THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, 



133 



any part of the field; but on a horizontal drum, the 

 roiie must either lead off always at right angles to the 

 axis, or else be coiled on with much friction by a to- 

 and-fro traversing winding apparatus. The windlass 

 was accordingly made with two vertical barrels, with 

 intermediate reducing wheels and a rigger driven by the 

 engine strap. The engine and windlass were set down mid- 

 way along one side of the field, and the ropes led off in 

 an angular direction to two pulleys anchored one at eauh 

 end of the work ; these being shifted forward along the 

 headlands for every fresh bout of the plough. The an- 

 chorages for these pulleys were then and still remain 

 in the form of trucks or cart bodies, each having four 

 sharp discs for wheels, which, cutting deeply into the 

 ground, present a great resistance sideways to the strain 

 of the ropes, but may be easily pulled forward through 

 the soil in a forward direction. The large sheave or 

 "pulley" was attached underneath, and the anchorage 

 weighted witli soil to hold it down in its place. The 

 shiftizjg of the anchorage was effected by a small 

 wire rope laid along the headland, i^assing round 

 an anchored pulley in the corner of the field, 

 and then along the side of the field to the wind- 

 lass, where a couple of small grooved rollers acting 

 as a " Spanish windlass" were employed when re- 

 quired to pull the rope a few feet, so as to haul the 

 anchorage opposite to the next line of furrows. In the 

 year 1856, this machinery was exhibited at the Chelms- 

 ford Meeting, and also at Taris. By the latter end of 

 that year a great improvement was accomplished. The 

 supporting wheels of the plough were made to " lock" : 

 and thus a man, riding on the tail of the implement, 

 could steer to a nicety by means of a small toothed rack, 

 worm, and wheel. So perfect is this mode of steerage, 

 that the plough may be directed entirely out of the line 

 of draught, until the rope stands at an angle of one in 

 two to the direction of the plough ; and accuracy in 

 setting the anchorage is no longer needed. The an- 

 chor-carriages had also been made self-moving, so as to 

 save time in working. 



Instead of the ropes from the fixture capstan being 

 led off at an angle, as before, they were made to enclose 

 the plot of land in a rectangle, thus requiring two 

 additional anchors (that is, making four altogether), 

 fastened down at the corners of the field ; and as the 

 draught-rope passes along the headland, it tends to 

 draw the anchorage forward. All that was required 

 was a mooring-chain behind the anchorage, to regulate 

 how far it should travel at a time. But Mr. Fowler 

 did not stop there. Hitherto a common portable 

 engine had been employed, driving the windlass by 

 means of a belt : but two anchors, two snatch-blocks, 

 supporting friction-rollers for the rope, the windlass, 

 the engine, and an extravagant quantity of rope, were 

 tediously and expensively shifted from field to field ; 

 and the whole apparatus required to be simplified in 

 order to reduce wear and tear, and liability to contin- 

 gencies. Accordingly, in the early part of 1857, a 

 windlass-frame was contrived, carrying an ordinary 

 engine upon it ; this was made to travel along the 

 headland, propelling itself when required, by a small 



barrel winding up a rope anchored a-head, opposite to 

 one anchorage at the bottom of the field, the ropes 

 passing simply side by side from the engine to the 

 anchorage, workmg the plough to and fro Ijetween. 

 At Salisbury Meeting, in that year, this arrangement 

 of tackle was shown, the engine driving the drums by 

 shafts and gearing, and being also locomotive, along 

 roads and fields by actuating one of its broad-felloed 

 carriage-wheels. Another form of combined engine 

 and winding-drums was also exhibited, in which the 

 machinery was "self-contained," or all attached 

 directly to the portable engine boiler, without the boiler 

 itself resting ujjon a framing. Tlie anchorage pro- 

 pelled itself by a barrel and fixed chain, the barrel 

 having a slow rotation given to it by a screw and 

 worm-wheel, and subsequently by bevilled gearing 

 worked by the revolution of the large sheave or rope- 

 pulley. But though very successful ploughing was 

 performed with this improved machinery in many 

 parts of England, and winning the Highland Society's 

 prize at Stirling, another form of apparatus was de- 

 manded for applying the steam-plough to the common 

 portable engines already in the farmers' hands, in 

 cases where the farmer might not be prepared to have 

 his engine taken off its wheels and fixed upon a wind- 

 lass; therefore, in the autumn of 1857, a windlass was 

 constructed which could be temporarily connected 

 with the engine (with its fore-carriage removed), em- 

 bracing one end as in a pair of shafts— similar in prin- 

 ciple to that designed by Mr. Williams. A driving- 

 strap communicated motion from the engine fly-wheel 

 to a rigger upon the windlass frame. However, in the 



sprui" 



of 1858, Mr. Fowler abandoned the use of 



winding-drums altogether; and instead, passed an 

 endless rope several times round two grooved drums : 

 thus obviating the wear and great crushing pressure of 

 the rope in coiling many times upon itself, together 

 with the irregular motion, which tended to breakage ; 

 and securing an equable smooth motion, and a " safety 

 valve" slip of the rope under great and sudden strains 

 from the impact of the implement against roots or 

 stones. A short reserve of rope was carried upon two 

 small barrels on the plough, which is let out or taken 

 up according to the varying lengths of furrow ; and 

 sections of rope are added or removed so as to adapt 

 the length engaged to different-sized fields. At the 

 Chester Meeting this form of machine was worked, 

 and also subsequently, with the greatest success, the 

 windlass-frame being made to attach to or detach from 

 the engine in a few minutes. ■ At the same meeting was 

 shown a remarkably light and compact form of wind- 

 lass attached round the fire-box of a common portable 

 engine, only one of the drums being driven by gearing, 

 rigger,' and strap. But still Mr. Fowler was not satis- 

 fied ; and during the late Christmas Show-week, we 

 had an opportunity of witnessing in operation at Strat- 

 ford the same arrangement of two grooved drums per- 

 manently affixed underneath a common engine-boiler, 

 by marvellously light and simple attachments. The 

 driving-strap is dispensed with, and one drum actuated 

 by a shaft and bevel-gearing from the crank-shaft ; 



