853,901. Pruning appliances. LLOYD HARGREAVES Ltd. April 1, 1958 [April 3, 1957], No. 10871/57. Class 6(2). [Also in Group XIV] A horticultural cutting tool comprises a tubular rod 1 having a cutting device mounted at one end so as to be displaceable against the action of a return spring by an operating mechanism mounted at the other end of the rod, the connecting member 6 between the cutter device and the operating mechanism being housed within the tubular rod. One end of the rod 1 is fitted with a pistol-type grip 2, and a tubular member 5 is slidably mounted in the same end of the rod, the operating mechanism in the form of a trigger 4 being secured to the member 5 and being slidable in slots in the rod 1 and the grip 2, and being maintained normally in the forward position by a spring 8. The connecting member 6 is fixed at one end to the tubular member 5 and at the other to the cutter holder 10, the latter comprising a tubular part slidable in the rod 1 and two projections 13 between which the blade 14 is secured. The cutter co-operates with a fixed member 17 comprising a tubular portion secured on the outside of the rod 1 and two projections 18 defining at slit into which the blade 14 passes during the cutting operation. The cutter holder 10 may be provided with a further projection 22, which, in cooperation with an abutment 23 of sponge or resilient rubber on the member 17, grips the stem to be cut. When the connecting member 6 is rigid the spring 8 may also function as the return spring for the cutting device, but otherwise another spring is incorporated within the rod 1, between the tubular part of the cutter holder and a collar fixed within the rod. The implement may be provided with interchangeable rods 1 and connecting members 6 of different lengths, or a telescopically extensible rod and connecting member.
