IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CULTIVATING LAND AND SOWING SEED."
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Smith, of Little Woolstone, in the County
of Bucks, Farmer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR CULTIVATING LAND AND SOWING SEED."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Smith at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 18th
March 1863.
I, WILLIAM SMITH, of Little Woolstone, in the County of Bucks, Farmer,
do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR CULTIVATING LAND AND SOWING SEED," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in machinery for cultivating
land and sowing seed. For these purposes the framing of the fore carriage is,
by preference, of a triangular form, and is connected at its hinder end with an
axle on which there are two wheels, which I call the main wheels, one at each
end of such axle. There is also at the front end of the fore carriage a locking
axle with two wheels, which have, in addition to their broad tyres, central
The
projecting rims, which cut into the land when the machine is in use.
steering is by means of a lever handle on an upright shaft, by which the fore
wheels and their axle are moved. At the front end of the triangular or fore
frame is applied a draft instrument or apparatus, such as was described in the
Specification of a former Patent granted to me, and dated the 11th day of
January 1856 (No. 87), in order that the end of the draft rope, which comes

page_text: into action at a headland, may cause the implement to be turned by the power
employed for drawing it from headland to headland. The cultivating tines,
pressers, and seed tubes are arranged in a similar manner to that described in
the Specification of a previous Patent granted to me, and dated the 13th day
of May 1861 (No. 1219). These tines, pressers, and seed tubes are mounted
in a lever frame, the forward end of which is pin-jointed to projections fixed
on the axle of the main wheels of the implement. The front or triangular
frame is connected to the axle of the main wheels, and the two outer parts or
sides of the fore framing extend back and have handles applied thereto, by
which the fore wheels and front end of the fore carriage can be lifted. In
front of the axis of the main wheels a seed box or chest is placed on the fore
framing of the implement, which by trunks or passages is connected to a
smaller seed box placed on the outer parts of the fore framing, which are
extended back and which are bent upwards in order to carry such hinder seed
box. On the axle of the main wheels is fixed a chain wheel, and on the shaft
or axle of the hinder seed box is also fixed a chain wheel; thus the chain
wheel on the main axle by an endless chain gives motion to the axle in the
hinder seed box. From the shaft or axle of the hinder seed box motion is com-
municated, when desired, to an axle or shaft, which by drums or pullies gives
motion to endless bands in the trunks or passages, by which the seed is raised
from the one seed box or chest to the other, as is well understood. From the
under part of the binder seed box, pipes or flexible tubes descend to the drills, as
is usual. The lever frame which carries the tines and drills is capable of being
raised, and the raising may be done by any convenient apparatus; that which
is preferred is a barrel put in motion by a crank handle and bevel gearing
mounted on the ends of the bars which support the hinder seed box. The
hinder lever frame which carries the tines has two wheels, which run on the
land and regulate the depth to which the tines descend into the land, and pro-
vision is made for adjusting the tines in the lever frame, or for adjusting the
axles of the wheels. In place of having a seed box or chest forward of the
axle of the main wheels only one seed box or chest may be applied over
the hinder part of the lever frame. which carries the tines, in which case the
driving of the axle or shaft in the seed box from the axle of the main wheels.
may be retained, whilst the fore end of the lever frame, in place of being pin-
jointed to the hinder part of the axle of the main, wheels, will be attached to
projections or to a crank or cranks forward of the axles of the main wheels.
The hinder frame in this arrangement,, as in the other before described, is to
be supported by a pair of wheels, which regulate the depth to which the tines,
enter the land. In those constructions of tilling implements (known as.

