A Skim Plough or Drill Grubber with Hoeing Cutters.
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 31st July, 1886.
Complete Left, 19th Feb., 1887.
Complete Accepted, 5th July, 1887.
A Skim Plough or Drill Grubber with Hoeing Cutters.
1 JOHN PARK Farmer residing at Middle Essie in the Parish of St. Fergus and
County of Aberdeen (address Middle Essie by Peterhead, N.B.) do hereby declare
the nature of my invention for MORE EFFECTUALLY HOEING CROPS CULTIVATED IN
DRILLS OR RIDGES to be as follows:-
Two or more hoeing cutters A A are fixed on the arms B B of an ordinary skim
plough or drill grubber. The arms B B as well as the cutters A A are adjustable.
The blades of the latter are shaped in the form of a screw propeller and are set at an
angle backwards inclining towards the handles CC of the implement and inwards
towards its centre D. They thus act on the entire sides of two drills or ridges, from
the tops downwards, carrying the weeds and spare mould from both sides and thus
leaving clean hoed drills or ridges with rounded sides. Reference is made to the
accompanying drawing.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A. Skim Plough or Drill Grubber with Hoeing Cutters.
I, JOHN PARK, Farmer residing at Middle-Essie in the Parish of St. Fergus and
County of Aberdeen (address Middle-Essie by Peterhead, N.B.) do hereby declare
the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to
be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to an improved form of agricultural implement of the class
known as cultivators, the said implement being specially designed to clear away weeds
and other objectionable matter from the proximity of such crops as are cultivated in
ridged drills.
The instruments usually employed for this purpose are of two kinds; the first is
variously known as the skim plough, scuffler, drill grubber or horse hoe and is in the
form of a plough having a small wheel in front which runs in the furrow and depends
from a single central framo to the front end of which the horse is attached. The
frame divides further back and carries a number of tines or grubbers variously shaped
and arranged according to the work to be performed; handles are attached at the
back for the man in charge to control it by and this implement is in fact a plough
with the grubbers arranged to grub up the weeds on the sides of the drills though it
will readily be seen that these grubbers cannot safely be brought very near the plants
and hardly touch the top of the drill at all.
The second form of implement usually employed in dressing drills is a form of
roller with knives and is denominated a scarifier; it consists of a frame extending
across two drills and provided with shafts in front for the horse. Under the frame-
work are rollers adapted to bear upon the sides and top (except the central portion
where the plants are) of the drills and behind the rollers or extensions of the frame-
work are four knives intended to dress the sides of the two drills which this implement
is designed to treat at the same time. It will however be evident that as the frame-
work and roller pass along over the top of each drill the implement can only be used
while the plants are quite small and that it would break the tops off the plants and
pull them out if used for the "second" hoeing process.
By my improved implement the grubbing and the hoeing or scarifying processes
are performed simultaneously whereby one half of the time and labour usually
expended is economized and the operation performed in a more satisfactory manner.
My improved implement is illustrated in the accompanying drawings of which
Figure 1 is a side elevation. Figure 2 a plan of the underside and Figures 3, 4 and 5
respectively side, top and bottom views of the hoeing blades. It is designed to pass
in the furrow between two drills and to dress one side of each drill but not to pass
over the plants so that it can be used even when the plants have grown quite large.
The framework A is similar in construction to that of an ordinary drill grubber or
plough being supported in front by a wheel B and provided at the back with handles C.
Immediately behind the wheel and in the centre of the frame is fixed a tine D and
behind this to the sides of the frame are fixed two cutters or coulters E which

page_text: perform the rough hoeing or grubbing and root up the weeds and deposit them
in the bottom of the furrow. These are followed by two hoeing or finishing blades or
cutters F fixed to the extremities of the diverging sides of the frame A and extending
downwards and backwards whilst at the same time they converge towards the centre
of the furrow. The outline of these blades looking in the direction in which the
plough travels corresponds with the contour of the ridges over which they travel
scraping away the weeds and earth from the top of the drill closer to the plants than
the grubbers can safely go and forming the proper shape of the ridge or drill and
depositing the weeds they cut also in the bottom of the furrow. The position of the
blades has a tendency to collect the refuse in the centre of the furrow but to ensure
this being done I construct them in a slow spiral form similar to the blades of a screw
propeller as shown in figures 34 and 5. They thus besides scraping off the weeds
and superfluous earth and delivering them in the furrow press upon and smooth over
the drill going within an inch or so of the plants themselves. The blades may be
attached to the sides of the frame by straps G having a series of bolt holes G¹.
The straps G of the blades F pass through sockets a on the side and centre frames A¹
and A respectively and may be fixed by thumb screws a¹ or other similar means.
order to accommodate the difference in the distance apart of the drills the sides of
the frame may be arranged to slide upon a cross bar Hand be secured to it by pins in
the ordinary manner.
.
In
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is :-
In a skim plough or similar cultivator adapted to pass between two drills and not
over the tops of the plants the combination with the ordinary grubbing blades or
conlters E of hoeing or finishing blades such as F extending backwards towards the
handles and inwards and downwards towards the centre of the furrow substantially as
and for the purpose specified.