of my
system to avoid the use of horses by connecting the ploughs or implements by.
a rope, so that the working plough or the one passing from the midland to the
headland is caused to bring back the other plough or implement (then out of

page_text: work) to the midland. This arrangement is shewn at Figure 7; it will be seen
that it is similar to that shown at Figure 5, two complete sets of apparatus,
however, being used, and they work together, so that one set carries back the
ploughs or implements which have been drawn up by the other set. In a
similar manner, engines traversing on the headlands may be employed, no
pulley carriages being then necessary. I do not, however, make any claim
to this method of working, but mention it as another manner in which engines
and winding apparatus arranged according to my Invention may be employed.
The pulley carriage which I employ is mounted on ordinary wheels, and is
furnished with levers on which coulters are mounted, and these by penetrating
the land hold the carriage firmly in position while the work is being done,
and when the carriage has to be shifted after each traverse of the plough or
implement, the edges of the coulters pass through the land with facility com-
pared with the side way strain which the carriage is capable of resisting, and
if while shifting the carriage one of the coulters meets a stone or root, it rises
together with its lever, and so clears itself. The coulters can be forced into
the land to any required depth by weights or other means.
Or the levers may
be furnished with instruments which are not suitable for cutting through the
land in any direction, but which, when the pulley carriage has been moved to
its place, are forced into the land by the levers or other instruments, and are
by them withdrawn when the carriage has to be moved. Figure 8 is a side
view, and Figure 9 is a plan of a pulley carriage constructed according to my
Invention; it consists of a wooden frame a, a, carrying a vertical axis, on which
two pulleys b, b, run freely, and round these pulleys the hauling ropes are passed.
The frame a is carried by three road wheels, which can be raised or lowered i
when they are raised they occupy the positions shown in the Drawing, and the
frame a is then brought very close to the land as is desirable when at work,
and when the wheels are lowered the frame is lifted a considerable distance
from the land as is convenient for travelling.
c is the axle, to the ends of
which the two hind wheels d, d, are connected in the following manner :-
Each wheel runs on a pin fixed into a plate d', and this plate rests against
another plate e attached to the side of the frame. The axle passes through the
plate dat a distance from the pin on which the wheel is mounted, and the
plate d can be turned round on the axle so as to place the centre of the
wheel either above or below the axle, and the plate may be fixed in either,
position by locking pins f passing through it and the plate e.
The fore
wheel is carried in the following manner:-At the front of the frame a
vertical pin or axis g is carried in bearings; this pin or axis is made with a
T-head, on the ends of which the levers h, h, turn; these are connected in

page_text: front to the draw bar h¹, and the axis of the wheel passes through their other
extremities. i, i, are links connected at one end to the bottom of the pin or
axis g, and slotted at the other end through the slots; in them the axle of the
wheel passes, and it is kept at one or other end of the slots according as the
wheel is to be raised or lowered by pins j, j; k, k, are stays passing from the
axle of the wheel to the draw bar. In order firmly to hold the pulley carriage
in its place when at work, the carriage is furnished with coulters 1, 7, mounted
on levers m, m, weighted at one end, and at the other centred to the frame; the
coulters pass down through slots or openings in the frame, and the weights
cause them to penetrate the land; the carriage is thus prevented from being
drawn sideways when the strain comes on the hauling ropes, but the coulters
being sharp in front, they cut through the land with comparative facility, when
the carriage is drawn forward by winding up the rope n on the drum h of the
winding apparatus, Figure 3. Should the coulters, however, meet with a
stone or obstruction when moving forward, they turn up to the position shown
in red lines in the Drawing, and clear themselves. Figure 9* shows a form
of coulter which may be substituted for that shewn in connection with the
apparatus; this coulter can by a rack and pinion be set to penetrate the land
to a greater or less distance. Figure 9** is an instrument which may also be
employed; it is arranged to be forced into the land by a rack and pinion to fix
the carriage in its place, and it is raised by the same means when it is desired
to move the carriage forward; this instrument when employed is mounted so
that it may slide up and down at the side of the frame in guides. In place of
pulley carriages anchored pulleys may be employed, the anchors being moved
from time to time as the work progresses. The traction ropes which I prefer
to employ consist of iron or steel wire laid on to a core of hemp or other fibre.
In arranging ploughs suitable for steam ploughing, I combine three or a
greater number of sets of mould boards, shares, and coulters together in
suitable framework; and in addition I combine with each set so combined an
instrument known as a skim coulter, to remove the surface in front of the
mould board, and cause it to be buried. I also mount the shares of each set
on what are termed lever necks, so that the direction of the share either
horizontally or vertically can be altered as the work requires; when it is
desired to adapt the plough for use in fenny land, I substitute for the fixed.
coulter of each set a revolving disc coulter; this change will enable the plough
to work much more efficiently in such lands.
Figure 10 is a side view, and Figure 11 is a plan of a plough suitable for
steam ploughing, and consisting of three sets of mould boards, shares, and
coulters combined together in suitable framework; this implement is arranged"

page_text: according to my Invention, inasmuch as the shares are mounted on lever necks
and skim coulters are employed; a, a, a, are three parallel bars firmly connected
together to form a frame, each bar has welded or otherwise fixed to it a piece b,
which carries a mould board c and share d, and parts connected therewith; the
share which is shown in section in the Drawing is mounted on what is called a
lever neck; it is arranged in the following manner:-The share fits on to a nose
formed at the end of the piece c, and which projects through the front of the slipe,
as is described in the Specification of a former Patent granted to me; f is a sliding
piece, to which the piece e is attached by a bolt; it is capable of being shifted
up or down in the slot g formed in the piece to cause the point of the share to
penetrate to the depth required, and the sliding piece f also has a slot formed
in it in a horizontal direction to enable the point of the share to be adjusted in
a horizontal direction; h, h, are skim coulters, they are similar in form to
skim coulters before employed with common horse ploughs, having but a
single share and mould board; the stems of the skin coulters are connected
by bolts or otherwise to the bars a, a, of the frame; i, i, are ordinary coulters:
Figure 12 is a side view of a similar plough in which disc wheels j, j, are
substituted for ordinary coulters; the disc wheels are mounted on axes carried
by stems which are attached to the bars a, a, by bolts or otherwise. I would
remark as respects the use of disc wheel coulters that I do not claim generally
the use of such coulters in combination with steam ploughs or ploughs in
which three or more sets of mould boards, shares, and coulters are combined
in one frame, for I am aware that such coulters have been employed in such
ploughs placed in advance of ordinary coulters, but what I do claim is the
substituting disc coulters for ordinary coulters in such ploughs. I also in
some cases fix behind the mould board of each set a subsoil tine penetrating
the land to a greater depth than the plough itself.
In Figures 10 and 11 the manner in which the subsoil tines are employed
is clearly shown.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Hornsby, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
RP. HORNSBY, J. (L.S.)