THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



117 



yet made with short beams, short bodies, aud short 

 hales, or handles. A swing-plough requires to work 

 easily on the balance between the hand of the plough- 

 man and the shoulder and back-bands of the horses, or 

 there is hard work somewhere. Now you cannot poise 

 or balance a short, close- made plough with the ease and 

 facility of one of longer make and longer handles. If 

 in too deep, you have to press the harder to get it out ; 

 if too shallow, you must use a sudden and abrupt lift to 

 put it deeper. These are giving way to longer and 

 more easily-balanced implements. Nearly all the 

 ploughing in Ireland is ploughed with short ploughs and 

 short, stumpy mould-boards ; consequently, the work 

 is roughly laid, greatly broken, and at much cost in 

 extra draught. 



I also view ploughs made with wood beams, hales, 

 and occasionally wood bodies, as being nearly as repre- 

 hensible. Most of this class have, however, been 

 greatly modernized ; and many excellent implements, of 

 good pattern and model, are made, to be found almost 

 everywhere. It is true that, so long as every mortice, 

 every pin, and the wood itself, continues sound and 

 good, the plough will work well and easily ; but so soon 

 as any pari; begins to decay or loosen, then the draught 

 begins to accumulate ; and the application of the dyna- 

 mometer would satisfy the most incredulous that per- 

 fection does not lie in a plough partially made of wood. 

 I have arrived at the same conclusion, and conse- 

 quently come now to the iron ploughs. These are fast 

 superseding all the other kinds — and most deservedly so. 

 Their manufacture has been closely studied, and per- 

 fected with the greatest care and skill. Their stability 

 and durability are beyond all question to be preferred. 

 Their general form and perfection of the various parts 

 are such as cannot be retained in wood, nor cannot it be 

 so uniformly attained — one model sufficing for all of the 

 same class. I know not how to improve the turn-furrow 

 of some of our iron ploughs. Those eminent makers, 

 the Messrs. Ransomes and Sims, and the no less eminent 

 firm of James and Frederick Howard, have the credit of 

 achieving this. Now imitations of their ploughs are 

 everywhere found ; indeed, they must keep on the alert, 

 for I incline to think that in some of our recent 

 ploughing meetings they have been excelled ; not in 

 general adaptation and usefulness, but in one important 

 point — I mean in lightness of draught. It was but slight, 

 but it was the fact ; and I call their attention to it — more 

 especially as I am well aware, if improvement there is to 

 be had, they will move the world to obtain it or achieve 

 it. 



I have often tried experiments to test the draught of 

 wheel versus swing ploughs, and have satisfied myself 

 upon that point. The new-made strong swing plough, 

 of wood frame, &c., will generally give the lightest 

 draught in good hands, owing chiefly to its being of less 

 weight than of iron ; but let it be worn, and put it into 

 the hands of an inferior workman, and the difference is 

 soon found to be very great. The addition of wheels is 

 advantageous, as preventing irregularity in the tillings. 

 The difference, however, is not in proportion to the dif- 

 ference in weight of the wood frame versus iron. The 



iron ploughs that J have tested give invariably the most 

 equable tiUings, and, as compared with a worn wooden 

 plough, considerably lighter, although the plough itself 

 may weigh considerably more ; indeed, I have placed 

 myself on the plough body, but my additional weight 

 did not give a draught of two-thirds my actual weight. Of 

 course, I am supposing both the iron and wood ploughs 

 to be as nearly as possible upon the same model : as for 

 some of the short-bodied, ill-formed, mould-boards, the 

 additional draught is astonishing. Those ploughs having 

 a long mould-turner or mould-board, and shaped or 

 inclined so that if a straight-edge is placed on the share 

 at the point, and is drawn along from the point to the 

 utmost length of the mould-board, it shall touch it all the 

 way, will invariably be found to possess the lightest 

 draught ; at least this is my experience. And it is clear 

 there is no extra lift or prising or pushing aside in any 

 one part, but all is one even regular effort on the part 

 of the share and mould-turner to pass under, lift 

 gradually up, and as gradually to turn-over the furrow 

 slice. Wherever there is extra friction there must be 

 extra draught. There is generally in the common-made 

 ploughs a fulness either in the breast of the share or in 

 the breast of the mould-turner. This is supposed to 

 give the first prise or lift, so as to cause the furrow 

 slice to separate more directly from the furrow sole, and 

 to be more easily turned. This is wrong, as it mostly 

 has the effect of breaking the furrow, so that no mould- 

 turner could then make it lie correctly , to say nothing 

 of the extra draught. 



Ploughmen. — There is something like instinct in a 

 ploughman. I have had men who never could learn to 

 plough, whilst others take to it at once. I never could 

 impress upon some men in what consisted good plough- 

 ing ; so long as the soil was in some way or other 

 turned over, they were satisfied. Now, if the plough 

 put into their hands would, in spite of the ploughmen, 

 execute its work in a proper manner, a great thing is 

 gained. I am inclined to think that many of our firmly, 

 framed iron ploughs, with wheels set under the master's 

 eye, would enable him to employ many an inferior 

 ploughman ; and this is almost the only point I intend 

 to name. The adoption of wheel-ploughs will make the 

 master more independent of his men. Lads can manage 

 them readily. There cannot be a doubt but that a first- 

 class ploughman is a valuable servant upon a farm. 

 His superintendence, his work, and example to others 

 have a very good effect, and stimulate them to greater 

 exertion and care. Good ploughmen are entitled to 

 higher wages ; hence if an inferior man with a superior 

 plough can be made to do good work, the farmer is ad- 

 vantaged. I therefore would recommend wheel 

 ploughs, most decidedly, for this purpose. Many 

 ploughmen are unable to set their irons properly, and 

 much indifferent ploughing is the consequence. A good 

 ploughman who understands this part of his business is 

 also a great help to others in guiding them in this 

 particular. 



