VARIOUS ADDITIONS TO AND IMPROVEMENTS OF THE PLOUGH OR MACHINE FOR THE DRAINING OP LANDS, BY MEANS WHEREOP THE MANY DISADVANTAGES ATTENDING THE PLOUGHS OR MACHINES HERETOFORE USED ARE OBVIATED IN A VERY SIMPLE AND PERFECT MANNER
Year: 1800

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RICHARD
.LUMBERT, of the Parish of Wick Rissington, in the County of Gloucester,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present Majesty King George the Third, in and by His
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Fourth day of February, in the fortieth year of His reign, for
Himself, His heirs and successors, did give and grant unto me, the said
Richard Lumbert, His especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said Richard Lumbert, my executors, aduiors, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Richard Lumbert, my executors, administrators,
or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within that part of Great Britain called England, the
Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of
"VARIOUS ADDITIONS TO AND IMPROVEMENTS OF THE PLOUGH OR MACHINE FOR THE
DRAINING OP LANDS, BY MEANS WHEREOP THE MANY DISADVANTAGES ATTENDING
THE PLOUGHS OR MACHINES HERETOFORE USED ARE OBVIATED IN A VERY SIMPLE AND
PERFECT MANNER;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso
obliging me, the said Richard Lumbert, by an instrument in writing under
my hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to
cause the same to be inrolled in His said Majesty's Пigh Court of Chancery
within one calendar month next and immediately after the date of the said

page_text: recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereto had,
will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Richard Lumbert, do hereby describe and ascertain the nature of my said
Invention. and the manner in which the same is to be performed, by the Plan
thereof drawn in the margin of these Presents, and as follows, that is to
say:-
Figure 1 represents the machine or plough, with its parts properly fixed to
work it by two or four men.
Figure 2 represents the machine or plough, with its appurtenances, adapted
to work it with six or eight men, or more.
Figure 3 represents the machine or plough, with its several parts properly
fixed to work it with horses.
The parts that compose the plough, as in the Figures 1, 2, and 3, are as
follow, namely:-A, the handles, which are made of wood, and are 6 feet
long, three inches in diameter at the largest end, and 1 inch at the smallest
end. They move on a pin or centre which passes through the beam at their
extremity 1, so that they can be made to turn over on the beam as represented,
Figure 4, or move up or down at pleasure, so as to fix in either of the notches
in the catch or lock at the base or circular end of the beam; this is done by
means of an iron pin across them, at 2, which strikes into the notches and
keeps them firm in the required position. B, the lock or catch, made of iron,
which is connected to the base end of the beam, by its shank or. tenon 3
passing into a mortice at the end of the beam, and held by a pin passing
through the beam, and through an oblong hole in the tenon, to permit the lock
or catch to move backwards and forwards as it is operated upon, either by the
iron pin in the handles, or by its spring, which is an elastic piece of iron or
steel, bent in a semicircular manner, and represented by C. D, the beam,
which is made of good ash timber, 6 feet long, 4 inches wide, and 7 inches
thick at the largest end, which terminates in a semicircular or dovetail form,
and 3 inches wide and 5 inches thick at the smallest end. The four mortices
in the beam, 4, 5, 6, and 7, must be guarded with iron plates, inch thick
above and below, and are for the purposes of receiving the coulters and other
parts, as will herein-after be explained. E, a small wooden wheel or roller,
8 inches wide, and 7 inches in diameter, turning on an iron axle, and moving
in a frame of iron which is fixed to the beam D by a shank or upright passing
through the mortice 4, and screwed on the top by a nut to keep it firm. F, the
back coulter, to which the cone or share is joined; this is made of wrought or
'cast iron, is 3 feet 8 inches long, 44 inches wide, and 1 inch thick, the lower

