IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OD Å DRARATHE FOR STEAM CULTIVATION. ATIS " MACHINERY OD ARARATITE PAR STEAM CULTIVATION
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Leslie, of Turriff, in the County of
Aberdeen, Bank Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OD Å DRARATHE FOR STEAM CULTIVATION.
ATIS
"
MACHINERY OD ARARATITE PAR STEAM CULTIVATION
"
Sealed the 17th November 1868, and dated the 20th May 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Leslie at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
20th May 1868.
I, ALEXANDER LESLIE, of Turriff, in the County of Aberdeen, Bank
Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR STEAM CULTIVATION," to be as
follows:-
My Invention relates to the use of an implement carriage running
on wheels propelled by a pulley set in motion by a light fast running
endless rope of hemp or other suitable material, which being carried
along or across the field to be operated upon communicates motion
from a pulley set in motion by a steam engine or other prime mover.
The implement carriage is not turned at the end of the field as in my

page_text: previous Patent (No. 2028, A.D. 1862), but is provided with a doubl
set of implements which are used alternately, one set being lifted ou
of work when not in use. The implement carriage has two propelling
wheels and two steering wheels. The propelling wheels are provided
with teeth placed so as to balance each other. The steering wheels
are mounted in the forks of upright forked spindles which pass through
the fore and hind ends of the frame and are acted upon by levers under
the control of the attendant. The propelling wheels are set in motion
thus: On their shaft is secured a wheel with teeth; a spur wheel is
loose upon an eccentric which is secured on a tube on which is also
secured a pulley acted on by the endless rope, the spur wheel while
loose on the eccentric which answers for its centre is prevented from
revolving and when carried round by the eccentric it causes the wheel
slowly to revolve. The spur wheel may be prevented from revolving by
being grasped by a forked rod, the other end of which slides through a
part of the frame; but by preference I do not secure the pulley on
the tube, but use a friction clutch for fixing it when it is desired to
communicate motion to the main shaft. In this way the attendant is
enabled to stop the implement carriage independently of the engine
driver, but when it is desired to give him the power of reversing the
motion of the carriage another spur wheel is substituted for the pulley,
which is placed on another shaft, and reversing gear interposed between
it and the spur wheel substituted for it. The attendant is thus enabled
both to stop and reverse the motion of the implement carriage at
will. The ploughs or other implements are drawn directly from the
main shaft. They are raised and lowered by means of a cam and bent
levers. The cam is loose on a tube concentric with the main shaft
and is turned round at the will of the attendant by motion derived
from the pulley when the hollow side is turned toward either of the
bent levers. The implement with which it is connected is lowered
and the other is raised to their full height at the same time, but only
one can be lowered. The implements are attached to the main shaft
not between the propelling wheels but at one side so as to allow all
the wheels, both propelling and steering, to travel on the unmoved
ground. The endless rope is passed round a pulley placed on the
crank shaft of a self-propelling engine. Two pulleys are attached
to the engine for the purpose of guiding the rope, which is stretched
by mns of another pulley mounted on wheels and drawn back by
block and tackle to the end of a beam, one end of which is attached to

page_text: the engine and the other trails after it supported by small wheels.
The rope passes round a pulley on a small carriage at the other end.
of the field, and the implement carriage traverses between them. The.
pulley carriage may be shifted by hand or otherwise. When a water
wheel or stationary engine is used the arrangements are slightly.
different, the stretching carriage being at one end and the pulley.
carriage at one side, another pulley carriage with two pulleys being.
also required. The two pulley carriages move up or down the sides
of the field as the implement carriage traverses across it; they are.
shifted by hand or otherwise. I insert springs between the end of the
implement carriage and the shoulder of the forks carrying the steering.
wheels in order that both wheels may bite the ground when passing
over an uneven surface. The arrangements for stretching the rope.
are, both vertical and horizontal, carried by the engine, and the beam
may be trailed after the engine to allow room for stretching the rope
between the pulley on the engine and the end of the beam.
The following are principal points in my present Invention :-(1), the
use of teeth (which should be diagonal) set at opposite angles; (2), the
arrangements for driving the propelling shaft; (3), the method of
steering, including the position of wheels and arrangements of levers;
(4), the arrangements of the cultivating implements with all the wheels
travelling on unmoved ground; 5, raising by a cam; (6), stretching
apparatus applied to self-moving engine; (7), the insertion of springs
between the ends of the frame and shoulders on the upright forked
spindles in which the steering wheels are mounted for the purpose of
giving both wheels a bite of the ground when passing over an uneven
surface.
)
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alexander Leslie in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 19th November 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
LESLIE, of Turriff, in the County of Aberdeen, Bank Agent, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of May, in the year

