IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR DRILLING, THRASHING, AND CUTTING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE
Year: 1843

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RICHARD
GARRETT, of Leiston Works, near Saxmundham, in the County of Suffolk,
Agricultural Implement Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty hath granted unto me
Her Letters Patent, sealed at Westminster, the Twenty-fifth day of November,
in the seventh year of Her reign, for making, using, exercising, and vending,
within that part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called
England, Her Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR DRILLING, THRASHING, AND
CUTTING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE," subject to the usual proviso obliging me to
describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, and to cause the same to be inrolled in the High Court of Chancery
within six calendar months next after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Richard Garrett, do hereby describe and ascertain the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as follows,
(reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters
and figures marked thereon), that is to say :-
My Invention of Improvements in Machinery for Drilling, Thrashing, and
Cutting Agricultural Produce relates,-
First, to an improved arrangement of parts constituting a "drop drill" with
which seed and manure may be dropped at intervals in patches, and a suffi-

page_text: cient quantity of mould covered over the manure before the seed is deposited
upon it. In my improved "drop drill" the various parts are so arranged that
patches of manure are dropped at proper intervals, say, ten inches, or any
other suitable distance apart, and the seed is dropped at the same intervals,
but on the patch of manure that has been previously dropped, and which, by
means of a fork or rake, has been previously covered with mould.
In Sheet I. of the accompanying Drawings, Fig. 1 represents a side eleva-
tion of one of my improved drills, the outer running wheel being removed, in
order that the working parts may be more clearly seen. Fig.. 2 is a plan or
horizontal view of the new parts, with the seed and manure boxes and the
gearing connected therewith removed. a, a, are pipes down which the manure
is fed in proper quantities by means of the peculiarly-shaped scoops which
are seen detached at Fig. 3. The lower end of the lowest manure pipe
rests on a table b, which is fixed in any convenient manner to the coulter c,
an opening being left between the coulter and the table, as seen in Fig. 2,
and in the sectional view, Fig. 4; and as the manure descends it falls on to
the table b, from whence it is pushed off, and down through the opening b¹, on
to the ground by means of a vibratory or reciprocating action which is com-
municated to the lowest manure pipe a, from the excentric d, on the shaft d*,
through the intevention of the connecting rod e. Various other modes of
communicating the required motion to the manure pipe may be suggested; as,
for instance, that shown at Fig. 4, in which a lever and tappet is employed in
place of the excentric or crank. By the tappet raising the end of the lever e
the manure pipe is drawn into the position shewn in Fig. 4, and the patch of
manure that has been dropped on to the table is pushed off through the open-
ing b', and when the tappet passes the end of the lever, and allows the latter
to descend, the manure pipe falls back into its original quiescent position (as
shewn by dots in the Figure), ready to receive a fresh supply of manure.
Immediately behind the manure pipe a fork f is mounted for the purpose of
covering the manure over with mold previously to the seed being deposited
thereon. The seed pipes are shewn at g, g; they are supplied with seed in
the ordinary manner by cups, and the lower pipe is furnished with a valve h,
seen best in the detached Figs. 5. This valve is formed of a cylinder with a
portion of its circumference cut away, so as to form a recess for containing the
seed. The axle thereof is cranked, and is worked backwards and forwards by
means of the rod h*, which is connected either to the manure pipe a or the
rod e. The seed pipe is preceded by a coulter i, and followed by a small
harrow for covering over the seed. The implement which I use for this pur-
pose is a small chain harrow, as shown in the Drawing. The requisite

