PLOUGHING 



6197 



PLUM 



frame, to which the remaining 

 ploughing parts are fixed. (6) 

 Handles, or stilts, used by the 

 ploughman for guiding the plough. 



The chief part attached to the 

 body is the breast or mould-board, 

 made of cast iron and curved in 

 such a way that it turns over the 

 furrow slice. To the front end of 

 this is fixed the ploughshare, 

 made of chilled steel, and used for 

 making the horizontal cut in the 

 separation of the furrow slice. 

 Shares of various shape are in use 

 for dealing with different classes of 

 land. Some single-furrow ploughs 

 used on adhesive soil possess one 

 wheel only, others swing ploughs 

 have no wheels, while others 

 again are provided with a sort of 

 joint giving lateral movement to 

 the front part, so that turning is 

 facilitated. 



One-way ploughs can be re- 

 versed at the end of the field, so that 

 turning is obviated and a smaller 

 area is left uncultivated. Double- 

 furrow ploughs, drawn by three 

 horses, are provided with a pair of 

 shares, while multiple ploughs have 

 three or four shares, and are used 

 for shallow work. There are also 

 several other types, adapted for 

 special purposes. Disk ploughs, 

 much used in bringing land under 

 cultivation for the first time, are 

 equipped with two or more saucer- 

 shaped steel disks, which take the 

 place of shares and are set obliquely 

 to the direction of movement. Sub- 

 soil and trench ploughs are used 

 for deep cultivation, while the 

 names of the ridging and potato - 

 raising ploughs explain themselves. 

 See Agriculture ; Bolivia ; Egypt. 



Ploughing. Method of prepar- 

 ing the soil for crops. It consists in 

 breaking up the earth and exposing 

 a fresh layer to the effect of air, 

 sun, and rain. Its necessity was 

 discovered at a very early date, 

 and it has been one of the most 

 universal, constant, and important 

 of human occupations. 



In ploughing a field it is usual to 

 divide it into sections of equal 

 length, separated by furrows, 

 which vary in width according to 

 the lightness or heaviness of the 

 soil, but which good ploughmen 

 always draw straight. The earliest 

 ploughing took the form of pulling 

 an instrument, not unlike a hoe, 

 through the ground, sometimes by 

 oxen. Later, horses were employed 

 and the ploughs improved, but for 

 many hundreds of years the 

 changes were very slight. Soon 

 after 1850 steam was introduced as 

 a motive power, and large areas 

 in the U.S.A. and other new coun- 

 tries were ploughed by engines 

 each pulling a number of instru- 

 ments. See Agriculture. 



Plough Monday. In England, 

 the Monday after Epiphany, the 

 first Monday after Twelfth Day, 

 after which the rustic's labours, 

 symbolised by the plough, are re-i 

 sumed after the Christmas holidays. 

 It was customary on that day, 

 particularly in the N. and E. of 

 England, for the ploughmen, 

 decked with ribbons and some- 

 times wearing their shirts out- 

 side, to yoke themselves to a 

 plough and drag it from door to 

 door, begging plough money. In 

 London a grand court of ward- 

 mote is held by the lord mayor at 

 the Guildhall on Plough Monday, 

 followed by a banquet. 



Plover. Name given to a large 

 family of shore birds, including the 

 plovers proper, stilts, oyster- 

 catchers, curlews, sandpipers, god- 

 wits, snipe, and others. Numerous 

 species occur in Great Britain. 

 The golden plover (Charadrius 

 pluvialis) has greyish-black plum- 

 age spotted with yellow on the 

 upper parts, and black below, and 

 is about 11 ins. long. It is not com- 

 mon, especially in the S. counties, 

 but it breeds in many localities in 

 the N., nesting on the ground 

 among the heather. It is highly 



Plover. Hen of the Kentish plover, 

 Aegialitis cantiana 



esteemed for the table, and for 

 this reason is given little chance of 

 increasing in numbers. 



The grey plover (Squatarola 

 helvetica) closely resembles it in 

 size and appearance, but lacks the 

 yellow spots. It no longer breeds 

 in Great Britain, but is found near 

 the shore as a winter migrant. 

 The Kentish plover (Aegialitis 

 cantiana) is small and pale in 

 colour, with black and white head, 

 and occurs in summer along the 

 coasts from Sussex to Yorkshire. 

 The ringed plover (Aegialitis 

 hiaticula) is distinguished by its 

 black and white collar, and is 

 nearly eight ins. long. It is com- 

 mon a'round the coasts, where it 

 feeds upon small crustaceans, 

 nesting in the sand or shingle a 

 little above high - water mark. 



The green plover is very common, 

 and is better known as the peewit 

 or lapwing (q.v. ). See Dotterel ; 

 Egg, colour plate. 



Plowdcii, ALFRED CHICHELE 

 (1844-1914). British lawyer. 

 Born at Meerut, Oct. 21, 1844, 

 and educated at 

 W e s t m i n ster 

 and Brasenose 

 College, Oxford, 

 he was called to 

 the bar in 1870, 

 and after 

 practising for 

 eighteen years, 

 during which 



A. C. Plowden, period he was 

 British lawyer recorder of 

 Elliott A Fry Wenlock, 1878- 

 88, was appointed metropolitan 

 police magistrate at Marylebone 

 court, a post he held until his 

 death, on Aug. 8, 1914. Plow- 

 den was the best known magis- 

 trate of his time, his wit, wisdom, 

 and kindliness gaining for him 

 the title of " The London Cadi." He 

 published Grain or Chaff, 1903. 



Plug. Word used by engineers 

 for (1) a tapered block of suitable 

 material for inserting in a tapered 

 hole to form, a water- or air-tight 

 joint ; (2) piece of metal with a 

 tapered or split end for inserting 

 between two metal plates or blocks 

 to make a connexion in an electric 

 circuit. A tapered end fits into a 

 tapered socket. By slightly wedging 

 apart the two halves of a split end, 

 it may be sprung into a parallel 

 socket to make a tight connexion. 



Plug Street. Popular name for 

 the village and wood in Belgium 

 correctly called Ploegsteert (q.v. ). 



Plum (Prunus). Fruit-bearing 

 trees of the natural order Rosaceae. 

 The genus includes the damson, 

 greengage, and sloe. The ordinary 

 plum (Prunus domestic), though 

 found wild, is not a native of 

 Britain ; it usually forms the stock 

 upon which are grafted the choicer 

 varieties, of which there are now 

 in cultivation close upon two 

 hundred. The plum nourishes in 

 a fairly light soil, with a mixture 

 of lime for preference. The more 

 highly cultivated sorts are fond of 

 shelter, and are therefore best 

 grown as bushes, or espaliers, fans, 

 or cordons against walls. , 



They are propagated by grafting 

 in springtime, or by layering in 

 autumn. In dry seasons the sur- 

 face of the soil round the stems 

 of the trees should be mulched 

 with manure, as the plum is a 

 shallow-rooting subject. Standard 

 plum trees should be planted 

 from 15 ft. to 20 ft. apart ; 

 espaliers 12 ft. apart. Standard 

 plum trees need only sufficient 

 pruning to keep the tree open in 



