IMPROVEMENTS IN RICK CLOTHS OR COVERS, AND IN APPARATUS FOR SUPPORTING KICK CLOTHS OR COVERS.
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Ephraim William Hodgetts, of Moreton-in-the-
Marsh, in the County of Gloucester, Sack Contractor and Manu-
facturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN RICK CLOTHS OR
COVERS, AND IN APPARATUS FOR SUPPORTING KICK CLOTHS OR COVERS.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Ephraim William
Hodgetts at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 3rd June 1870.
I, EPHRAIM WILLIAM HODGETTS, of Moreton-in-the-Marsh, in the
County of Gloucester, Sack Contractor and Manufacturer, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN RICK CLOTHS
OR COVERS, AND IN APPARATUS FOR SUPPORTING RICK CLOTHS OR COVERS," to be
as follows:-
My Invention consists of a cloth or cover and support for the same,
for protecting hay, straw, corn, or other ricks from rain during the
time of harvesting, building, or unbuilding the said ricks; the said
cloth or cover and support being constructed as herein-after described.

page_text: I make the rick cloth or cover of canvas or other fabric suitable
for the purpose, the said cloth or cover being made by sewing together
gores or pieces of a shape proper to make a conical, or pyramidal, or
other shaped cover, as may be required. To the edge of the cover
I attach cords or strings for the purpose herein-after explained, and in
the top or apex of the cover I fix a metallic socket of the kind and for
the purpose herein-after explained.
The apparatus for supporting the cover consits of a wooden rod or
pole, the upper end of which passes through the socket at the apex of
the rick cover. The lower part of the said rod or pole is fastened to a
metallic base provided with four or other number of spikes or prongs,
which by being forced into the top of the rick support the rod or pole
in a vertical position. The rick cover is supported at the required
height on the rod or pole by means of thumb screws having oblong
heads, which are capable of taking into vertical and transverse slots in
the socket at the apex of the rick cover. By giving the said thumb
screws a partial rotation their oblong heads are made to cross the slots
in the socket, and thereby lock the said socket to the rod or pole.
The apex of the rick cover is thus firmly held to the rod or pole. The
edge of the cover is held down tightly by means of weights attached to
the cords herein-before described at the edge of the said cover. The
thumb screws described are capable of being fixed at various points in
the rod or pole, holes at different heights being made in the pole for the
purpose of receiving them.
In using my Invention the rod or pole with the cover
or cloth
attached to it, the said cover being in a collapsed state, is brought to the
centre of the rick, on the top thereof. The pole being raised into a
vertical position it is pressed downwards until its prongs or forks have
entered the rick to their whole length, and the pole has thereby become
fixed in a vertical position. The rick cover is now expanded and fixed
in its expanded state by the weights described. As the rack sinks the
said weights keep the cover tight upon the rick.
Instead of the cord and weights described for keeping the cover
tight the said cover may be fastened down by pegs or stakes driven into
the rick.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Ephraim William Hodgetts in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 26th November 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EPHRAIM
WILLIAM HODGETTS, of Moreton-in-the-Marsh, in the County of
Gloucester, Sack Contractor and Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Third day of June in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-third
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Ephraim William Hodgetts, Her special licence,
that I, the said Ephraim William Hodgetts, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Ephraim William Hodgetts,
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 RICK CLOTHS OR COVERS, AND IN APPARATUS FOR SUPPORTING
RICK CLOTHS OR COVERS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Ephraim William Hodgetts, 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 Ephraim William Hodgetts, 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 :—
My Invention consists of a cloth or cover and support for the same,
for protecting hay, straw, corn, or other ricks from rain during the time
of harvesting, building, or unbuilding the said ricks; the said cloth or
cover and support being constructed as hercin-after described.

page_text: I make the rick cloth or cover of canvas or other fabric suitable for
the purpose, the said cloth or cover being made by sewing together
gores or pieces of a shape proper to make a conical or pyramidal or
other shaped cover as required. To the edge of the cover I attach cords
or strings for the purpose herein-after explained, and in the top or apex 1
of the cover I fix a metallic ring provided with a cross pin and fixing
cotter for the said cross pin.
The apparatus for supporting the cover consists of a wooden rod or
pole, the upper end of which passes through the ring described at the
apex of the rick cover. The lower part of the said rod or pole is
fastened to a metallic base provided with four or other number of spikes
or prongs, which by being forced into the top of the rick support the
rod or pole in a vertical position. The rick cover is supported at the
required height on the rod or pole by means of the cross pin being
passed through the ring at the apex of the rick cover, and also through
one of a series of holes made at different heights in the pole. The apex
of the rick cover is thus firmly fixed to the rod or pole. The edge of
the cover is held down tightly by means of weights attached to the cords
herein-before described at the edge of the said cover.
In using my Invention the rod or pole with the cover or cloth
attached to it, the said cover being in a collapsed state, is brought to
the centre of the rick on the top thereof. The pole being raised into a
vertical position it is pressed downwards until its prongs or forks have
entered the rick to their whole length, and the pole has thereby become
fixed in a vertical position. The rick cover is now expanded, and fixed
in its expanded state by the weights described. As the rick sinks (that
is, in the case of hay ricks) the said weights keep the cover tight upon
the rick.
Instead of the cords and weights described for keeping the cover
tight the said cover may be fastened down by cords fastened to pegs or
stakes driven into the rick, or by pegs and weights combined.
Having explained the nature of niy Invention, I will proceed to
describe, with reference to the accompanying Drawing, the manner in
which the same is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in section, and Figure 2 in elevation a rick cloth
or cover constructed and supported over a partly raised rick according

