PLOUGHING WITHOUT A GUIDE. 73 



Perhaps he thought it best to imitate the copy as exactly 

 as possible : at any rate, I can thank him for doing it ; for it 

 gives me an opportunity to say that ploughing out the centres 

 of lands after they have been marked out looks to me like 

 apprentices' work. A master workman can cut out his own 

 lands. 



I know of no direction in which a little more knowledge 

 would be of so much practical benefit to the farmers of 

 Essex County as in the art of economical ploughing. There 

 are very few farmers in the county who can take a pair of 

 spirited horses, drive the team themselves, and cut out lands ; 

 or furrow out with one or two horses ; or cultivate their 

 crops as well without a driver as with one : and yet there 

 are very few farmers in the county, who, if they had a 

 little more practical knowledge of the art of holding and 

 driving at the same time, would not be perfectly independ- 

 ent of drivers for any of their ploughing or cultivating; 

 for they would soon learn what some have alread}^ learned, 

 and that is, that they can drive better when holding the 

 plough or cultivator than any one can drive for them. 



I wish to ask if it is not time for our society to begin the 

 work of educating the farmers of the county, so that they 

 can cut out their lands, and do all their ploughing and culti- 

 vating, without a driver. 



I wish to ask if it would not be well for the society to offer 

 premiums for the best single furrow ploughed in sod-lands, 

 the team and plough to be furnished by the Committee ; all 

 competitors to use the same team and plough ; and also, if it 

 would not be well to offer premiums for the best three or five 

 furrows with a single horse, as in marking out for potatoes. 

 This work could be done after the ploughing-match, if the 

 land was well harrowed. 



Ansel W. PuTKAivr, Chairman, 



10 



