64: 



JETHRO WOOD; 



The first improvement was to reverse the 

 stick and notch the forward end. By that 

 means the animal could be more securely fas- 

 tened to the plow, the thong being tied around 

 the crotch of the stick. The shorter limb ran 

 along the surface of the ground, the notch in 

 front being the only reliance for stirring the 

 soil. In the absence of a compact turf, such 

 plowing would do a little good in rendering 

 the ground fallow, and would at least have the 

 merit of not being so difficult to operate as its 

 predecessor. 



The third plow had three parts. It con- 

 sisted of a beam, a handle and a share, all con- 

 structed by simply trimming the natural wood 

 selected for that purpose. In the first plow 

 the prong which served as a share was slanting, 

 while in the third it rested flatly upon the 

 ground, projecting forward, instead of back- 

 ward, as in the second plow. It could have 

 required no very difficult search to have found 



