IMPROVE- MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SOWING OR DEPOSITING SEEDS IN LAND
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Finlayson, of Gighty Burn, in the County
of Forfar, North Britain, Millwright, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SOWING OR DEPOSITING SEEDS IN
LAND."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Finlayson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
20th April 1858.
I, GEORGE FINLAYSON, of Gighty: Burn, in the County of Forfar,. North
Britain, Millwright, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SOWING OR DEPOSITING SEEDS
IN LAND," to be as follows, that is to say:-
This Invention relates to the so arranging seed-sowing apparatus as used
for sowing or depositing seeds of various kinds in land, that whilst the weight
of the seed box or trough, and appurtenances is retained, where it ought to be,
in a vertical line with the centre of the axles and carrying wheels, the box or
trough is kept low down, so that the seeds are deposited with great certainty.
These advantages are gained by passing the seed box or trough directly
through the centres of the carrying wheels, or otherwise so disposing the box
that its longitudinal axis shall coincide or nearly so with the horizontal axial
line of the wheels.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Finlayson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
19th October 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
FINLAYSON, of Gighty Burn, in the County of Forfar, North Britain, Mill-
wright, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said George Finlayson, Her special license that I, the said George
Finlayson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as J,
the said George Finlayson, my executors, administrators, or 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 "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SOWING OR DEPOSITING SEEDS IN
LAND," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said George Finlayson,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 George Finlayson, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
My said Invention relates to the so arranging seed-sowing apparatus as
used for sowing or depositing seeds of various kinds in land, that whilst the
weight of the seed box or trough and appurtenances is retained where it
ought to be, in a vertical line with the centre of the axles and carrying
wheels, the box or trough is kept low down, so that the seeds are deposited
with great certainty. These advantages are gained by passing the seed box
or trough directly through the centres of the carrying wheels, or otherwise
so disposing the box that its longitudinal axis shall coincide or nearly so with
the horizontal axial line of the wheels.

page_text: And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood, I shall
now proceed to describe the several illustrative Figures upon the explanatory
Sheet of Drawings which I have hereunto appended for the purpose of
showing certain modifications under which my improvements may be judi-
ciously carried out in practice.
Figure 1 on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings is a longitudinal elevation
or side view of one modification of my improved sowing machine for sowing
or depositing seeds in land; Figure 2 is a plan of the machine corresponding
to Figure 1; Figure 3 is an elevation of one of the bearing or travelling
wheels, showing the seed box or trough in transverse section; Figure 4 is a
vertical section of one of the bearing wheels and a portion of the seed box,
showing a part of the internal arrangement of the same; Figure 5 is an
elevation of one of the bearing wheels, showing the mechanism by which the
discharge pinions are actuated. In this modification of my improvements
the machine travels upon a pair of wheels A, which sustain the entire weight
of the seed holder and its contents. The central part or nave of these wheels
differs from those in ordinary use, this part being made large enough to admit
of the seed box or holder passing through it. The central part of each wheel
consists of a cast-iron ring, having on its periphery a number of sockets B,
into which the spokes of the wheel are fitted. The central part of this cast-
iron nave has a series of teeth cast thereon, so as to form an annular wheel C,
as shown in Figure 5, on the accompanying Drawing. The nave is made
sufficiently wide upon either side of this annular wheel C to admit of an
antifriction roller traversing these portions of the interior of the ring. The
annular wheel C is enclosed by means of a pair of circular end plates D,
which fit loosely into the nave of the wheel, so as not to impede the rotatory
motion of the wheel A round these plates. At three equidistant points in the
end plates D holes are made, through which are passed short axles, which are
secured to the end plates by nuts. Each of these axles carry a pair of anti-
friction rollers E, which are arranged singly upon either side of the central
annular wheel C. The antifriction rollers E rest upon the smooth annular
surface of the cast-iron ring or nave, which in this manner serves as a
bearing or support to the end plates D. A triangular aperture is made in
each of the end plates D corresponding in size with the seed box F, which is
of a triangular figure in its transverse section, and is in this modification
constructed of wood. Each end of the seed box F is passed through the
openings in the end plates D of the wheels A, and at the parts where the seed
box is attached to the end plates, its interior is divided by vertical partitions
G, as shown in Figure 4 on my Drawing. Another mode of arranging this

