406 INDIANA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 



cellent for grass, but the winters occupy half the year, 

 and are sometimes very severe. I did not see so many 

 cattle as I expected, though I did see a few herds of good- 

 looking cows, and some small flocks of fine sheep. As for 

 horses, I venture the assertion that I can count a greater 

 proportion of good substantial, real serviceable farm 

 horses upon this road than upon any other that I have 

 ever travelled. 



I observed here the same scarcity of good orchards, 

 that I have elsewhere. There are a few rather tasty and 

 somewhat ornamental places, but the great portion of 

 them show the owners to be very plain, and probably, 

 comfortable-living farmers, that have not yet heard of 

 "agricultural chemistry," nor "scientific agriculture." 

 Almost all we see, reminds us of Auld-Lang-Syne in farm- 

 ing, such as we were wont to look upon forty years ago, 

 when the old Cary plow used to kick our shins, in Con- 

 necticut. The plow in most common use here, is the "Can- 

 ada Scotch Plow ;" and any argument endeavoring to con- 

 vince these people that there is a better kind, or even any 

 kind at all, equal to this, is argument thrown away. There 

 are a good many other improvements in agricultural im- 

 plements and machinery, that are as a sealed book to the 

 Canadian farmers generally, and I fear will continue to 

 be so, during the age of the present non-reading gen- 

 eration. 



A gentleman by the name of Hurlburt,^ of Toronto, has 



' Samuel Hurlbert, proprietor of a foundry and machine shop, 

 and manufacturer of agricultural implements at Prescott, Ontario, 

 who patented an improvement for a plow on October 17, 1850, A 

 further improvement was patented September 20, 1852, and Hurl- 

 bert's plows were shown that year at the Canadian National Ex- 

 hibit. Mitchell, J. L., and Loomis, A. 0. (comps.). Grand Trunk 

 Railway Gazetteer . . . ayid Biisiness Directory, 1862-63, describes 

 his patented plow as "manufactured with an iron beam . . . and 

 also, with a wood beam of the usual form. Its chief peculiarity . . . 

 is, that the working side of the mould-board is uniformly convex, 

 from front to rear, and also, from top to bottom, so that a concave 

 arc of a circle applied either horizontally or vertically, will fit in 

 every part, while the curve from the point to the tip of the wing is 