page_text: part of which, to the space of 2 feet from where the cone is fixed, is bevelled
or formed to and edge (having the back one inch thick); ths edge must be?"
properly steeled and hardened. The end on which the cone is fixed is made!
in the form of a tenon, as represented in Figure at 8, to fit into the mortice in i
the cone. G, the cone or share, made of steel, cast or wrought iron, having a :*
mortice three inches long and of an inch wide made through it, as repres>'
sented in the Figure 1, to receive the tenon in the back coulter, to which it is
rivetted. The cone is 12 inches in length, the base end of which may be from t
2 to 3 inches in diameter, and the other end terminating in a point, which, if
iron, ought to be guarded with steel; its dimensions at the base end may be:
increased at pleasure by the addition of one or more of the pieces 9, 9, 9, which:
are made of cast iron or any other material, and screw or fix on to the base end:
of the cone, and into each other, so as to increase the diameter of the drain
intended to be made as occasion may require, or the dimensions of the drain
may be increased by means of separate cones or balls chained or connected
together, and gradually increasing in size, as at 10, 10. The said cone may
also have a moveable steel point Z, which steel point must have a shoulder and
point fitting in and upon the socket of the fixed part of the cone. The said
point may also have a spiral worm upon its sides, which, being pressed on all
sides by passing through the earth, will have a motion given to it round its own
axis, similar to that of the worm of a gimblet, which motion will in some cases
facilitate its progress through the earth; or the coulter may be hollow, and
a rod passing through the coulter or immediately behind it, having a wheel
and nut, one on each end of it, the wheel or nut connected to and moved by a
wheel upon the plough or machine, the nut working in a nut upon the axis
of the above-mentioned steel point, so as to give it a rotary or boring motion
round its own axis. The method of applying this wheel and pinion with the
conical point with a spiral worm upon it, or the conical point with the spiral)
worm alone, is sufficiently obvious to every mechanic. Should it be found!
necessary to form inore than one drain at the same operation, that may be
easily accomplished by connecting a cone or cones to the back coulter F, at
such distance above the cone G as the additional drain or drains are required
to be above the drain formed by the said cone G. H, the front coulter, made>
of the same materials as the back coulter, and, like that, has an edge properly,
steeled and hardened. This, as well as the back coulter, are kept firmly fixed>
in their respective mortices 5 and 6 in their beam by means of iron wedges, and
a strong screw pin of iron of an inch diameter, which screws into an iron.
plate and acts against the coulters by pressure, so as to keep them firmly in,
their proper positions. I, the large roller or wheel at the fore end of the

page_text: plough or machine, made of wood or any other material, 16 inches wide and
15 in diameter, turning on an iron axis which passes through the frame.
K, K, an iron frame to receive the roller I, the upright part or shank of which
is.4 inches wide and of an inch thick, and which passes into the mortice 7,
and supports the fore end of the beam; this bar is fixed in the beam by means
of a screwed iron pin and wedges, which operate in the same manner as the pins
which fix the coulters: L, Figure 1, a frame of wood, the end of which, 11, is
fastened to the beam by an iron pin; this frame is 7 feet long from a to b, 4 feet
wide from 6 to c, and 2 feet high; the scantlings which form it are of deal,
and 3 inches square, they are joined together by means of iron straps or bolts,
screwed by nuts at the ends. M, the barrel or roller, made of beech timber,
8 inches diameter, round which the draught chain or rope winds, the gudgeons
or spindles of which are of iron, and 1 inch in diameter. N, a tooth wheel,
twenty inches diameter, of cast iron. 0, a nut or pinion, five times smaller
than the tooth wheel. P, an iron bar, about six feet in length, 1 inches
diameter, to which the nut or pinion is fixed, and to which the iron handles are
connected; this is better seen in Figure 2. Q, an anchor or holdfast; made of
iron, five feet long in the shank, and 2 feet in the flook or blade; it should be
2 inches in diameter at 12, the elbow or angle where the blade joins, and con-
tinued taper from thence to the end, which may be about an inch diameter, and
which terminates in a hook. R, the frame, detached from the beam for the
purpose of employing a greater number of men to work it. This is made.
of deal scantlings, three inches square, and is 5 feet long and 5 feet wide; in
it are placed two barrels or windlasses, the gudgeons of which run in brasses,
with nuts and pinions of the same dimensions as those described above; it is
shifted or moved from place to place by means of the wooden rollers 13, 13, 13;
13, at cach corner. S, a pulley, consisting of a single sheave or wheel, either iron
or wood, of any dimensions, round which the chain or rope works. T, an iron
hatchet, for the purpose of cutting roots or removing other obstacles that may
impede the progress of the plough or machine, as well as of being employed in
putting the different parts of the plough or machine together, or taking it to
pieces. At the end of the handle is a spanner or wrench, 14, to screw
or unscrew the different nuts or pins about the plough or machine; it may be
carried on the beam by a hook and staple, as in the Figure 5. V, a block
of wood with a hole therein, sufficiently large to take the end of the cone or
share, which is to be put into. it when the plough or machine is shifted,
or taken to another part of the field or land. The plough or machine is repre-.
sented in this state by Figure 5, the cone being fixed into the block, and the
handles are fixed into one of the lower notches in the lock for the conveniency

