CULTIVATION 0# WHEAT 63 



1534. The date of the first English patent on this implement 

 is 1720. The cast iron plow was first patented in the United 

 States in 1797. A patent on an adjustable cast iron point in 

 1818 marks the introduction of the most useful economy in 

 plow manufacture, the interchangeability of parts. 



Modern Plows are practically the same in principle as 

 those described above. The only improvements which have 

 been made are in minor details. The draft and friction have 

 been reduced to a minimum, and forms have been invented 

 which are best suited for different types of soil and for the 

 application of different kinds of motor power. The common 

 hand plow is undoubtedly most widely used, and the small farm 

 rarely ever has any other. It is drawn by two horses. Another 

 widely used form is the sulky plow, having two wheels to carry 

 the beams, and a seat for the driver. Two or three horses are 

 required. The acreage covered depends on the condition of 

 the soil, and varies from one to two acres per day. 1 These are 

 the common forms used by all the large wheat raising coun- 

 tries. Another common type used on large farms is the gang 

 plow, drawn by horses or steam. This is merely a number of 

 common plows combined in one frame. A usual plow in the 

 Red river valley is a gang cutting 16 inches in two furrows, 

 drawn by five horses and turning 250 acres in from four to six 

 weeks. Steam is not used, as mud was found to cut out the 

 plow bearings when it was wet, and the expense of keeping 

 horses is necessitated by other farming operations. In some 

 parts of California, plows are set in gangs of as many as 14. 

 They are drawn by eight mules, and plow three inches deep 

 at the rate of 10 or 15 acres per day. A traction engine with 

 large gangs of plows or discs is often used on the larger farms, 

 accomplishing an enormous amount of work in a little time. 



Special forms of plows adapted to the use of a stationary 

 engine have been evolved in Europe. The Fowler plow is per- 

 haps the best known and most effective of these. It consists 

 practically of eight turnover plows yoked together, and is 

 capable of plowing 40 acres of land a day and accommodating 

 itself to the mcst uneven ground. The electric plow of Austria 

 is also worthy of mention. 



Time of Plowing. In general, it may be said that in the 

 spring wheat area of the United States, fall plowing slightly 