page_text: to my Invention; Figures 3 and 4 represent modifications for fixing
down the cloth or cover to the edge of the rick; and Figures 5, 6, and 7
represent parts of my Invention. The same letters of reference indicate
the same parts in each of the Figures of the Drawing.
a is the rick cloth or cover, to the top or apex of which I fix a
metallic ring b provided with a cross pin c and spring cotter d. This
ring 6, with its cross pin and cotter, is represented separately on a larger
scale in plan in Figure 5 and side clevation in Figure 6 of the Drawing.
To the edge of the rick cover a are attached a series of cords or
strings ff, to which cords weights g, g, may be hung, the said cords
carrying rings or thimbles e, e. The support for the rick cover consists
of a wooden rod or pole 1, the upper end of which passes through and
fits closely in the ring b at the apex of the rick cover, and the lower
part of the said pole h is fastened to a metallic base or socket /* pro-
vided with a series of prongs or forks i, i, which are driven into the rick,
as illustrated in the Drawing. In the supporting rod or pole h is a
series of cross holes at a short distance apart, and the rick cover a is
supported at the required height on the rod or pole by means of the
cross pin c being passed through the ring 6, and one of the holes in the
pole h, and fastened by the spring cotter d. The edges of the cover a
are held firmly down by means of the pegs or stakes m inserted obliquely
into the rick, the weights and the rings or thimbles e being supported
on the outer ends of the said pegs or stakes. After the insertion of the
I
pegs m into the rick the weighted cords f, g, are passed over the said
rings or thimbles e, and the rick cover is thereby kept tight over the
rick.
In using my Invention the supporting rod or pole h having the cloth
or cover a attached to it by the ring b, the said cover being in a collapsed
state, is brought to the centre of the top of the rick or partly raised
rick, and the said pole being placed in a vertical position it is pressed
down until the prongs or forks i, i, at its base have entered the rick
nearly to their full extent, so as to support the said pole firmly in a
vertical position. The rick cover a is now expanded and fixed in its
expanded state by the weighted cords f, g, and pegs or stakes m, m.
As the rick sinks the said weighted cords keep the cover tight upon the
rick. As the building or raising of the rick proceeds the pegs or
stakes m, m, and pole h, are withdrawn from the rick, and together with
the cover are taken off the rick till wanted again. The pole may be

page_text: removed from the socket of the prongs or forks i, i, for stowage when
the apparatus is not in use.
By my Invention a temporary covering to a rick during the building
or unbuilding of the same may be provided with great case and in a
short time.
Where the edges of the ricks coming in contact with the cover do not
injure the said cover, such as corn ricks, I drive the pegs m horizontally
or obliquely into the rick so as to bring the cover on to and over the
eaves of the rick, as illustrated in Figure 3, in which Figure 3 a peg is
represented driven horizontally into the rick, the rick cover being held
down by pegs alone, instead of by pegs and weights.
In the case of hay and other ricks which are liable to damage the
cover I adopt the arrangement represented in Figure 4, that is to say,
instead of securing the edge of the rick cover immediately over the
caves of the rick, as in Figure 3, the stakes or pegs m, m, are only driven
about half way into the rick, so as to cause the upper or outer parts of
the said stakes or pegs to project from the eaves of the rick, and lift
the edge of the rick cover above and considerably beyond the caves of
the rick, so that the cover does not get damaged by heat from the rick.
The pegs or stakes m in this arrangement are provided with cross pins n
which limit the distance to which the pegs or stakes can be inserted
in the rick. A perspective view of the peg m, Figure 4, is shown in
Figure 7.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that
I do not confine myself to the precise details herein described and
illustrated, as the same may be varied without departing from the nature
of my Invention; but I claim as my Invention the improvements in
rick cloths or covers, and in apparatus for supporting rick cloths or
covers herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawing, that is to say, providing the apex of the rick cloth or cover
made of a pyramidal, conical, or other shape with a metallic ring, and
supporting the said rick cloth or cover over the rick by means of a single
rod or pole provided at its base with prongs or forks which are driven
into the rick, the said rick cover being fixed at the required height on
the said supporting rod or pole by means of the said ring and cross pin
described, and the edge of the said cover held tightly down on or near

page_text: the caves of the rick by means of weights, cords, and pegs, or by cords
and pegs only, substantially as described and illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Ephraim William Hodgetts, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of
November, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and seventy.
Witness,
EPHRAIM WILLIAM HODGETTS. (L.S.)
PHILIP HY. WADLEY,
Glo'stershire Banks. Co.,
Moreton-in-Marsh,
Gloucestershire.