THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



of Bedford set the church bells rint^ing on receiving 

 the announcement of so complete a victory. They 

 had " a Gazette of their own" by this time. If not 

 altogether equally successful in the recent contest 

 at Warwick, the general purpose plough was still 

 pronounced to beinvincible, while there was not an im- 

 plement in trial from the Bedford Works but that 

 took its position and premium. It must not be, 

 either, assumed that in thus heralding their name 

 and fame elsewhere the Howards have been only 

 without honour in their own county, or that they 

 could not go back to their first place for a charac- 

 ter. It must the rather be borne in mind that the 

 Bedfordshire farmers have always had an active 

 interest as it were in the well-doing of the Bedford 

 plough, and at the County Meetings it has generally 

 held its accustomed lead. At the anniversary 

 show of the Shii-e Society in the autumn of the past 

 year, the implements sent out from the New Britannia 

 Works — ploughs, harrows, and horse-rakes— took 

 seven out of eight first prizes, and another seven 

 out of eight second. It was some years since, on 

 the occasion of one of these local anniversaries, that 

 Mr. Charles Howard, of Biddenham, the now well- 

 known sheep breeder, took the first prize in the 

 Farmers' Sons and Pupils Class, with a plough of 

 his brothers' manufacture. The late Mr. Pusey, 

 who was present, referred to the fact as an especially 

 happy illustration of the motto of the Journal, 

 " Practice with Science." It was at the same 

 dinner too, that this distinguished agriculturist 

 christened the winning implement "the Champion 

 Plough," a title that the Firm at once took up, and 

 by which it has been since so widely recognised. 



Let us here offer some accompanying de- 

 scription of the Champion Plough, which appears 

 as the companion plate of this number. The 

 ploughs, then, termed by the Royal Agricul- 

 tural Society of England, " General Purpose 

 Ploughs," are the only kind that are tested on both 

 hght and heavy land. Those of course found to 

 work best at different depths on both soils, with 

 due regard to lightness of draught, are considered 

 the most generally useful. This point is put with 

 some significance, as such ploughs are awarded a 

 prize of a larger amount than for those of any 

 other description ; and consequently the prize for 

 the best plough for general purposes is considered 

 the chief prize of the year. The one here shown 

 is an improved form of Messrs. Howard's original 

 and well-known prize plough. The main feature 

 is the perfect and elegant form of the share and 

 mould-board, which are constructed upon geome- 

 trical principles, with a view to lightness of draught, 

 turning the work in the best manner, and working 

 clean on sticky soils. It was proved at Warwick 

 that this form was equally well adapted for heavy 



as for light land. There is just at present some 

 diversity of opinion as to the degree of convexity 

 which should be adopted in mould-boards. The 

 Messrs. Howards maintain that taking all seasons 

 of the year into account, a slightly convex form is 

 best. Another feature in this plough, is the sim- 

 ple and admirable manner in which the share is 

 attached. The neck upon which the share fits is a 

 plain bar of wrought-iron, tightened by means of a 

 nut at the end. This when screwed up brings the 

 lever neck into a state of tension, and the frame to 

 which it is fastened into a state of compression — 

 thus giving increased strength to both these portions 

 of the plough. When more or less inclination or pitch 

 is required for the share, the end nut is simply 

 loosened, and the lever moved into the higher or 

 lower grooves. The frame or body to which the 

 lever neck is fixed is formed, so as to stand the 

 roughest usage, and the neck is so completely 

 boxed in, that it is protected from wear, by being 

 kept from contact with the ground. This portion 

 of the plough has hitherto been subject to break- 

 age ; but owing to these improvements, it appears 

 that, although upwards of two thousand have been 

 sold since the Warwick meeting, not a single 

 fracture has occurred. The socket of the share is 

 made perfectly fiat and smooth on the under-side. 

 This not only prevents the share bursting, but 

 causes the plough to run evenly on its sole. 

 The best form of iron for plough beams has for 

 many years been another debated point with 

 ploughmakers. After many forms have been 

 tried nearly all the EngUsh makers have come 

 back to beams made of ordinary flat bar iron. Such, 

 however, although cheap and simple, have this 

 defect, that in hard work they spring, and fre- 

 quently get twisted. To remedy this the Messrs. 

 Howard form their beams at the hinder part — 

 where of course there is the greatest strain, both 

 laterally and vertically— of bar iron, made with a 

 double flange or rib on the upper edge. This 

 flange or rib is tapered oflF at its opposite ends, so 

 that the utmost strength is obtained with the least 

 possible weight. The handles and beam are made 

 throughout in a piece from the solid iron, except- 

 ing when required to be packed for exportation. 

 This plan effectually prevents their shaking loose, 

 and by thus raising both handles to the same 

 height as the beam, the accumulation of soil at the 

 hinder part of the plough in dirty weather is 

 avoided. The wheels are fixed to the beam in a 

 most secure and durable manner. The slides being 

 tightened endwise, or in the direction of the length 

 of the beam, all chance of their becoming loose 

 through wear is removed. Either wheel can be 

 altered as to depth or width independently of the 

 other. The coulter is fastened by a simple wrought- 



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