FOR PROMOTING AGRICULTURE 63 



a very gratifying circumstance of his declining years. 



These New York ploughs, of one make or another, 

 soon reached Massachusetts, and, judging by a de- 

 scription given in 1820, by a newspaper correspond- 

 ent, who resided apparently in the south-eastern part 

 of the state, it was high time. He says that in most 

 parts of Massachusetts the Old Colony plough and the 

 Sutton plough were still in use. The former he de- 

 scribes as having a ten-foot beam and a four-foot land 

 side, and of the latter he says: "They are not fit to 

 plough any land that has sod on it; your farmers' 

 furrows stand up like the ribs of a lean horse in the 

 month of March." And he adds, "The great objection 

 to all these ploughs is that they do not perform their 

 work well, and that the expense for blacksmith's work 

 in repairs is enormous; six ploughs cost me last year 

 an average of $6 each for repairs." 



To return to the record of the society: In 1819 the 

 following letter was addressed to its corresponding 

 secretary, and, with its enclosure, was published in the 

 next issue of the Journal: 



Boston, September 1, 1819. 



I received, early in the spring of this year, from 

 Isaac Bronson, Esq., of New York, a plough denomi- 

 nated by him, "Freeborn's patent plough." Having 

 found, upon trial, that it fulfilled all the expectations 

 Mr. Bronson had previously raised concerning it, I 

 requested him to write an account of its character and 

 success. His letter is enclosed, which you are at liberty 

 to publish should it be deemed useful. 



Concerning its superiority I have had the opinion of 

 every practical farmer who has witnessed its operation, 

 I believe, without an exception. The effect upon my 

 farm is this: that I now break up, with ease, the same 

 quantity and qualities of land, say one acre, in a day, 