page_text: Fowler's tilling implements) in which two sets of cultivating tines are applied
in each implement, one set at each end of a lever frame supported and turning
on a central axle as a fulcrum, which is supported by a pair of wheels having
a suitable steering or locking motion, I apply, in combination with the culti-
vating tines, pressers, seed tubes, and seed box at each end of the lever frame,
and motion is given to the shafts or axes within the respective seed boxes
either from the axles or naves of the wheels which govern the depth the tines
shall enter into the land, and which are at the ends of the lever frame, or I
derive the requisite motion for the axes or shafts in the seed boxes from the
central axle.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Smith in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 12th
September 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAMI
SMITH, of Little Woolstone, in the County of Bucks, Farmer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Smith, Her special licence that I, the said William
Smith, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said William Smith, 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 "Iμ-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CULTIVATING LAND AND SOWING SEED," upon the
condition (amongst others) that 1, the said William Smith, 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 William Smith, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to

page_text: be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in machinery for cultivating
land and sowing seed. For these purposes the framing of the fore carriage is,
by preference, of a triangular form, and is connected at its hinder end with an
axle on which there are two wheels, which I call the main wheels, one at each
end of such axle. There is also at the front end of the fore carriage a locking
axle with two wheels, which have, in addition to their broad tyres, central
projecting rims, which cut into the land when the machine is in use. The
steering is by means of a lever handle on an upright shaft, by which the fore
wheels and their axle are moved. At the front end of the triangular or fore
frame is applied a draft instrument or apparatus, such as was described in
the Specification of a former Patent granted to me, and dated the 11th day of
January 1856 (No. 87), in order that the end of the draft rope, which comes
into action at a headland, may cause the implement to be turned by the power
employed for drawing it from headland to headland. The cultivating tines,
pressers, and seed tubes are arranged in a similar manner to that described in
the Specification of a previous Patent granted to me, and dated the 13th day
of May 1861 (No. 1219). These tines, pressers, and seed tubes are mounted
in a lever frame, the forward end of which is pin-jointed to projections fixed
on the axle of the main wheels of the implement. The front or triangular
frame is connected to the axle of the main wheels, and the two outer parts or
sides of the fore framing extend back and have handles applied thereto, by
which the fore wheels and front end of the fore carriage can be lifted. In
front of the axis of the main wheels a seed box or chest is placed on the fore
framing of the implement, which by trunks or passages is connected to a
smaller seed box placed on the outer parts of the fore framing, which are
extended back and which are bent upwards in order to carry such hinder seed
box. On the axle of the main wheels is fixed a chain wheel, and on the shaft
or axle of the hinder seed box is also fixed a chain wheel; thus the chain
wheel on the main axle by an endless chain gives motion to the axle in the
hinder seed box. From the shaft or axle of the hinder seed box motion is
communicated, when desired, to an axle or shaft, which by drums or pullies
gives motion to endless bands in the trunks or passages, which the seed is
raised from the one seed box or chest to the other, as is well understood.
From the under part of the hinder seed box, pipes or flexible tubes descend to
the drills, as is usual. The lever frame which carries the tines and drills is
espable of being raised, and the raising may be done by any convenient appa-
ratus; that which is preferred is a barrel put in motion by a crank handle and

page_text: bevel gearing mounted on the ends of the bars which support the hinder seed
box. The hinder lever frame which carries the tines has two wheels, which
run on the land and regulate the depth to which the tines descend into the
land, and provision is made for adjusting the tines in the lever frame, or for
adjusting the axles of the wheels.
In front of the axle b
Figure 1 shows a side view, and Figure 2 a plan, of a machine constructed
as above described. a is the triangular framing carried at its hinder end by
an axle b, on which there are two wheels b', 6'; this end of this framing is also
provided with two handles 6, by depressing which the front end of the frame
can be raised; these handles are used to assist in turning the implement. At
the front of the framing is a locking axle c, with two wheels c¹, c', provided
with projecting rims c, which cut into the land when the machine is in use;
d is the lever handle on the upright axis of the locking motion, by this
handle the implement is steered; e is the draught instrument, to which the
hauling ropes used for dragging the implement over the land are connected;
ff, are the cultivating tines, and 9 the pressers and seed tubes. These
pressers and seed tubes are carried by the frame h; that at its forward end
is pin-jointed to the back of the triangular frame a.
is the seed box i, which communicates by three trunks or passages with a
smaller seed box k, that is supported by the beams or handles b. Passing up
through each trunk is an endless band which passes around a pulley or wheel
in the lower, and also in the upper seed box. The arrangements of the seed
boxes and parts connected therewith is more clearly shewn at Figures 3 and 4.
The pulleys or wheels in the upper seed box are loose on their axis A, but
any or all of them can be made fast to it by clutches, as is shewn. On the
axis is a pinion which gears with a toothed wheel on the axis m, which
carries the measuring wheels or cups of the hinder seed box. The axis m when
the machine is at work is constantly driven by a chain passing from a chain
wheel on the axle 6, a constant rotary motion is thus also given to the
axis, and this motion can, if desired, be communicated; to any of the
endless chains coming from the seed box i, and thus any part of the seed
box can be replenished with seed. n, n, are the pipes descending from
the seed box to the drills, as is usual. The frame h is furnished with
two wheels o, o, which regulate the depth to which the tines descend into the
land; this frame can also be raised so as to lift the tines out of the ground by
chains passing from it to a barrel p, to which motion can be given, as is shewn.
In working the implement each time that it has by one of the hauling ropes
been drawn to one end of its work the tines are lifted out of the ground, and
the implement is turned by the other draught rope commencing to haul on the

