94 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[No. 7 



later in New Eno-land. It is necessary, however, 

 in this country, to secure it from the frosts during 

 the winter, and to remove it as early in the spring 

 as the season will admit. The leaves are very 

 deeply five-lobed, the lobes narrow, and of nearly 

 equal width. The fruit is very large, ohovate, 

 fleshy, with an unusually obliq\ie apex. The eye 

 is rather depressed. The stalk short and thick. 

 The skin pale green on the shaded side with a 

 tinge of yellow; next the sun, dull, brownish red, 

 eprinkled with small, pale brown specks. The 

 flesh is pinkish in the interior, nearly white to- 

 wards the skin, but chiefly semi-transparent red- 

 dish brown, extremely rich, sweet and highly fla- 

 vored. 



THE SUBSOIL PLOUGH. 



The subsoil plough was designed, some nine or 

 ten years ago, by James Smith, Esq., of Deans- 

 ton Cotton Works, Stirlingshire, for the purpose of 

 opening up the close subsoil of the farm of Deans- 

 ton. In the design, two essential points were 

 kept in view — first, the construction of an instru- 

 ment that would eflectually open up thy subsoil, 

 without throwing any of it to the surface, or mix- 

 ing it with the active or surfiice soil; second, to 

 have an implement of the easiest possible draught 

 for the horses, while it was of suflicient strentjth 

 and weight to penetrate the firmest ground, to a 

 depth varying from fifteen to eighteen inches, and 

 resist the shocks on the largest stones. This 

 plough is, therefore, on a gigantic scale, in compa- 

 rison with the light ploughs in ordinary use. Its 

 extreme leni^th is fifteen feet. From the socket at 

 the point of the beam, to the first stile or upright, 

 six feet ; from thence to the back of the second 

 Btyle, nineteen inches ; from thence to the outer 

 end of holding handles, seven feet; from the sole 

 to the bottom of beam at stiles, nineteen inches; 

 length of head or sole bar, thirty inches ; from 

 heel of sole to point of sock, forty six inches ; 

 broadest part of sock, eight inches. The coulter 

 is curved; and, in order to prevent its point from 

 being driven from its place by stones, it is inserted 

 to the depth of an inch in a socket. The lateral di- 

 mensions of the sole-piece are two inches sfjuare, 

 this is covered on the bottom and land side with a 

 cast-iron sole-piece, to prevent wear. The .sock 

 goes on to the head in the usual way, and from its 

 feather rises the spur-piece, for the purpose of 

 breaking the subsoil furrow. When the subsoil 

 consists of very firm clay, or other hard and com- 

 pact earth, the feather and spur-piece may he dis- 

 pensed with, and a plain wedge or spear- pointed 

 sock, such as those of the old Scotch plough, may 

 be used. The draught bar, of one and iTquarfer 

 inch round iron, is attached to the beam at the 

 strong eye, and, passing through an eye in the up- 

 right needle, is adjustable to any height or lateral 

 direction, being moveable in the socket, at the 

 point of the beam, and can be made fast at any 

 point Dy a pincing screw, wrought by the lever. 

 By the proper setting of the draught rod, the di- 

 rection of the power of the horses is so regulated, 

 as to render the guiding of the plough easy at any 

 depth or width of furrow. The beam is aboiu. five 

 inches deep at the middle, and one and a quarter 

 inches in thickness ; towards the draught end, it 

 tapers to three inches deep, and one inch thick ; at 

 the holding end, where the handles branch ofT, it 



is two inches by one. The whole, being iron, 

 weighs four hundred and forty pounds, imperial. 

 This appears an enormous weight, and most peo- 

 ple are alarmed at the strength and weight of the 

 implement; but, after repealed trials with lighter 

 plouiihs, those of the dunensions and weight now 

 described, have been found !o be at once the most 

 etTicient, the most easy of draught, and the easiest 

 for the ploughman to manage. Four ordinary 

 farm horses are generally sufficient to draw this 

 plough, in breaking up subsoil of oi'uinary firmness; 

 but, on very tough clays, or in hard till, it may be 

 found necessary to use six horses. When lour are 

 used, they are yoked two and two, by draught 

 bars and chains. When six are used, they are 

 yoked three and three, by draught bars and chains. 

 The mam chain, for the leading horses to pull by, 

 is hung, in both cases, by links fi-om the collars of 

 the rear horses, to keep it up from their legs, and 

 the trace bars of the leaders are kept close up to 

 their hiuns, by cross-straps on their quarters. 

 Chambers' [iicZi/t.] Journal. 



From the Britisli Farmer's Magazine. 



ON THE VARIOUS IMT'LEMENTS USED IN HUS- 

 BANDRY. 



Every operation required in the cultivation of 

 the ground is much facilflated by the use of pro- 

 per implements and tools. The aration of the sur- 

 face is one of the most important operations; and, 

 of late years, mechanical science has been much 

 em[)!oyed in assisting the plough and wheel- 

 wrights to construct their machines on the best 

 principles; and yet, perhaps, we have not arrived 

 at the lie plus ultra of invention. 



In early times ploughs were, as they still are in 

 uncivilized countries, of the rudest construction; all 

 that was done, or expected of them, was merely 

 to siir, or raiher scratch the sur'i^ce across and 

 across, till a thin stratum of mould was obtained 

 to half cover the seed cast thereon. 



In process of time, and especially since horses 

 were employed in husbandry, ploughs became 

 much more complicated machines, fitted with iron 

 shares and coulters, with handles, mouldboards, 

 and carriages on wheels for supporting the beam, 

 and by which the share was elevated or depressed 

 according to the required depth of flirrow. These 

 carriages were invented for relieving ihe plough- 

 man in ploughing gravelly clays, or very hard, te- 

 nacious soils, where the share must necessarily be 

 set deep to keep it in the ground, and prevented 

 from going too deep by the moveable bolster of the 

 carriage. 



But the action of the plough in passing easily, 

 and the position in which the turned ILirrow or flag 

 is laid, has called for the greatest ingenuity in the 

 construction or inclination of the mould-boards of 

 ploughs. There are several effects required in the 

 action of ploughs. The first is, sinqjiy removing 

 a slice of about nine inches wide, and laying it up- 

 on a space of equal width to the right of the 

 plough. Secondly, it is required that the slice 

 should not only be removed, but completely turned 

 upside down. Thirdly, that it be not only remo- 

 ved and turned, but as much shattered as possible 

 in the act of turning. All these eflects are produ- 

 ced by the form of the mould-board and point of 

 the share. The latter is pointed, and acts like a 

 wedge ; and, together with the sheath to which it 



