FARMER'S ASSISTANT. 183 



* It remains only to give you some description of my 

 corn-machine, and to state to you my reason for adopting 

 this method of raising com, and the consequent advan- 

 tages. 



' The frame of my harrow is perhaps no way materially 

 different from that of the common triangle corn-harrow; 

 the sides about four and a half feet long, with a spread that 

 places the two back teeth forty-two inches apart. The 

 whole number of teeth is seven; the front tooth in the 

 centre, and the others three aside, at equal distances. A 

 light piece of scantling is framed into the sides, in front 

 of the back teeth, for the purpose of strengthening the 

 frame and supporting the handles. The coulter-tooth is 

 about ten and a half or eleven inches below the timber, 

 forming such angle with the shank as to give the coulter 

 that direction best calculated to penetrate the ground and 

 perform the office intended. The shovel-tooth, below the 

 shank, is about six inshes in length, and four and a half in 

 breadth, projecting in that position best adapted for cuting 

 grass or weeds, and generally for cleaning and mellowing 

 the surface. The shanks of each are filed to the same hole 

 and fastened with a screw on the top; the coulter-tooth 

 must be supported with a considerable shoulder behind; 

 otherwise it would be bent back, the resistance being so 

 great as to produce a sufficient draft for two Horses. With 

 the shovel-teeth, one Horse can travel with ease. 



< The farm, on which I have used this machine, I pur- 

 chased, in a very exhausted state, about fifteen years ago ; 

 and, designing to improve it with lime, I deemed it of im- 

 portance to retain the lime (which I have uniformly intro- 

 duced with corn-crop) as much on the surface as possible, 

 for the first year. This would not have been the case, if the 

 plough had been used; and perceiving that the raising of 

 corn, in the usual way, exposed the soil to wash, my object 

 was to prevent this injury by reducing the^ surface to a 

 perfect plane, having neither hill nor furrow. * 



I have uniformly found that the coulter-harrow prepared 

 the ground to imbibe and retain a greater quantity of rain* 

 water, than in any other way ; in addition to this advantage, 

 that a much less surface is exposed to evaporation, than if 

 the land had been ploughed into ridges, which in a season 

 of drought affords a decided advantage; as in the year 1808 

 I had nearly forty* bushels to the acre, when land of the 

 same quality, in my neighborhood, furmed in the usual 

 manner, had not half that quantity. 



* My Son informs me that the crop of 1808 exceeded forty 

 bushels to the acre, 



