A NEW OR IMPROVED PLOUGH FOR DRAINING AND OTHER SIMILAR PURPOSES
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Prideaux, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Farmer and Hotel Keeper, for the Invention of "A NEW OR
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Prideaux at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 3rd
April 1855.
I, THOMAS PRIDEAUX, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Farmer
and Hotel Keeper, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"A NEW OR IMPROVED PLOUGH FOR DRAINING AND OTHER SIMILAR PURPOSES
to be as follows:-
My Invention consists of a plough for draining and cutting channels for
various purposes, constructed as follows:-A frame supported on three wheels
moves very near to the surface of the land to be operated upon. The said frame
carries at its front two coulters of a depth of about eighteen inches. Behind
these two other coulters are situated, having a depth of about three feet. The
last-mentioned coulters deepen the cuts made by the first-mentioned ones.
The suck or share is situated at the bottom of the longer coulters and between
the same. The soil raised by the suck or share rises up an inclined channel
as the plough advances, and having arrived at the frame first mentioned, and
at some little distance above the level of the soil, is deflected aside by an
inclined plate, and delivered by the plough along the side of the channel cut.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Prideaux in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
28th September 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
PRIDEAUX, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Farmer and Hotel
Keeper, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the eighteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Thomas Prideaux, Her special licence that I, the said Thomas.Prideaux,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas
Prideaux, 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 "A NEW OR IMPROVED PLOUGH FOR
DRAINING AND OTHER SIMILAR PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Thomas Prideaux, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and scal, 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 Scal Patent Office within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Prideaux, 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 the following
statement thereof (that is to say):—
My Invention consists of a plough for draining and cutting channels for
various purposes, constructed as herein-after described, and illustrated in the
accompanying Drawing.
Figure represents a side elevation, and Figure 2 a plan, of a plough con-
structed according to my Invention, some unessential parts being omitted in
Figure 2 in order to render the working parts more intelligible. a is the
framing of the plough, supported on a pair of wheels, of which one only 6 is
shown in the Drawing. The framing a carries at its front two coulters c, d,
which said coulters I prefer to make of a depth of about eighteen inches.
Behind the coulters c, d, two other coulters e, f, are situated, the said coulters
e, f, being of greater depth than the coulters c, d. The said coulters e, f,

page_text: deepen the cuts made by the coulters c, d. The suck or share g is situated at
the bottom of the longer coulters and between them. As the plough advances,
by horse or other power applied to the chain h, the coulters c, d, commence,
and the coulters e, f, deepen two vertical cuts; the suck or share g forms at
the bottom of the said vertical cuts a horizontal cut, which, joining together the
said vertical cuts, completes a drain or channel. As the plough advances,
the incline i passing under the loosened earth, raises the said earth, as shown
at k, Figure 1, and leaves a clear drain or channel 1. When the loose earth k
has arrived at a little distance above the level of the ground m, the said loose
earth falls on either side, or may be deflected or thrown aside by an inclined
plate, and delivered along the side of the channel l. In order to facilitate the
ascent of the soil k up the incline i, I sometimes make a series of transverse
slots in the said incline, and place rollers underneath the said incline, so that
portions of the said rollers shall project through the said slots, as illustrated
in Figure 3. The plough is guided by the winch m, by turning which the
worm n, engaging in the toothed wheel o, gives motion to the cross piece p, to
which the shafts are attached.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit
myself to the precise details herein described, as the same may be varied
without departing from the nature of my said Invention; but I claim as my
Invention, the method herein described, and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawing, of constructing a plough for draining and other similar purposes,
that is to say, by combining four vertical cutters or coulters with a horizontal
cutter or share.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Prideaux, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of September, in tho year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
THOMAS PRIDEAUX. (L.S.)