330 



THE CIVIL ENGIXEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



LOcTOBER, 



attein))t.s liavo jrone on the principle, that plouglis must be dragged 

 throtifili the earth. Now, if we consider for a moment, it will be 

 .seen that tlie ])louglishare and its hearer are exactly similar to a 

 common anchor; wliich, if tlirown into the sea, it will hold the 

 largest vessel fast, much more than a small engine of ]0-horse 

 power. To obviate this {jreat difficulty, in the present machine the 

 plonp-Ii is reversed and made like an anchor, tlirown out afore ship, 

 bv which the sailor liauls his vessel into position; and thus, instead 

 (if makinn; the anchor a ])ower to hold the vessel back, it is here 

 made a power to pull it forward; or, in other words, tlie plouj^h is 

 inside a paddle-wheel, instead of an anchor cast astern, and tlius 

 tlie carriage is propelled along the land. In thus making the 

 plough a paddle-wheel, the next difficulty was, that five or six 

 ploughs entering tlie earth at the same time would lift a solid 

 ])iece of earth, and carry it round; while, to put tlie ploughs each 

 on a separate axis, would involve such a lengtli of machine that it 

 might not work. To obviate this, all the ploughs are put on the 

 same axis, and each share is placed a little behind the preceding, 

 by which ari-angement no two shares come into action at the same 

 moment, and the first set have turned over their given quantity of 

 earth before the next set enter the land. 



Fig. 1. 



Fig. ; 



On applying the power of the steam-engine to the ploughs, 

 it was found they ran along the earth witliout turning it over, and 

 it became necessary to put a drag on the wlieels, to prevent tlie 

 carriage running away from its work; but instead of putting on 

 the common railway drag, it was thought better to cimnect the 

 wheels of the carriage with the wheel which drives the ploughs. 

 Thus is obtained a uniform stroke for each plougli as it enters 

 the earth, and it cannot proceed until it lias turned over the 

 desired area. Ry this it will be perceived the plouglis drive tlie 



carriage-wheel.? at the necessary reduced speed, the forwnrd motion 

 oj' the marhine being communicated from the plough to the carriage, 

 instead of from the carriage-wheels to the ploughs, as in many 

 agricultural implements now in use; or, to apply again a former 

 simile, the paddles drive the vessel, instead of the vessel driving the 

 paddles. Mr. Usher then proceeded to show a working model of 

 the plough. 



Fig. I is a side elevation. Fig. 2 is a plan of the underside. Fig. 3 is 

 a plan of a plough when two mould boards are used, in cast-s where it is 

 desired lo turn the land on either side ; and fig. 1 is a side view of one 

 of the ploughs on its axis, by which and by tig. 1 it will be seen tliat the 

 under edge of the mould board and share is formed to a curve struck from 

 the centre of the shaft or axis on which the ploughs are affixed ; a a indi- 

 late the bed-frame or carriage of the machine. The fore carriage wheels 

 b b are monoied on an axle, which turns in bearings c attached lo the 

 swivel fame U, which moves on the bolts d for the purpose of causing the 

 machine to turn round in a small space. A portion of the swivel frame D 

 is loolhed, and acted upon by the pinion and winch e ; the hind-pait of the 

 carriage is here shown supported upon the hollow cylinder or roller/, com- 

 posed of two extreme parts,/"' and/^, which are wheels similar to b b. the 

 intermediate part/ bein.; by preference removable at pleasure, so as to 

 render these bearing parts suitable lo the different stages of cultivation to 

 which the machine may be applied. This compound cylin- 

 der has its axb supported in the bearings ^f allached to the 

 lower, or to the under side of the carriage frame. Tlie axle 

 of this cylinder carries also at one end the wheel A, to be after- 

 wards noticed. 



A nioi cable lever frame i, i, i, i, is supported on an axle or 

 shaft k, as a fulcrum. The free ends i' i' are formed into tlie 

 toothed seg:neiits e, and are concentric to A-, these segments 

 being acted upon by tlie two-toothed pinions and spindles JW, 

 W'hich elevates or depresses the hind part i i of the lever frame, 

 and all that it carries, at the pleasure of the conductor. 



On the carriage thus constructed is placed ihe locomotive 

 boiler, with its engines of any ordinary construction, as « n, the 

 power of which is applied through the medium of connecting 

 rods to the crank shaft p, the two arms of which stand at 

 right angles to each other, in the usual way. The crank shaft 

 p is supported on two standards q securely fixed lo the car- 

 riage. (Jii the shaft jt/ there is also fixed Ihe spur pinou, in- 

 dicated by the dotted circle/;'/)' in fig. I ; and this pinion, by 

 taking into the wheel r, niDunted nn the shaft A, gives motion 

 at Ihi- same lime to the pinion t, which is carried round on the 

 same shaft i. The pinion /. thus actuated, takes into the 

 wheel />, before referred to, on the bearing cylinder/; and it 

 is preferred that the pinion t should be applied so as readily 

 to be put into and out of gear with its wheel, though not so 

 shown in the engraving. By this arrangement of parts, a slow 

 progressive motion is obtained for the v/hole maciiine, on the 

 one hand through the cylinder/, and on the other hand a 

 separate rotatory motion, at a certain increase of speed, is 

 communicated through the wheel r to the pinion w, fixed upon 

 the pinion « u, which last-named shaft has its bearings v v 

 attached to the moveable frame i i. 



On the shaft ti u are placed a series of plates or projec- 

 tions, fixed at regular distances. Or such plates or pro- 

 jections, with their ploughs afterwards described, may be 

 placed upon separate shafts, each with its own proper gear- 

 ing ; but it is preferred to place them on one shaft. These 

 plates or projections on the axis aie shaped in such manner as 

 to receive and have affixed to each of them several ploughs, 

 adapted by their revolving motion lo penetrate Ihe soil, and 

 by their mould-boards to elevate and turn over portions 

 thereof; a a are ihe plales or projections fixed upon the shaft 

 V ; they are each formed wilh a strong boss at the centre, by 

 which it may be securely fixed to the shaft. Each plate a' 

 has three arras or prolongations b, b, b, which terminate in 

 the radial dinciion sliown ; a further prolongation d' d' is car- 

 ried obliquely upon each of these arms. Upon the plate and 

 projections thus constructed is alhxed Ihe tilling apparatus, 

 which consists, firstly, of the part e', which acts the part 

 of the mould board or lurnlurrow in the common plough ; 

 and it is to be fixed by screw bolts or otherwise to ihe pro- 

 longations d' d'. To the fore part of Ihjs mould-bo.iid e e 

 is alhxed a bar /of wrought iron, which is also furnished 

 wilh a lug/", by which it is attached to the plate, by means of s< rew 

 bolts or otherwise ; the bar /, thus secured, forms a head or share 

 bearer, as in many common ploughs. To the fore part of tlie bar /, the 

 share y is adapted, aniHixeil by its socket. The mould-board, and also 

 the share, may be varieil in form. A fore-cutter, or coulter ti' is affixed in 

 front of each share, by screw bolts or otherwise, and is provided wilh the 

 means of ailjustnienl thioiigh the counler slits, in itself, and in the plate ; 

 but, in order to meet the diH'irent qualities of soils and the various stages 

 of tillage, the further provisions shown in figs. 3 and 4 are employed. 

 Fii;- -1 -■•hows a variation lu the form of the plate a of figs. 1 and a. u is 