page_text: of holding them, which could not be done if they were in the position they
must be when the plough or machine is at work. W, the draft chains, fixed
to a hook at the point 15, in the middle of the beam at the base end, and
connected to two iron bars passing through rings in the axis of the roller I,
and continued thence to the horses at 16; these iron bars are three quarters
of an inch diameter, and are connected by means of cross bars of iron before
and behind the roller, as at a, a.
Figure 5: A bird's eye view or plan of the roller and the bars is repre-
sented, X, with the chains connected at either end; Y, a wooden paddle, with
an iron handle.
Method of working the plough or machine:-The several parts of the
plough or machine are first to be fixed in their proper places and positions,
according to the nature of the sail, or the depth the required drain is intended
to be made below the surface of the ground. In the first place it will be
proper to place the frame containing the small roller in its situation at the base
of the beam, as described at Figure 1, at E. The frame containing the large
roller is then to be fixed in the mortice at the fore end of the beam by means
of the screw pin and wedges, taking care to let the beam be elevated about
four feet from the bottom of the roller or surface of the ground; this being
done, the beam must be turned on one side, and a line or string strained from
the bottom of one roller to that of the other, which will describe the level
surface of the ground. The back coulter, to which the cone or share is
connected, is then to be fixed in its mortice in the beam by means of the screw
and wedges already described, at such a depth below the line or string as the
drain is required to be below the surface, taking care to place the lower side
of the cone in a parallel direction to the line. The different pieces or parts of
the cone, or one or more of the separate cones or balls, may next be attached
to the cone fixed to the back coulter, according to the size of the intended
drain, should it be required of larger dimensions than the cone, as fixed to the
coulter, can make it. The front coulter is then to be placed in its mortice
in the heam by means of the screw and wedges as before described, so that
the end or point may be about six inches below the line or string; then
fix the frames containing the barrel or windlass by means of an iron pin passing
through the beam, as represented in Figure 1, and screw the end firmly by its
nut. The plough or machine in this state is calculated to be worked by
two or four men, more or less; that is, by one or two at cach handle
of the windlass; but should there be occasion to employ more than four men,
this part of the plough or machine will answer better if detached from it, as
in Figure 2, which represents a frame containing two barrels and four handles

page_text: so that six, eight, or more men may be enabled to work at it. To apply the
plough or machine to work by hand as in Figure 1, it will be necessary to
have a rope or chain about an hundred yards in length, one end of which
must be hooked or fixed to the draft chains, and the other end, after passing
through the pulley which is connected to the holdfast or anchor made fast to
the barrel, then fix the anchor in the ground at a distance opposite the plough
or machine, in length according as the rope or chain will admit, and as near
as possible in a right line with or parallel to the direction of the drain intended
to be made; nothing more is requisite, than that the men employed begin
turning or winding at the handles, and the plough or machine will conse-
quently approach the anchor or holdfast, and perform the required operation,
which, when it has done, the holdfast must be shifted forward the length the
rope or chain will admit of, and the operation renewed. To work the plough
or machine with its parts detached, as in Figure 2, it will be proper to pro-
vide a chain or rope of about one hundred yards in length, and connect one
end of it to one of the barrels and the other end to the other; a pulley must
be provided as in the fornier way, which must be fixed to the draft chain, as in
the Figure; after passing the chain from the barrels over it, the frame con-
taining the windlasses or barrels must be placed at the extreme length the
chain will admit from the other parts of the machine or plough, but so as to
be in a right line from it in the direction of the drain to be made. The
anchor or holdfast must be made firm in the ground, and connected to the
frame by means of a double chain or ropes, as in Figure 2, by which, with
the assistance of the moveable spurs in front, the frame in which the wind-
lasses are fixed are made sufficiently fast, and the operation will be performed
by turning the handle of the windlass. When the length of chain is wound
up, the frame must be shifted onward, which may easily be done by means
of its rollers, and again fixed steadily by the anchor or holdfast and spurs, so
that the operation may be repeated. If the plough is meant to be worked by
horses, nothing more is requisite than to hook the traces of the harness to
the draft chain, at Figure 3, Number 16, and keep them steadily to their
work. The operation of the plough or machine can only be given in general
terms, as the different situations and texture of land must necessarily require
various modes by which it can be advantageously applied. In draining a
piece of land it will, however, be proper to ascertain its lower extremity or
level, so that the water issuing from the drains may be brought to that point,
and thence discharged into the common drains or sewers of the country. It
generally happens that a ditch or waterhouse extends along the lowest part of
lands; in that case, nothing else is requisite but to begin at such ditch, and