page_text: part of the machine consists in making the plates D with a groove or flange
of a triangular figure, which is cast upon the outer side of each plate.
The seed box F is made in three parts; the ends of the central part are
fitted into the flanges of the inner plates D, and the inner ends of the two
outer portions of the box are in like manner fitted to the outer plates D,
which thus form vertical partitions similar to those shown in Figure 4 of my
Drawing. The ends of the seed box F, which abut against the plates D, have
'plate bolts fixed to them, which bolts are passed through holes made in the
plates D, and are secured thereto by nuts. As thus arranged, the seed box
F being fast to the end plates D, and these being supported by the antifriction
rollers E, which rest upon the annular surfaces of the naves of the wheels A,
it follows that the entire weight of the seed box and its contents is thrown
upon the bearing wheels, which greatly facilitates the drawing of the machine
over the land during the operation of sowing. Along the back face of the
seed box F, at uniform distances apart, apertures are made for the discharge
of the seed from the box, one of these apertures is shown in the sectional view
Figure 3, on the accompanying illustrative Drawing. In a seed box of
nineteen feet in length, which is the dimension I prefer for it, there are thirty-
six of these discharge apertures for the emission of the seed; the length,
however, of the seed box, and the number of the discharging orifices may be
varied as required. Each of the discharge apertures has fitted over
'back of the seed box a wrought-iron plate, which has an orifice made therein
to correspond to the opening in the seed box. The series of discharge
apertures may be partially or completely closed by means of two horizontal
sliding 'bars, which have holes made in them opposite to the discharge
apertures. Each of the sliding bars slides to and fro in clasps, which are
fixed to the back of the seed box, and each bar is actuated by means of a hand
lever H. These hand levers H are centred upon studs at the back of the seed
box; a hole is made in each lever which passes on to a stud projecting from
the face of the sliding bar; the upper part of each lever, has a stud projecting
from its front side, which works through the segmental guide I, and to which
the lever may be fixed at any desired point. In this manner each sliding bar
controls and regulates the emission of the seed from one half of the discharge
apertures, and by adjusting the hand levers H the orifices in the seed box may
be partly or wholly closed, so that if required only one half the length of the
.seed box may be used at a time. By means of a screw worked from the
centre of the seed box, against which screw the ends of the sliding bars abut,
the bars are set previous to sowing with the machine, so that the discharge
apertures cannot be opened by the hand levers, beyond the predetermined
on the

page_text: extent. The rotatory motion of the wheels A causes the annular wheels C to
give motion to a pinion J, which is fitted within each of the annular wheels,
and between the partitions G in the seed box F. These pinions J are keyed
upon a horizontal shaft K, which extends from end to end of the seed box;
this shaft has fast to it a series of pinions L, each of which is fitted opposite to
one of the discharge apertures. As the machine is drawn over the ground,
the pinions J put the shaft K in motion, which carries with it the pinions L,
the leaves of which lift the seed, and cause it to fall through the discharge
apertures on to the earth beneath. To the front of the seed box F is secured
the splinter bar M, and to this are jointed the horse shafts N. Instead of
using a splinter bar, two wrought-iron brackets may be fixed to the front of
the seed box, each of these brackets having a projecting end about four inches
and a half in length. These projecting parts are inserted in a slot made in
the end of each shaft, and are secured thereto by means of a bolt and nut,
thus forming a joint to allow of the seed box being turned either backwards or
forward. To the transverse rail O is jointed a bar P, which extends backwards
over the seed box F; the free end of this bar has a number of holes made in it;
these holes afford the means of securing the vertical hand lever Q to the bar P.
This lever is fixed to the centre of the seed box, and terminates in a handle
within convenient reach of the attendant; the lever Q has near its upper part
a clasp, through which the free end of the bar P slides to and fro. A hole is
made through the lever Q, opposite to the series in the bar P; a pin is attached
to the lever, by passing which through the holes the lever may be secured to
the bar P, at any point within the range of the holes. This arrangement
admits of the seed box F being turned upon its axes by shifting the handle Q
to and fro; the object is to ensure an equal and uniform discharge of seed,
whatever may be the elevation or declivity over which the machine is travelling.
In this manner also a greater quantity of seed may, if desired, be distributed
over one part of the field than the other, by turning the box backward if more
is required, or in the reverse direction if a smaller quantity is desired to be
discharged. To enable the machine to be carried into a field having a gate-
way of the ordinary width, the shafts N are detached from the splinter bar M,
and the seed box and wheels are transferred to a light carriage, upon which
the seed box is laid longitudinally. The shafts N are attached to this carriage,
and the whole may be readily drawn by a single horse, the fore part of the
carriage being made to turn upon a bolt or stud, so as to be readily turned
round in a roadway or into a field.
Another modification of my improvements in sowing machines consists in
adapting the arrangement for sowing turnip seed and other similar purposes.

page_text: This modification consists of a series of receivers or hoppers, in which the
seed is placed; the lower part of each of these receivers consists of a tubular
passage which conveys the seed down to the box in which the discharge
pinions or seed wheels are arranged. The series of discharge pinions are
actuated from a pulley which is driven by an endless belt arrangement. The
sliding plate which closes or reduces the size of the discharge apertures is
adjusted by means of a regulating screw or other analogous contrivance.
machines constructed according to this Invention, the draught is much reduced,
and from the manner in which the motion is communicated to the discharge
pinions or seed wheels, the machine is easier to draw by one half than most of
the broad-cast sowing machines at present in use.
In
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I may observe in conclusion that I do not confine or restrict
myself to the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion
to describe or refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom without
deviating from the principles or main features of my Invention; but what
I consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention
secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
First, the general arrangement and construction of machinery or apparatus
for sowing or depositing seeds in land, as herein-before described.
Second, the system or mode of arranging and constructing sowing machines,
in which the seed box is passed through the centre of the carrying wheels, or
in which the separate parts of the seed box are secured to the central or end
plates D, as herein-before described.
Third, the system or mode of arranging and constructing the carrying
wheels of sowing machines for the purpose of communicating rotatory notion
to the discharge pinions or seed wheels as herein-before described, or any
mere equivalent therefor.
Fourth, the system or mode of arranging and constructing machinery or appa-
ratus for sowing or depositing turnip seed in land, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Finlayson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of October, One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-eight.
CHODGD Du VISOK