AGRICULTURAL MECHANICS AND RURAL ECONOMY. 



83 



Plowing.— Amount of Travel. 



The amount of work required on a given surface varies, of course, with the condition of 

 the soil. Certain parts of the work may, however, be accurately calculated. In the Soil 

 of the South, a table is given showing the space travelled in plowing an acre, with a given 

 width for the furrow. These calculations are approximations to the truth, but not quite 

 accurate. In plowing a field 500 feet square, more than 500 feet must be " travelled" in by 

 the team, or even by the plowman. The team must travel at least 10 feet at each end beyond 

 the termination of the furrow. Taking this estimate as accurate, and supposing the field to 

 be square, (for with the shape of the field the number of furrows and the "space travelled" 

 will be materially changed,) and the breadth of the furrow seven inches, the distance tra- 

 velled by the team in plowing one acre will be about 15f miles instead of 14£, as in the table. 

 With a "furrow-slice 14 inches" the travel will not be, of course, "seven miles," as given in 

 the table, but something more than 7£, and so on. The calculation, thus corrected, may be 

 of some interest. The table, as given, is as follows : — 



Breadth of furrow-slice. Space travelled in plowing an acre. 



7 inches 144 miles. 



8 " 12J " 



9 " 11 " 



10 « 9 T 9 ff " 



11 " 9 " 



12 " 8J " 



13 " 1i " 



By this rate of calculation, a furrow once in 



1\ feet 3J miles. 



3 " : 2f " 



Hall's Side-Hill Plow. 



The peculiarity of this side-hill plow is, that the beam and handles together turn round 

 upon a pivot formed of the top of the standard. The share has a straight land-side, two feet 

 ten inches long, with points at each end exactly alike. Suppose you are turning a right- 

 hand furrow, and wish to change to the left ; you give a rod under the right handle a little 

 jog, which unlooses a catch, and you walk round with the handle in your hand until the 

 beam points directly the other way: now, pull the rod and close the catch, stoop over and 

 give the mould-board a flap, and it turns back, bottom up, disclosing another under it exactly 

 like the first, also bottom up, and pointing forward : turn this also, and you have before you 

 a perfect plow — the reversed mould-board lying under the other, quite out of the way, and the 

 reverse point forming the heel of the land-side. The length of beam in this description of 

 plow is four feet ; handles, four feet six inches ; width of share, nine inches ; length from 

 point to upper angle of wing, two feet nine inches ; length of wing from the joint to upper 

 end, one foot seven inches ; height of standard, one foot two inches ; height of fin-cutter, 

 nine inches. This plow was invented and patented by L. Hall, of Pittsburg, Pa., and is 

 called the "Patent Hill-side, or Flat-land Swivel-beam and Double-flapped Mould-board Cast- 



