CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS TO BE USED IN DRAINING LAND
Year: 1850

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
COTOREAVE, of Eccleston, in the County of Chester, Farmer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-second day of May, in the thirteenth year of Her
reign, and in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Robert Cotgreave, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said Robert Cotgreave, my exors, adiñors, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Robert Cotgreave, my exors, adññiors, 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 and Wales and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
OR APPARATUS TO BE USED IN DRAINING LAND;" in which said Letters Patent is
contained a proviso that I, the said Robert Cotgreave, shall cause a particular
description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be enrolled 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 being thereunto
had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I; the said
Robert Cotgreave, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described
and ascertained in and by the Drawings hereto annexed, and the following
explanation thereof (that is to say):-

page_text: My improvements consist,-
Firstly, in certain novel constructions and arrangements of machinery for
forming trenches to be subsequently supplied with pipes, stones, or other
medium used in constructing drains;
Secondly, in an apparatus for filling in the earth which has been removed
in the formation of such trenches; and,
Thirdly, in an arrangement of implement for loosening the subsoil so as to
effect an improved drainage thereof.
And in order to explain these several points of my Invention I have appended
to this my Specification certain illustrative Drawings, which I will now proceed
to describe.
Fig. 1 represents in side elevation one form of my improved machine for
cutting trenches, and Fig. 2 is a plan or horizontal view thereof, and Fig. 3
is a cross section, taken about the line A, B. This implement may be called
a drain plough, and the beam thereof is shewn at a; a. It is represented as
formed of two plates or bars of iron, between which there is attached a plate
of metal b; b, extending downwards. To the, bottom part of this plate is
attached a bar c, c, forming an inclined plane, to the front end of which is
affixed a coulter or cutter d.. The forward end of the beam a, a, is provided
with two pendant arms e, e, to the lower end of which is attached a block fƒ, f;
beneath this there is placed another block g, g, to which are firmly attached
pins h, h, h. These pins project into sockets formed in the upper block f. f
moving loosely therein so as to act as parallel guides for the moveable
block g, to which are connected, by means of loose socket joints, two upright
rods i, i; these rods are suitably formed for moving in screw sockets placed
within the beam a, a, and are provided at top with, handles, by which they
may be turned at pleasure, by which operation the block g, g, can be raised or
lowered as desired., Projecting from the inclined plane is an angular
mould, board j, j, which board is, mounted upon a rod k; k, which passes
through eyes 1, 1, 1, attached to the, said board, and also through: other
eyes m, m, m, affixed to the inclined beam. The mould board j, j, has to be
moved higher up occasionally for the purpose herein-after to be mentioned.
This is accomplished by, withdrawing the rod k,, and then shifting the eyes 1, 1,
so as to bring them above the succeeding eyes which are affixed to the inclined
plane bar c,,c, the rod k, k, being then replaced between the two. In order
to enable the board to sustain the weight of earth. which is, to pass over it,
there are brackets *, *, extending from the framework of the machine, upon
which it rests. The "draw by," to which the power is attached for giving
motion to the machine, is shewn at n; this is connected to a bar o attached to
the further end to the beam of the implement, but capable of being raised or

page_text: •
lowered at its forward end by means of a screw and nuts p, the spring of the
said bar being sufficient to admit of this motion; this is for the. purpose of
being able to vary the height of the point to which motion is communicated
to the machine. The "stilts" or handles by which the attendant governs the
action of the machine are shewn at q, q. The action of this apparatus is as
follows:-Upon the application of horse or other power to the "draw by,"
the "coulter" or cutter d will be caused to advance into the earth, which, as it
is removed from its bed, will be forced up the inclined plane c, and from thence
falling on to the mould board ; will by that instrument be guided from the
machine, and from thence fall upon the surface of the ground on one side of
the trench in progress of being cut, the block g pressing upon the soil where
a slice has been previously removed, and by its plane surface forming a guide
so as to keep the cutter from advancing unduly into the earth, the combina-
tion of parts acting in a similar manner to that of a joiner's plane. Upon the
intended length of trench having been cut, the machine must be raised, and
by working in the opposite direction another slice will be removed, the
attendant drawing up the mould board j by the means above mentioned as
the apparatus lowers into the increasing depth of the trench. The thickness
of the layer of soil removed will of course depend upon the height of the
block g above the cutter, and may be regulated by turning the screwed rods i,
so as to raise or lower the block g. As the machine sinks in to the deepening
trench it will be necessary to unscrew the eyes m, m, in order to cause a plain
surface of the side of the inclined plane to move against the sides of the drain.
In using this arrangement of apparatus one or more may be employed for form-
ing the entire depth of the trench; for example, one of light construction may
be used for cutting the drain down to a portion of its extent, and another or
others of greater depth and strength employed as the cuttings progress, and they
may, if desired, be furnished with ordinary wheels to facilitate their being con-
veyed from place to place, such wheels being capable of removal when required.
Figs. 4 and 5 represent in elevational and plan views a similar machine to
that already described, but with certain additions thereto which may be more
particularly applied when the earth is being removed from the lower part of
the trench. The beam and inclined plane are shewn as before at a, a. To the
upper part of the beam is, in this instance, attached one end of a bar, the
other end thereof carrying a bearing, in which is mounted a short shaft;
upon the axle of this is affixed a spike roller r, the teeth of which take into
the surface of the earth as the machine is drawn on. Upon the shaft is also
mounted another roller s, a series of spikes formed upon which project into the
slice of earth as it advances up the inclined plane. By this arrangement the

