PLOWS AND PLOWING. 291 



factured which in practice will do the work which a plow theoreti- 

 cally should do, and if so where shall we find it?" The demand 

 of the times, among' the best farmers of the Northern States, is for 

 a plow that will turn a deep, narrow farrow, and thoroughly pulver- 

 ize it in the operation of turning— deep, because they wish to till 

 deep, narrow, because no plow can pulverize a wide one. The 



• committee on agricultural implements at the State Fair in 1868, 

 state that the patterns of Maine plows are decidedly superior to 

 those manufactured out of the State, while the workmanship is 

 greatly inferior. If my theory of a good plow be correct, if we 

 wish for a plow to perform its work in the manner which has been 

 described, then the statement of the committee in reference to the 

 patterns of the Maine plows is incorrect. So far as I have learned, 

 there is not a sward plow manufactured in this State which will 

 perform, on lands comparatively free from obstructions, the full 

 office of a plow. We have those which will turn a shallow furrow 

 to perfection — the work of which would delight the eye of an 

 Englishman — but they are entirely wanting in pulverizing power, 

 and will not delve deep enough to satisfy the wants of the pro- 

 gressive farmer. The best farmers, therefore, must go out of the 

 State for their plows, as long as the inferior implements made here 

 meet with a ready sale. The opinion seems to prevail among manu- 

 facturers that farmers will not purchase any other than a cheap 

 plow. Not long since a farmer not unknown to the members of 

 this Board, went to a manufacturer of agricultural implements for 

 the purpose of inducing him to commence the manufacture of a 



. better pattern of plow than was then within the convenient reach 

 of the farmers of his county. The reply was that farmers would 

 not buy a high priced plow. On what facts are such opinions 

 based ? Lot such men go to the homes of the farmers ; see their 

 substantial, convenient, tasty buildings, erected at much cost, with 

 a view to the ease of the family and the comfort of the domestic 

 animals ; see the improved stock occupying those comfortable 

 quarters ; note the improved implements for use upon the farm — 

 the harrows, the cultivators, the forks, rakes, mowers, all of the 

 improved kinds, and selectjcd on account of their merit, and not 

 because of their cheapness. Visit the dwelling — the cook-room, 

 furnished with all the latest improvements to facilitate cooking — 

 the sitting-room, furnished with piano or organ, the table covered 



^ with the best books and periodicals of the times. Converse with 

 the family and note theil- intelligence. Think you the head of such 



