THE YOUNG FAKMER'S MANUAL. 327 



plow very much easier and better than he possibly can when 

 the handles are so high that he is obliged to bend his arms when 

 his hands are hold of the handles. It is better to have the han 

 dles too low than too high. Plow handles are almost always too 

 high for boys ; and this is one good reason why they are not 

 able to plow as well as they might plow, if the handles were of 

 a proper height. "When the handles are low, a plowman can 

 throw his whole weight and strength on one handle ; but it will be 

 very difficult and inconvenient for him to do so when the handles 

 are as high as his ribs. 



454. Steel plows. In some of the "Western States, and in some 

 parts of the Empire State, plows are manufactured with steel mold- 

 boards. Steel plows cost several dollars more per plow ; but for 

 plowing some kinds of soil, and especially very light soils, they 

 are far superior to the best cast-iron plows, because the surface 

 of the mold-board is smoother, and admits of a finer polish ; and 

 in some kinds of very light soil, where the dirt will not slip well 

 when a cast-iron plow is used, a steel plow will perform most 

 complete work. For heavy, stiff soils steel plows are little, if any, 

 better than cast-iron plows, providing they are made of old iron, 

 and have a very smooth surface. 



ADJUSTING THE DRAFT OF THE PLOW. 



455. There are so many collateral and conditional considera 

 tions which influence and affect the proper adjustment of the 

 draft of the plow, that it seems almost an impossibility to lay 

 down any infallible rules to enable the tyro to adjust his plow 

 correctly. When a plow is correctly adjusted it will glide along 

 with a steady motion, requiring very little effort of the plowman 

 to hold it, in smooth ground ; and it will not seem inclined to 

 run too much on the point, nor on the heel. When the draught 

 is improperly adjusted, the plowman is often obliged to exert all 

 his strength in order to make his plow work at all satisfactorily. 

 Sometimes it will run too much on the point ; and the most skill 

 ful plowmen are unable to adjust it so that it will glide along 

 14* 



