1837] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



195 



'js attached, is iipri<rlitor perpendicular on the land 

 side, (that is, the firm or unplouirhed side,) and 

 bevcll(Hi oli' on the \vorl< si(i(>, where it nniies 

 with the Ibiir-edire ol' tlie niould-lioard, or hreasi 

 of the plou<;h. Tiie mould board is either con- 

 vex, concave, or twisted. In whichever Ibrm the 

 acting lace ol' the breast may he, it is always set 

 at a iet^s or (jreaier an<>-|e liom the line of drauirlit. 

 A convex mould-board is a thicn slab of touirh 

 wood, two or three feet in lenu'th, and a foot or 

 fourteen inches wide. It is worked or splayed ofi' 

 lul()re, where it is fitted closely to the beam and 

 sheath in ihint, and held out nine or ten inches 

 from the line or drauiiht behind, by pins inserted 

 into liie tail ol the beam. This, and all other 

 wooden mould -boards, are liiced with plates of 

 w'routi'ht iron, bent to the shape and nailed on. 

 These boards have, moreover, what is called a 

 ground-rise ; that is, a bar of iron one inch s(|uare, 

 bent similar to the mould-board, having a spur be- 

 fijre, by wliich it is fixed to the share, and an iip- 

 rii.rht winiT behind, by which it is nailed to the tail 

 of th(! board. 



From the position of this breast, it may easily 

 be perceived that its action through the soil is on- 

 ly \o push asideAh-dt opposed to it, and is particular- 

 ly useful in working clean fallows where no turn- 

 ing is required. This plough has also a peculiar 

 rutihing or grinding action upon the clods which it 

 moves, tending to reduce them to powder — a most 

 desirable effect. 



A concave breast is narrow and contracted at 

 bottom, and hanging over at top, particularly at 

 the alter part. This first raises the slice from its 

 bed, and in its progress gradually turns it com- 

 pletely over ; and is most effective for burying a 

 crop of weeds or stubble. 



But the most approved form of mould-hoard is 

 that called the twisted breast, and tor the manutiic- 

 tnre of them in cast iron, several patents have been 

 granted by government. They are said to unite 

 ease of draught with efiective work, m turning the 

 slice not completely over, but laying one upon an- 

 other at an iuigle of about thirty decrees, thereby 

 leaving a right angle of the slice to be acted on by 

 the harrows. These ploughs are favorites with 

 ploughmen, whether used with wheels or swing- 

 ing ; because they make, when well held, remark- 

 alby neat and regular-looking work, particularly 

 in ploughing leys, or in l)reaking up old sward. It 

 is true they clear the furrow completely, and the 

 slice is sufficiently turned — the grass undermost — 

 and laid in the best position ; but the slice is so en- 

 tire, fiom end to end, that it may. if the sward he 

 tough, actually be, as the ploughmen say, "drawn 

 out of the field." 



The slice being raised and turned so neatly in 

 one entire piece, can be of no advantage to the 

 crop; because the body of the slice remains as 

 firm and Cfj.'Ji/ja^i as it was beibre the operation; 

 and it is only among the loose mould raised by the 

 harrows, that the seed can be nourished during the 

 first stage of its growth. Another detect of these 

 neatvvorkinri: ploughs is this : as each slice leans 

 U|/on the former, there is a small angular vacancy 

 under each, and which, when slugs are plentiful, 

 form secure retreats lor these destructive animals. 

 Hence, the necessity for heavy pressers to consoli- 

 date the soil between the furrows, in order that the 

 seed might have a firm bottom to lie on, and not 

 hang loosely on the interstices. 



That the surface of the soil being turned over 

 in such entire slices is unfiivorable to the crop, is 

 exemjilified bj' the great diflerence observable in 

 the results of crops raised on ground stirred by the 

 plough, and that diirged with the spade. The su- 

 periority of the latter is entirely owing to the more 

 perfect comminution and disruption of the soil, by 

 which all atmospheric influences are more readily 

 admitted, and an ampler space given for the more 

 easy range of the roots. It ismanitf-st, therefore, 

 that the more the slice is disturbed and shaken in 

 Ijloutjhing, so that .the grass and weeds are suffi- 

 ciently buried, the better ii is for the crop. And it 

 is questionable, whether leys would not be better 

 ploughed (or wheat or jjcas by the convex boarded 

 plough than by the twisted breast, even if it were 

 necessary to hand-pick the weeds off afterwards. 



It is perfectly true, that when wheat or any oth- 

 er crop is intended to be drilled, the surface must, 

 in the first place^ be deeply harrowed, which in a 

 great measure obviates the objections made to the 

 twisted plough laying the suriiiceso firmly togeth- 

 er. But if not harrowed equally deep lor broad- 

 casting, the crop will certainly be inferior — rising 

 and npenjng unequally. 



The coulter is an efficient member of the plough; 

 it is jjlaced a little in advance ol the point of the 

 share, and cuts through the turf, or matted sur- 

 face, while the share is'slipping under and raising 

 the slice from its place. The coulter is always set 

 a litile into the land. The skim coulter will be no- 

 ticed hereafter. 



Much has been written on the most suitable 

 length of the mould-board, and at what angle it 

 shiiijld project fr-om the line of draught. The 

 working part of a filough has always been form- 

 ed on the principle of a wedge, having one straight 

 side to correspond with the line of draught, and 

 the other diverging from that line at an angle more 

 ! or less acute. "But the action of a plough and a 

 j wedge are not exactly similar ; the last operates m 

 I the cleft along its whole length, while it is the fore- 

 part or breast only of the first which is constantly 

 acting, and where the principal force or impulse of 

 the machine should be concentrated. A wedge 

 has a double lateral action, while the plough has 

 but one. Loose soil may be considered a fluid ; 

 and, we are quite certain, that all solid bodies im- 

 |;elled through a fluid move with greater celerity 

 with the large end forerun st than with the smaller. 

 As proof of the truth of .this fact, we need only ap- 

 peal to the general form of birds and fishes; and 

 even the finest graduated wedge itself may be im- 

 pelled easier through water vvith the base, leather 

 than the point, foremost. The form of ships is 

 |)roof. A mast, or sf)ar, as seamen call it, is tow- 

 ed with the greatest difficulty with the small end 

 t()remopt. 



From these observations it will appear, that the 

 greater the length of the sole or share-tail be, the 

 steadier will the plough move in the work ; and 

 the longer the mould-board, to open a furiow of 

 nine in'ches, the heavier must be the draught. 

 And, moreover, it appears, that a mould-board 

 fourteen inches ion^, set at an anrile of forty- five 

 degrees from the line of draught, would open a 

 furrow nine inches wide with much more ease 

 than a board, three feet long, to open the same fur- 

 row. 



These particulars are worth the attention of the 

 [)lough-vvright; for, notwithstanding all our im- 



