INVENTOR OF THE MODERN PLOW. 61 



tillage. American prosperity is the monu- 

 mental glory of Jethro Wood and his plow. 



" The Balance Sheet of the World " shows 

 that the United States can boast more acres 

 of tillage, in proportion to population, than 

 any other country on the globe ; and in grain 

 production, outstrips all competitors. Of such 

 a record every American citizen may well be 

 proud, and it should be remembered that with- 

 out the genius of Wood such a record could 

 not have been made, even approximately. But 

 in order to a just appreciation of the impor- 

 tance of the modern plow and the usefulness 

 of the inventor of it, one should take a retro- 

 spective glance, tracing, as best we may with- 

 out tedious details, the steps which led from 

 the use of a forked stick to the present imple- 

 ment for fallowing the ground. The Scien- 

 tific American, which ought to be good author- 

 ity on such a subject, in speaking of the Wood 

 patent, says : " Previously the plow was a 



