324 THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 



for plowing different kinds of soil, and for cutting a furrow of a 

 given depth, it is always best after selecting a plow, the various 

 parts of which are as nearly perfect as possible, to purchase it on 

 trial. "When the first cast-iron plows were manufactured, the 

 stand was made very low, and the mold-board also was very low. 

 For plowing three or four inches deep they operated very well, 

 as most plows will which have a low standard and low mold- 

 board, when turning only a very shallow furrow. But most 

 farmers have learned that mines of untold wealth lie just beneath 

 this thin stratum of super soil, which our ancestors merely 

 scratched over with these imperfectly constructed plows ; and 

 that when they attempt to bring it up with such plows, they need 

 more team to draw such imperfectly-shaped implements, when 

 they are driven an inch or two deeper than they were cal 

 culated to run ; and that they do not turn the furrow-slice well, 

 but shove it off, and turn a portion of it over, while the greater 

 part is merely set on one edge, ready to fall back into the furrow. 

 With the foregoing considerations, we will attend to 



THE POINTS OB CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD PLOW. 



450. A good plow is one the shape of which is such, that the 

 draft will be as light as possible / and will turn a furrow-slice well, 

 whether the furrow is four or eight inches deep ; and will main 

 tain easily a uniform depth of furrow ; and will hold easy, with 

 out much exertion of the plowman ; and which will glide along 

 as smoothly as a goose glides over the gentle-rolling waves of a 

 lake. The mold-board should be rather long, and so high that 

 the furrow-slice will not be constantly falling over it into the 

 plow and furrow ; and the plow should be several inches nar 

 rower at the sole than it is at the hind end of the mold-board at 

 the top of it ; and the mold-board should have a good twist at the 

 hind end ; and the standard should be of a good height ; and the 

 throat open and circular, so that every little sod or bunch of 

 manure will not clog the plow ; and the plow should be of a good 

 length from the end of the point to the middle of the throat or 

 standard ; and should not rise too much in a short distance ; and 



