INVENTOR OF THE MODERN PLOW. 69 



ventions of those for whom this habitue makes 

 preposterous claims : 



" The modern plow," says Knight, " origi- 

 nated in the low countries, so-called. Flan- 

 ders and Holland gave to England much of 

 her husbandry and gardening knowledge, 

 field, kitchen and ornamental. Blythe's 'Im- 

 prover Improved,' published in 1652, has al- 

 lusions to the subject. Lummis, in 1720, im- 

 ported plows from Holland. James Small, of 

 Berwickshire, Scotland, made plows and wrote 

 treatises on the subject, 1784. He made cast- 

 iron mold- boards and wrought-iron shares, 

 and introduced the draft-chain. He made 

 shares of cast-iron in 1785. The importation 

 of what was known as the l Rotherham ' 

 plow was the immediate cause of the im- 

 provement in plows which dates from the 

 middle of the last century. Whether the 

 name is derived from Rotterdam cannot be 

 determined. 



