AGRICULTURAL MECHANICS AND RURAL ECONOMY. 85 



When used in corn-culture, it may be run through in striking out for the corn, leaving the 

 soil finely pulverized to a great depth immediately where the roots will form ; and, after the 

 corn is ready for the first hoeing or cultivating, this lifting plow may be run half-way be- 

 tween the rows, loosening the whole distance, and causing every corn-plant to wave as it 

 passes along. When used strictly as a subsoil plow, it is moved by a separate team following 

 the surface-plow, and entering twelve inches below the bottom of the surface-furrow, under- 

 cutting the land-side so that the next surface-cut will crack down to the subsoil track, and 

 requiring less power for its accomplishment, while the turned furrow-slice on the other side 

 of the plow, by its under-running, is slightly lifted and rendered pulverulent. 



Improved Ditching Plow. 



The peculiarities of a new ditching plow, invented by John Lyon, of Farmington, Iowa, 

 consist in a new and useful arrangement of mechanism, so as to constitute a machine for 

 throwing up embankments in forming roads and foundations for fences, and for making open 

 drains. Its construction is as follows : To a triangular-shaped frame a plow is attached, 

 resembling in construction an ordinary plow, except the mould-board, which is so shaped 

 that, instead of turning a furrow over, it merely passes under the soil, and raises it to a suffi- 

 cient inclination to be deposited upon an endless conveyor as fast as it is cut up. The mould- 

 board has one of its side edges raised slightly higher than the other, so that the dirt will 

 always clear the frame, and fall upon the endless conveyor, placed behind and at right angles 

 to the land-side of the plow. This is composed of slats attached to two endless chains, and is 

 thus made flexible. The connected slats are arranged upon revolving rollers, and move in a 

 manner similar to an endless-chain horse-power. Guide-boards are also attached to the con- 

 veyor, for the purpose of confining the dirt. By the conveyor, the dirt is taken from the 

 plow and deposited in the place desired, either for the purpose of forming a road or founda- 

 tions for fences. By thus receiving the dirt, and depositing it at right angles to the plow, a 

 road of any length can be formed with great ease and despatch. By raising and lowering a 

 lever connected with the attachment of the plow to the frame, the plow can be adjusted so 

 as to cut more or less deep. 



The operation of the plow is as follows : As the machine advances, the plow enters the 

 ground and raises the soil, which is forced, as the operation proceeds, upon the endless con- 

 veyor, and carried by the same as it revolves at right angles to the line of travel, and dis- 

 charged at the end of the conveyor in a continuous stream, where it is laid either to form a 

 road or foundation for fences. 



Planting Plow. 



The annexed engraving represents a planting plow, for which a patent was granted to B. 

 M. Snell, on the 20th of March, 1855. 



The nature of the improvement consists in constructing a planting plow, by combining 

 a plow, resembling a subsoil one, with a seed-dropping apparatus, operated by the wheel of 

 the plow, for the purpose of depositing the seed under the surface in the soft and pre- 

 pared bed. 



A is the beam, from which descends the stock or coulter-post B ; c is the coulter ; the 

 share is secured on the post, B ; E is a bar extending from the rear of the share and united 

 to an upright F, whose upper end passes through the rear of the beam. This upright is 

 furnished with holes and a pin, by which the plow is made to plant deep or shallow, as 

 required. 



The seeding-apparatus consists of a hopper G and dropping-tube H, secured by a strap 

 I to the upright F and to the end of the beam. This hopper has a sliding bottom and 

 hole therein, which when the slide is forced in, an opening is made for the passage of the 

 seed into the tube. On the back of the hopper and dropping-tube is secured the axis of a 

 pair of wheels, k, (one shown,) one of which is furnished with a cam or angular striker that 

 forces in the slide of the hopper on each rotation of the wheel. 