page_text: motions are communicated to this part of the apparatus by means of a spur
wheel j on the nave of the running wheel. This wheel j gears into a smaller
wheel k, which is mounted loosely on one end of an intermediate shaft n.
Immediately behind the wheel ka ratchet wheel o is firmly keyed on to the
shaft n, as shown by dots in Fig. 1, and a catch or click p, on the back of
the wheel k, takes into the teeth of the ratchet wheel, and when the drill is
going forward, the continuous rotation of the wheel k, with its click in one
direction, causes the ratchet wheel to revolve; but when the drill is backed
the click on the wheel slides over the teeth of the ratchet wheel, and does
not communicate any motion thereto, consequently the parts actuated by this
part of the apparatus remain in a quiescent state. The shaft n carries at its
other end a large wheel 1, which gears into and drives a pinion m on the d*,
and by means of excentrics, cranks, or tappet levers actuates the other parts,
as above mentioned. In place of making the cill q, q, (which supports certain
parts of the apparatus) of wood, I propose to construct it of cast iron for
greater strength and durability. Figs. 6 and 7 represent a side elevation and
plan or horizontal view of the iron cill detached.
The peculiar feature of novelty which I claim under this head is "dropping"
the seed and manure down separate pipes at intervals in any required quantity,
and covering the manure thus dropped with soil, before the seed is deposited
upon it. This, as far as I am aware, has never been effected before; and
although I have described the best means with which I am acquainted of
carrying out this part of my Invention, I do not intend to confine myself to
the precise arrangement of parts herein shown and described, as other
mechanical combinations may be employed, and considerable modifications
may doubtless be made without departing from the principle of my Invention.
The second head of my Invention relates to machinery for thrashing or
beating out grain or seeds. In the ordinary thrashing machines the beating
cylinder is generally made either of wood or of wood covered with sheet iron;
but both of these constructions are liable to derangement, and are often mate-
rially damaged by stones or other hard substances which occasionally get
introduced by accident into the machine. In order to obviate this difficulty
I construct this cylinder of iron, and thereby I impart increased strength and
durability to the machine.
Fig. 8, Sheet II., represents a longitudinal elevation of the drum of a
thrashing machine constructed on my improved plan. Part of the circum-
ference is cut away, in order to shew the interior construction. Fig. 9 is a
transverse section of the same, and Fig. 10 is a transverse section of a portion
of the machine, shewing the drum in its working position. The drum or

page_text: beating cylinder is constructed, for the most part, of iron. a, a, is the longi-
tudinal shaft or axle upon which it is mounted; b, b, are circular cast-iron
discs, to the face of which segments of wood c, c, are affixed, and to which
the periphery of the drum, consisting of plates of thin sheet-iron, is firmly
bolted. The cast-iron discs b, b, impart great strength to the cylinder, and are
furnished with projecting pieces or ears d, d, d, in which recesses are made
for receiving longitudinal strips or bands of wrought iron e, e, e.
The junc-
tions of the plates of sheet iron are situated between these strips e, e, and the
beaters f, f, which also consist of strips of wrought iron, and are placed longi-
tudinally along the drum, and immediately above the junctions of the plates
the several parts, viz., the beaters f, the iron plates which form the outside of
the drum, the strips of iron e, and the projecting pieces or ears d, d, all are
firmly bolted together, as seen in the Drawing. The drum is mounted and
driven, and the machine fed in the ordinary manner.
In reference to this part of my Invention, I claim constructing the drum or
beating cylinder of thrashing machines of iron, as above described.
The third part of my Invention consists in an improved arrangement of
parts constituting a chaff-cutting engine. The several and separate parts of
which the machine is composed are not in themselves new; but they are com-
bined and arranged in such a manner as to constitute a more convenient and
economical engine than those now in use.
a, a, is
My new chaff-cutting engine is shewn in Sheet III., in which Fig. 11
represents a side view, Fig. 12 a front view, and Fig. 13 a plan view.
the framework of the engine, and b, b, the fly-wheel mounted in front of the
mouth of the machine, and is furnished with two cutting knives c, c, which are
firmly bolted thereto. The material to be cut into chaff is fed forward by the
fluted rollers d, d, which have an intermittent motion communicated to them
by means of the clicks or catches e, e, which take into and drive the teeth of
the ratchet wheels f, f, which are mounted on the axles of the fluted rollers d.
The catches e are worked up and down by the rods g, g, the lower ends of
which are connected to a lever h, which is worked by the crank i and crank
rod j. The crank i is on the driving shaft of the engine, and rotary motion is
communicated thereto from a winch handle in connection with the fly-wheel,
and at the opposite end of the driving shaft a pinion is mounted, and gears
into a corresponding pinion m, so that by placing another winch on the axle
of the latter additional power may be employed to drive the machine. The
fluted rollers d, d, turn in slotted bearings, as seen in the sectional view,
Fig. 14. They are kept in contact with each other by means of the weighted
lever n, so that they may yield to an accidentally increased thickness of feed,

page_text: and not choke or work hard, as will sometimes be the case with the ordinary
chaff engines. The length of the chaff is regulated by altering the position
of the connecting joint of the rod j along the lever h.
In conclusion I wish it to be understood that I am aware that various parts
of which my improved chaff engine is composed have been heretofore employed
for similar purposes. I do not therefore claim any of the said parts separately;
but I claim the peculiar arrangement and combination herein described and
shewn in the Drawings hereunto annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Garrett, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of May, One thousand eight
hundred and forty-four.