page_text: draw the drains up the land or field to be drained, at such distance from each
other as may thought sufficient to take off the water to be discharged. If at
the opposite side of the ditch to where the cone or share is to be applied,
there should be, as indeed is generally the case, a hedge, bank, mound, or
wall, or any other obstruction, so that the handles or the shafts at the end of
the beam, in their state of working, would prevent the cone or share from
entering at the face of such ditch, the lock or catch may be pressed so as
to disengage the handles, and they may then be turned over on the beam, as
represented by Figure 4, or they may be made to turn sideways, which will
obviate such difficulty, by permitting the base end of the plough to be brought
so far backwards as to suffer the cone or share to enter at the face or side of
such ditch without digging any trench from the ditch by manual labour, which
in other cases must be done. If it should so happen that the piece of land
or field to be drained is of such a declivity or ascent from the ditch or water-
course that drains cannot conveniently be drawn up it, the plough or machine
may be worked down hill, and after drawing the requisite number of drains
as near to the lowest part of the land or ditch as possible, a drain called a
master drain or conductor is then to be drawn, beginning at the ditch and pro-
ceeding in a curved direction till it cuts or intersects the drains drawn down
the hill at nearly right angles, so that at each intersection t water may be
communicated to the master drain. The plough or machine may be readily
turned or raised out of the ground, by inclining it on one side when it is in
the act of going on, or it may be raised hooking the chain from the barrels
or windlasses to the top of the bar which supports the fore end of the beam,
and if wanted to be conveyed to any other part of the ground, or to any other
place, the point of the cone may be put into the block as before described for
that purpose, and the handles or shafts moved down to one of the lower
notches in the lock, as at Figure 5, which will enable them to be held by the
hands so as to keep the plough or machine upright while it is proceeding to
the part required. Where the land or turf is tender, soft, or boggy, the
treading of horses or oxen would be liable to injure it very much, in this case
the plough or machine as worked by hand, see Figure 1 or 2, may be used
very advantageously, as by this mode all the injuries from the trampling or
treading of cattle are entirely obviated, the operation of the plough or machine
itself doing no kind of damage whatever to the land, by disturbing the surface
or breaking up the ground; in short it is hardly perceiveable where the plough
or machine is gone over in its progressive work. The number of horses to
work the plough must vary according to the texture or stiffness of the soil,
or the depth the drain is required below the surface, for as the depth

page_text: increases so must the power to work the plough or machine be increased; in
general from six to ten horses are sufficient for the purpose. The point of
traction or draft together with the elevation of the beam of the plough or
machine, with the co-operation of the rollers I and E, entirely prevent the
share or cone from acting otherwise than in a line parallel to the surface of
the land, for as from the point of traction at 15, the back or base part of the
cone will have a tendency to raise upwards towards the surface, so this will be
entirely obviated by the large wheel or roller I, which will consequently resist
such tendency by the pressure of its lower surface on the ground, which opposes
itself in proportion to the force applied, and throws the line of draught or
traction in its centre or equilibrium. Let it be observed, that though many
shapes, measures, spaces, and sizes are given in the above Specification of the
said Invention, yet that it is not absolutely necessary to adhere rigidly to them,
as slight variations will make no difference in the operation, so long as the
principles upon which the Invention depend are adopted. If it be found
necessary, any number of men may be employed to work the plough or
machine, as the only alteration necessary from Figure 2, is to apply the frame-
work and windlasses in proportion to the number of men required.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard -Lumbert, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this First day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred.
Inrolled the same First day of March, in the year above written.