FARM IMPLEMENTS. 8'^ 



In a fine, sticky mould, like the black friable soils ol the 

 prairies of the West, none but steel plows can be used, for ilio 

 reason that no others will "scour," or run clear. In some 

 sections the soil seems like putty in its adhesive properties, 

 while often a very fine quartz sand will rough up the polished 

 surface of even a steel plow, if made of ordinary sheet or 

 cast steel, and not high tempered or sufficiently hardened. 



Sheet steel plows have, therefore, been in use on the 

 prairies of Illinois and other adjoining States for the last forty 

 years, having been introduced as a matter of necessity. The 

 first steel plow was made there by John Lane, near Lockport, 

 Illinois, the sheet being taken from saw- mill Saws and welded 

 together to get a sheet broad enough for a mould-board. This 

 plow scoured in the heavier prairie soils, and was a great 

 and decided advance upon all iron and wooden mould-boards 

 hitherto in use. Sheets of spring or blistered steel we^e after- 

 wards rolled out, and thousands of j^lows were made from 

 them, the plow makers forming them with the hammer on the 

 anvil. 



But even cast steel plows made in this manner were found 

 to be defective. They could not be uniformly tempered. Many 

 of them, therefore, would not scour perfectly and run clean 

 The process of hammering, rolling, and bending, would produce 

 a strain upon the fibre of the steel. It would stay in .sliape 

 only while it was cold. It would warp while heating to get 

 the requisite temper, and warp still more while cooling off' again. 

 Very few, therefore, could be brought to a sufficient temper for 

 a good scouring plow, so that even if it could stand the heat to 

 produce a proper temper, the warping would ruin the form, so 

 that the sections of the plows could not be duplicated, which is 

 requsite in order to supply new shares in place of those broken 

 or worn out. 