page_text: of our Lord One thousand cight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Alexander Leslie, Her special licence
that I, the said Alexander Leslie, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Alexander Leslie, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR STEAM CULTIVATION," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Alexander Leslie, 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 Alexander Leslie, 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 :-
My Invention relates to the use of an implement carriage running
on wheels propelled by a pulley set in motion by a light fast running
endless rope of hemp or other suitable material, which being carried
along or across the field to be operated upon communicates motion
from a pulley set in motion by a steam engine or other prime mover.
The implement carriage is not turned at the end of the field as in my
previous Patent (No. 2028, A.D. 1862), but is provided with a double
set of implements which are used alternately, one set being lifted out
of work when not in use.
wheels.
The implement carriage has two propelling wheels and two steering
The propelling wheels are provided with diagonal teeth
placed at opposite angles so as to balance each other. The steering
wheels are mounted in the forks of upright forked spindles which pass
through the fore and hind ends of the frame and are acted upon by
levers under the control of the attendant. The propelling wheels may
be set in motion in the manner hereafter described, but I do not confine

page_text: myself to the method herein described of communicating motion from
the rope pulley to the propeller shaft, as other plans may be adopted.
The following arrangements may be those adopted in practice: -On
their shaft is secured a wheel with, say, twenty-four internal teeth, a
spur wheel with, say, twenty-three is loose upon an eccentric, which is
secured on a tube on which is also secured a pulley acted on by the
endless rope, such spur wheel while loose on the eccentric which
answers for its centre being prevented from revolving, and when carried
round by the eccentric causes the wheel slowly to revolve, say, at the
rate of one revolution for twenty-four revolutions of the eccentric and
pulley. The spur wheel may be prevented from revolving by pins
fixed in it being grasped by a forked rod, the other end of which
slides through a part of the frame. By preference, however, I do
not secure the pulley on the tube, but use a friction clutch for fixing
it when it is desired to communicate motion to the main shaft. In this
way the attendant is enabled to stop the implement carriage inde-
pendently of the engine driver; but when it is desired to give him the
power of reversing the motion of the carriage another spur wheel is
substituted for the pulley, which is placed on another shaft, and
reversing gear interposed between it and the spur wheel substituted
for it, whereby the attendant is enabled both to stop and reverse the
motion of the implement carriage at will. The ploughs or other imple-
ments are drawn directly from the main shaft, and are raised and
lowered by means of a cam and bent levers. The cam is loose on a
tube concentric with the main shaft, and is turned round at the will of
the attendant by motion derived from the pulley; when the hollow side is
turned toward either of the bent levers the implement with which it is
connected is lowered, and the other is raised; both may be raised to
their full height at the same time, but only one can be lowered. The
implements are attached to the main shaft not between the propelling
wheels but at one side, so as to allow all the wheels, both propelling and
steering, to travel on the unmoved ground.
My apparatus may be used with a self-moving or with a stationary
engine. In the former case my endless rope is passed round a pulley
placed on the crank shaft of a self-propelling engine. Two pulleys are
attached to the engine for the purpose of guiding the rope, which is
stretched by means of another pulley mounted on wheels and drawn
back by block and tackle to the end of a beam, one end of-which is

page_text: attached to the engine, and the other trails after it supported by small
wheels. The rope passes round a pulley on a small carriage at the other
end of the field, and the implement carriage traverses between them.
The pulley carriage may be shifted by hand or otherwise. When a
water wheel or stationary engine is used the arrangements are slightly
different, the stretching carriage being at one end, and the pulley
carriage at one side; another pulley carriage with two pulleys is also
required. The two pulley carriages move up or down the sides of the
field as the implement carriage traverses across it; they are shifted by
hand or otherwise. I insert springs between the ends of the implement
carriage and the shoulders of the forks carrying the steering wheels in
order that both wheels may bite the ground when passing over an
uneven surface. The arrangements for stretching the rope are carried by
the engine, and the beam may be trailed after the engine to allow room
for stretching the rope between the pulley on the engine and the end of
the beam.
The following are principal points in my present Invention :-(1),
the use of teeth (which should be diagonal) set at opposite angles; (2),
the arrangement for driving the propelling shaft; (3), the method of
steering, including the position of wheels and arrangements of levers;
(4), the arrangement of the cultivating implements with all the wheels
travelling on the unmoved ground; (5), raising by a cam; (6),
stretching apparatus applied to self-moving engine; (7), the insertion of
springs between the ends of the frame and shoulders on the upright
forked spindles in which the steering wheels are mounted for the purpose
of giving both wheels a bite of the ground when passing over an uneven
surface.
illustrating in what manner the said Invention is to be performed or
put in practical operation.
Fig. 1, side view of implement carriage; Fig. 2, plan of same;
Fig. 3 shows a means of mounting the steering wheels; Fig. 4, view
showing modification of gearing to enable the motion of the implement
carriage to be stopped or reversed at pleasure while the rope is still
running; Fig. 5 shows a mode of actuating the steering wheels. of the
implement carriage; Fig. 6 and 7, respectively side view and plan of