page_text: shaft will be caused to revolve, and the roller, by the action of its teeth, cause
the severed soil to be assisted in its passage up the inclined plane. It will be
observed by inspecting the Drawing that the bar is not fixed to the frame at its
end which carries the shaft; as the roller, therefore, passes over any inequalities
of the surface of the ground, the said bar will, by acting on a spring, give way
to compensate therefor; thus far this additional apparatus may be used for
cutting the bottom part of the trench. If, however, it be desired to use it
during several operations, rollers similar to that shewn at r should be employed,
but of different diameters, so as to run in contact with the surface of the
ground as the machine, and consequently the shaft q, falls lower down. If
desired also in order to gain more command over the rollers s, another similar
to that shewn at r may be attached to the same shaft, acting in like manner on
the opposite side of the drain.
Fig. 4 represent also another additional apparatus which may be employed
to assist the passage of the earth up the inclined plane. To the under side of
the bar c is mounted in bearings a revolving disc t, upon the axis of which is
a toothed pinion taking into another mounted upon an axle also carried by the
bar c. Upon the latter axle is affixed a thin spiked roller u, which projects
through the inclined plane, so that upon the machine moving forward
the disc t will be caused to revolve and communicate motion to the roller u,
thus lifting the slice of earth and tending to advance it to the top of the
machine. In the Figure I am now describing, the blocks ƒ and g are formed
of iron, and are hollow, the upper one fitting into the cavity of the lower one,
which is capable of being raised and lowered by means of screw rods, as
before. The lower block is in this instance provided with four circular knives
mounted on each side thereof, two of which are shewn at v, v, the others
being opposite thereto. These knives are capable of turning upon centres,
and are level with the faces of the block 9; they operate so as to cut the sides
of the earth intended to form the slice, and may if desired be employed in all
forms of the guide block, or cutting surfaces to act similarly may also be
employed, but formed as stationary knives.
Fig. 6 represents in elevation a modification of the above-named machine;
in this instance two inclined planes and cutters are employed, the one calcu-
lated to remove the earth a thickness deeper than the other, so as to sever two
slices at one advance of the machine; in like manner 3 or more may be
employed if desired. The general arrangement of parts being the same as in
the former cases, no further description will be necessary, remarking only that
but one mould board similar to that shewn at j, and placed on the lower
inclined plane, will be necessary.

page_text: Fig. 7 is a partial view, shewing a variation in the method of shifting
the guide block in front of the machine; in this instance the block f is jointed
upon arms e, e, which arms turn at top upon pins which pass through the
beam a.
To one of them is connected a segmental piece w, which has a
series of pin holes formed therein and passes through a mortice formed in the
beam; by raising or lowering the upper end of this segmental piece the
blocks will swing upon the arms and be caused to rise or fall, and at the same
time recede from or advance towards the cutting tool and be thus adjustable in
both directions. The arms e, e, are also provided with several pin holes, which
may be used to alter the level of the blocks when a great variation is required.
In order, however, to gain increased facility for regulating the thickness of
slice to be severed, screw rods i, i, similar to those before described, are
employed.
Fig. 8 represents in a detached view a method I sometimes employ for
assisting the upward passage of the earth. Within the inclined plane bar is
placed a series of rollers x, x, x, turning upon suitable centres; around these
is passed a belt of cloth or other material upon which the raised soil advances.
Fig. 7 represents in a detached view an arrangement for governing the cut
more accurately. Behind the cutting tool is placed a block f, affixed to an
extended portion of the plate b; below this is placed another block
in a similar manner to those described with reference to the preceding
Figs. 1, 2, &c.; by raising or lowering the block g through the inter-
vention of the screws i, a great accuracy of adjustment may be acquired. I
The cutter to be affixed to the description of machine which I have
described may be varied considerably in form; that, however, which I prefer
for general purposes will be seen more particularly by reference to Figs. 1
and 3. There are two vertical cutting projections y, y, which sever the
width the slice; if desired, however, discs similar to them shewn at v, v,
Fig. 4, may be employed. The shape of the tool may likewise be varied to
suit the form which it may be desired to give to the bottom of the trench; for
instance, in cases where sods are adopted instead of tiles, the cutter employed
to remove the last slice may be so constructed as to leave a ledge on each side
for the sods to rest upon. In some instances, the top part of the drain, where
such has been formed to a considerable depth, may be wider than the lower
part thereof, in which case I apply a spring to the inclined plane bar, so as to
press the plate b against the side of the drain; and in order to prevent the
loose earth from falling into the trench between the machine and the side
thereof. where tho spring is employed, I attach a projecting piece to the
machine, so as to cover the aperture of the space. The mould board j is