page_text: implement, the workman with the machine at the same time assisting the
implement to turn by raising the fore part of the implement by depressing
the handles 6, this he can readily do as the implement is nearly balanced on
the axle b.
In place of having a seed box or chest forward of the axle of the main
wheels as above described, only one seed box or chest may be applied over
the hinder part of the lever frame which carries the tines in which case the
driving of the axle or shaft in the seed box from the axle of the main wheels
may be retained, whilst the fore end of the lever frame, in place of being pin-
jointed to the binder part of the axle of the main wheels, will be attached to
projections or to a crank or cranks forward of the axles of the main wheels.
The hinder frame in this arrangement, as in the other before described, is to be
supported by a pair of wheels which regulate the depth to which the tines
enter the land. An implement constructed in this manner is shewn at
Figures 5 and 6, Figure 5 being a side view, and Figure 6 a plan, of the
implement. In these Figures like letters of reference indicate similar parts to
those shewn at Figures 1 and 2. The axle 6 in this arrangement is shewn
to be cranked; this is done in order that the frame h, which carries the tines,
pressers, and seed tubes, may turn on pins forward of the axle b; by this
means the implement may be made to balance, or nearly so, on the axle b,
although the seed box, which in the former arrangement was forward of the
axle, is not employed. The implement is in other respects similar to the one
shewn at Figures 1 and 2, with the exception that in place of the chain wheel
on the axle b giving motion directly to the axis m of the seed box, the endless
chain gives motion to a chain wheel r, on the axis of which is a toothed wheel,
into which a toothed wheel on the axis m, which carries the measuring cups
of the seed apparatus, can be slid in and out of gear.
In those constructions of tilling implements (known as Fowler's tilling
implements) in which two sets of cultivating tines are applied in each
implement, one set at each end of a lever frame supported and turning on a
central axle as a fulcrum, which is supported by a pair of wheels having a
suitable steering or locking motion, I apply, in combination with the cultivating
tines, pressers, seed tubes, and seed box at each end of the lever frame, and
motion is given to the shafts or axes within the respective seed boxes either
from the axles or naves of the wheels which govern the depth the tines
shall enter into the land, and which are at the ends of the lever frame, or I
derive the requisite motion for the axes or shafts in the seed boxes from the
central axle.
Figure 7 shews a side view, and Figure 8 a plan, of an implement con-

page_text: structed in the manner I prefer for carrying out this part of my Invention.
a is the lever frame supported on a pair of wheels b, which have a suitable
steering or locking motion; each end of the frame is provided with tines, and
also with pressers, seed tubes, and seed box, as is shewn. Motion is given to
the shafts or axes within the seed boxes by an endless chain passing around
a chain wheel on the nave of one of the wheels that govern the depth to which
the tines enter the ground. The top of each seed box is in the arrangement
shewn in the Drawing made into a seat, upon which the man in charge of the
implement can sit, and the man can from this seat steer the implement. The
lever frame a is in the arrangement shewn in the Drawing furnished with
an apparatus for taking up any slack rope, such as is described in the Specifi-
cation of a Patent granted to John Fowler, junior, on the 3rd April 1858,
(No. 710); this apparatus may, however, be dispensed with if preferred.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Smith, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Tenth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
WILLIAM SMITH. (LS.)