THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



517 



THE KENT PLOUGH. 



MAIDSTONE AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION. 



The 22nd anniversary of this association was held on Wed- 

 nesday, Nov. 8. Twenty-four implements were entered for com- 

 petition in the ploughing match, which took place on a clover- 

 ley in the occupation of Mr. Barrow, at Boxley. Of this 

 number only two were iron ploughs, and, as will be seen by 

 the remarks of Mr. Hills at the dinner, their work was not 

 such as to convince the judges that they were superior, or 

 even equal to the old Kent plough. The work generally was 

 scarcely on a par with that of previous years — partly at- 

 tributable, perhaps, to the state of the gronnd ; but the prize- 

 winners were quite up to the mark, though Mr, Elvy'a re- 

 nowned ploughman. Waters, who, as the winner of the first 

 prize at Canterbury, may be considered the champion of 

 Kentish ploughmen, eclipsed all competitors. 



The Judges of the ploughing were Messrs. G. Hills, Ston- 

 ham, G. Pierson, H. Barrow, and Bridgland. 



At the dinner in the evening, Mr. Hills, who answered 

 for the judges, said that he could not honestly congratulate 

 them on the ploughing, for on the whole it was not quite so 

 well done us last year; but there were several admirable cants> 

 and between these the judges had considerable difficulty in 

 deciding. With regard to the two-borse ploughs, it was the 

 opinion of himself and his brother-judges, with, perhaps, one 

 exception, that their work did not equal that of the turnwrist 

 or old Kent plough ; and he believed that any additional ex- 

 pense which might be incurred through using the latter was 

 amply repaid by the better manner in which the work was 

 performed, and the more abundant crop produced. The iron- 

 plough appeared to do its work uncommonly well to the eye, 

 but in fact it did not turn the furrow bottom upwards like the 

 old Kent plough, and this wouldn't do on a poor piece of land 

 like his, and which was terribly addicted to growing couch. 

 For his own part, he thought the county motto, " Invicta," 

 might yet be applied to the old Kent plough. As for 

 Howard's ploughs, he would rather give a guinea an acre to 

 have his land ploughed by the old-fashioned implement than 

 let Mr. Howard do it for nothing. (Hear, hear, and a laugh.) 

 He was glad to see that a fair trial of the merits of each kind 

 of plough was about to take place at Mr. Elvey's, who had 

 acted in a very public-spirited manner thus to take up the 

 question. 



Mr. Whittaker said, they all ought to be much obliged 

 to Mr. Elvey for the public-spirited manner in which he had 

 taken up this question, and he hoped tho9e present would be 

 at Bowhill on Thursday to witness the trial. He had heard 

 some persons out of the county ridicule the idea of the Ken- 

 tish farmers sticking to the old four-horse plough. Even in 

 the county, above Dartford, the Messrs. Russells had used 

 the iron plough for more than twenty years, and they, of 

 course, said " If we had found that our land had become so 

 exceedingly foul, we should never have continued to use it for 

 this length of time." To whatever cause this difference of 

 opinion was owing, whether to the nature of the soil or any- 

 thing else, he could not but think that there must be some 

 advantages attending the use of the old Kent plough, or it 

 would never have been so long adhered to. 



Mr, FuNNETT said, for some years past they bad heard « 



great deal as to the superior merits of the iron ploughs com- 

 pared with the old Kent implement ; and those entrusted with 

 the management of the affair were very anxious that the latter 

 should be pitted at the Royal Agricultural Show at Canter- 

 bury against all comers. In consequence, however, of a prior 

 arrangement in existence between the society and the imple- 

 ment-makers, a trial on this comprehensive scale could not 

 take place, while at the same time, through mismanagement 

 on the part of the local committee, the Kent plough was 

 placed in a very awkward position. That match had 

 given rise to considerable controversy, and now Mr. 

 Elvey, as the owner of the plough, and the employer of 

 the man that took the first prize on that occasion, was pre- 

 pared to hold his ground against the iron ploughs. But there 

 was one thing which it is important should not be forgotten, 

 and that was that the two ploughs were essentially different 

 in principle. The old Kent plough turned the furrow com- 

 pletely upside down, leaving a good seam ; whereas the iron 

 plough only partially turned over the soil, with the additional 

 disadvantage of making ugly backs and wide furrows. How- 

 ever, on Thursday next, the 15th, Kentish men brought up to 

 the use of the iron plough would be pitted against Kentish 

 men who had all their lives been in the habit of using that 

 old-fashioned antediluvian implement, the Kent plough, and 

 then the merits of each would be fairly tested. For himself, 

 he had no prejudice whatever in the matter. He had seen as 

 good work done by the iron plough as by the other, but he had 

 never yet been satisfied that ploughing could be done by it at 

 less cost, and therefore he thought it the best policy to adhere 

 to old customs rather than introduce new methods strange to 

 the men, aud against which a prejudice existed, in cases where 

 no benefit was to be gained. He hoped, therefore, they 

 should now have at last what had long been desired— a fair, 

 honest, and competent trial ; and that all present would at- 

 tend the match, either to be convinced that the iron plough 

 was after all the best, or to return home with their opinion aa 

 to the superiority of the old Kent plough confirmed, aud the 

 conviction that Kentish farmers were the cleverest set of 

 fellows under the sun (Cheers and laughter). Either way, it 

 would do them good. They ought, however, to thank Mr. 

 Elvey for the spirit he had shown in this matter, and he 

 therefore begged to propose his very good health. 



Mr. Elvey, in responding, expressed the pleasure it would 

 afford him if he could assist in any way to settle this long- 

 vexed question, and determine whether the old Kent plough 

 which their ancestors had for so many years employed was 

 really that lumbering, useless old thing it was represeuted to 

 be, or whether it did possess merits which justified Kentish 

 farmers in still adhering to it. He had seen ploughing of all 

 kinds— even so primitive as that with an old cow and a jackass 

 in front, turning up the soil to the depth of two inches, aa 

 well as more elaborate systems ; but after all, he had not yet 

 found an implement which to his mind surpassed the despised 

 Kent plough, turning as it did the furrow completely upside 

 down, and prodncing a good crop of corn. People from Essex 

 and Suffolk had come into his part of the country, and were 

 going to do all sorts of things ; but, after the lapse of two or 

 three years, he literally almost lost sight of tbem, for tbeir 