page_text: apparatus for stretching the endless rope; Fig. 8, view showing arrange-
ment of apparatus in field when a self-propelling engine is used; Fig. 9,
view showing arrangement of apparatus in field when a stationary engine
is used.
In Figs. 1 and 2 a rapidly running endless rope R of hemp or other
suitable material set in motion by a steam engine or other prime mover
gives motion to a drum or pulley A, which is secured on a tube B which
is loose on the shaft C. On the tube B is also secured the eccentric E,
on which as on an axis is placed the spur wheel D, which is loose on
the eccentric E, but is prevented from revolving by two studs F, F,
which project from it, being grasped by the forked rod G, which passes
through a slot at H to give it sufficient play to allow the wheel D to be
moved round by the eccentric E inside the wheel I, which has twenty-
four (more or less) internal teeth, and is secured on the shaft C. The
spur wheel D has twenty-three (more or less) teeth, and while it is
carried once round by the eccentric E it causes the wheel I to make
one-twenty-fourth (or other fraction) of a revolution. Motion is thus
communicated to the shaft C on which are secured two wheels K, K¹,
which may have one ring as at K, or two rings as at K. These wheels
act as propellers, and to enable them to bite the ground properly they
are armed with teeth or paddles, which are T-shaped, and are placed
diagonally, as at L, L, L', and at opposite angles on the different wheels,
so that the side strain of one is balanced by the side strain of the other.
The teeth, blades, or paddles may have their flanges cut off between the
rings when double rings are used (as shown at L') in order to prevent
clogging. The cultivators M, M, are attached to and drawn by the
shaft C. They may be removed, and ploughs or other agricultural
implements attached in their stead. The shaft C also supports the
frame N, N, of the implement carriage from which the implements are
suspended, and which is steered by means of the steering wheels O, O,
which are placed in the forks of the forked spindles P, P, on which are
secured the levers Q, Q, which are connected by the rods S, S, with the
double lever T, T, by either of the handles of which the implement
carriage may be steered. Instead of the levers Q, Q, two wheels may
be substituted with worms, arranged as shown, to turn the spindles P, P,
in opposite directions, as shown in Fig. 4. When it is desired to stop
or reverse the motion of the implement carriage while the rope R is
still running in the same direction, the drum or pulley A is placed on

page_text: an independent axis 1 (see Fig. 4), on which is secured a spur wheel U
which works in the spur wheel U¹ which is secured on axis 2. Axes
1 and 2 revolve in opposite directions, and loose on them, but capable
of being secured at will by clutches are the wheels V, V', which work
into the wheel W secured on the tube B. The implement carriage is
thus moved in one direction when the wheel V is thrown into work,
and in the opposite direction when the wheel V₁ is in work. When
both wheels are loose on their axes the carriage is stopped.
A method of raising and lowering the cultivators or ploughs is also
shown in Fig. 4. The cam X loose on a tube concentric with the
shaft C may be set in motion at will by motion derived from the axis 1,
and it raises or lowers the cultivators by means of the bell-crank
levers Y, Y, Y. Either cultivator may be raised or lowered, or both
may be kept raised at the same time.
Figs. 6 and 7 show a method of stretching the endless rope R when
a self-propelling engine is employed to work the apparatus. a is a
pulley on the crank shaft or other convenient shaft of the engine
which sets the rope in motion; b, b, are guide pulleys; c is a
stretching pulley mounted on a small carriage d, which runs on a
long plank or frame e, e, which is attached to the engine by the bolt f
and the projecting piece 9 (which is fixed to the engine), and is
supported at the other end by the wheels b, b. The carriage is drawn
back from i towards j by block and tackle or other convenient means,
and the rope R is thus kept in a proper state of tension. The plank
or frame e is drawn partly alongside, partly behind the self-propelling
engine (see Fig. 8) as it moves along one side or end of the field
in the direction from 1 to m.
When a stationary engine is used the arrangement is shown in Fig. 9,
where the engine is at n, the stretching pulley C mounted on its carriage
is drawn back toward the post o fixed in the ground, and guide pulleys
mounted on two carriages p and q support and guide the rope. These
carriages are moved when necessary along the sides or ends of the field
(by block and tackle or other convenient means), and the implement
carriage traverses between them, one cultivator or set of ploughs being
in work when it is moving in one direction and the other when it is
moving in the opposite direction. I employ springs between the ends
of the frame and shoulders on the upright forked spindles in which
the steering wheels are mounted, as shown at Fig. 3, or as shown at r',

page_text: Fig. 1, to press the steering wheels into the ground, so that they may
bite properly when the ground is uneven.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be put in practical
operation, I hereby declare that I claim the Invention of "Improve-
ments in Mechanism or Apparatus for Steam Cultivation," as hercin-
before described, it being understood that I do not claim the constituent
parts per se and apart from the purposes of my Invention as herein-before
stated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Leslie, have hereunto.
set may hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of November, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
eight.
5 Witness,
JAMES RUNCIEMAN,
Castleton.
ALEX. LESLIE. (L.s.)