page_text: shewn in the Drawing as in one piece; if desired, however, it may be made in
two or more, the one lapping over the other, so as to be capable of expansion,
in order to gain. greater breadth. It will be evident that the arrangements of
machinery I have described for cutting trenches may be worked by horses
attached thereto, or by any other ordinary method; in some cases it will
be advantageous to employ an apparatus similar to an ordinary capstan
or windlass placed at a distance from the trenching machine, and connected
thereto by means of ropes or chains. I would also observe that, if desired,
my improved draining machines may be made with two inclined planes, one
on each of the plate b, in which case the earth will be brought up in a
similar manner to that already described, but thrown upon the surface of
the ground on both sides of the drain. In some cases, where the ground to
be cut is comparatively dry, a series of rollers mounted upon axles may be
placed at the bottom of the guide block g, as shewn in the detached
Figure 8; they may be of any convenient number, and formed of wood or of
metal as desired.
My improved machine for filling in the earth which has been thrown
up in forming drains is shewn at Fig. 9. To a beam a is attached an
angular frame b, which is provided with a number of "tines "c, c, c, similar
to those of an ordinary harrow; projecting downwards from the parts *, *,
of the frame are also plates or scrapers; the machine is used in the following
manner The forward part of the beam a extends below the bottoms of the
tines c, c, c, and is placed so as to project into the formed trench; the tines
c, c, c, will then rest upon the earth intended to be filled in, and on a forward
motion being communicated thereto by horse or other power, will loosen the soil,
so as to enable it to be drawn towards the centre part of the machine by the
scrapers extending from the frame b*, b, when it will fall into the open trench.
My improved implement for loosening the subsoil, so as to effect an
improved drainage thereof, is shewn in Figs. 10 and 11 of the accompanying
Drawings, of which Fig. 10 is a side elevation, and Fig. 11 a plan or
horizontal view thereof. The frame or beam of the machine is shewn at a, to
the front part of which is attached a block similar to that described with
reference to the foregoing Figures; in this instance, however, I have shewn a
modification of construction by employing one block only, moving upon guide
pins h, h, and capable of being moved up or down by means of screwed rods
i, i; in this instance, however, there is added another block, placed parallel
with the first-mentioned one, and connected thereto by means of arms. This
block is intended to move in the adjoining furrow, acting thereby as a
parallel guide. A mould board of the ordinary construction is shewn at 6, and

page_text: bebind this is placed a coulter or stirrer c, for loosening the subsoil; this
instrument is placed in a mortice formed in the beam or framework, and is
capable of being moved up or down therein, and affixed by set screws, so as to
regulate the depth to which the subsoil shall be moved; by this arrangement
of apparatus the upper soil is turned in the ordinary manner, and the subsoil
loosened by the instrument c, which is prevented from advancing unduly into
the earth by the plane surface g which proceeds it.
Having thus fully described and ascertained the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I will proceed to point
out what I claim under the above in part recited Letters Patent.
Firstly, I claim, with reference to the formation of drains or trenches, the
use of an inclined plane or planes for conveying the severed soil to the surface
of the ground, in combination with an adjustable guide piece, with or without
rollers attached thereto, acting as a regulator for the depth of cut. Also
I claim (for the purpose above set forth) the spiked rollers and travelling belt,
described with reference to Figs. 4 and 5.
Secondly, the use of a machine provided with tines, or spikes, or scrapers
disposed in an angular form, so as to draw the earth towards the central part,
for the purpose above set forth.
Thirdly, the combination of a flat guide surface and instrument for turning
the subsoil, for the purpose above set forth.
Lastly, the general arrangement and construction of parts shewn and
described under the three divisions of my Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Cotgreave, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty.