98 THE OLIVER PLOW BOOK 



A knowledge of what constitutes good plowing is 

 necessary before one can judge whether the bottom is 

 particularly adapted to that soil. It does not matter 

 what type of soil a farmer is tilling, the conditions 

 necessary for plant growth must be the same. The 

 soil must be well pulverized and properly compacted so 

 that air and moisture can mingle in every particle and 

 recess at all times, whether the soil is sand, clay, loam, 

 muck, or any other. 



It is reasonable to assume, in view of the entirely 

 different characteristics of soil, that clay would be 

 broken into clods with the same type of mouldboard 

 which successfully pulverizes sand. 



The plow bottom is nothing more or less than a three 

 sided wedge. The cutting edge of the share and landside 

 are flat sides of the wedge. The mouldboard and upper 

 portion of the share are curved and made to invert the 

 earth. The curvature and length of the mouldboard 

 have to do with the pulverization of the soil. 



The bluffer the mouldboard is the more rapidly it will 

 pick up the earth and turn it over. For this reason all 

 types of plow bottoms that are used in plowing the 

 looser soils are naturally bluffer than those used in 

 plowing soils that stick together such as clay. It 

 obviously follows from thes"e two extremes that the 

 types of mouldboards used for plowing loamy soil must 

 lean more toward the bluff as sand predominates and 

 toward the longer curve as clay predominates. 



There are countries where it is necessary to plow clay 

 soils when they are wet because of excessive rainfall and 

 no frost. This calls for a peculiarly shaped plow bottom 

 that is not very well understood in other sections of the 



