MACHINERY 



MACHINERY 



1941 



"It is also interesting to note that one of the latest 

 inventions of our Western civilization whereby the 

 grain is sown by machinery was already anticipated by 

 ancient Babylonians at least thirty-three centuries ago. 

 In fact the simple Babylonian device accomplished what 

 no single piece of modern machinery does, in that it 

 combined the processes of plowing and sowing." 



A set of ancient plows is shown in Fig. 2244, repro- 

 duced from Bradley's "Survey of the Ancient Hus- 

 bandry and Gardening," 1725. Bradley's explanation is 

 as follows: 



"No. 1. Figure of an ancient Plough, supposed to be used about 

 the Time of the Romans. 



"No. 2. Figure of a Spanish Plough, which some suppose, pre- 

 serves somewhat of the Manner of the Roman Plough, only alter'd 

 to be drawn by one Horse, instead of a Yoke of Oxen. "Pis said, that 

 the Husbandmen in Spain, will plough two or three Acres of light 

 Land in a Day with this Plough. 



"No. 3. The common Shoulder Plough or best Plough, used in 

 several Parts of England, for cutting or breaking the Surface of 

 Grass Grounds, or Heath Lands; 'tis push'd along by one Man; 

 sometimes cutting the Turf half an Inch thick, sometimes an Inch 

 or two. At A is an Iron turn'd up with a sharp Edge, to cut the 

 Turff from the rest of the green Sward. 



"No. 4. Is a Figure of the common Dray Plough, which is good 

 to be used for miery Clays in Winter; but is not so proper to be 

 used in Clays when they are hard. 



"No. 5. The Figure of a single Wheel'd Plough, used in Sussex. 



"No. 6. The Figure of the Hertfordshire Wheel Plough, which is 

 of the easiest Draught; proper for any Grounds, except miery 

 Clays, which are apt to clogg the Wheels. The several Parts of this 

 Plough, being understood, will explain to us the Use of the other 

 Ploughs. A is the plough Beam, B the Handle, Tail, Stilts, or 

 Staves, C the Neck, or Share Beam, D the Earth Board, Mould 

 Board, Furrow Board, Shield Board, E the Sheath, F the Share 

 Iron, G the Coulter, H the Plough Pin and Collar Links, I the 

 Plough Pillow, K the Wheels." 



With these various forms may be compared those 

 represented in Figs. 2245-2247; and also all the modern 

 implements shown and described in the succeeding 

 pages. 



The hoe and the plow, and their many modifications, 

 are still the fundamental or primary tillage tools, one 

 being for hand-work essentially what the other is for 

 power-work. As the necessity of tillage has come to be 

 better understood, these tools have been greatly 

 improved. It is surprising to know that the plow was 

 not perfected until within a century. It is doubtful 

 whether the invention of any of the most important 

 machines of modern times has really meant so much for 

 the welfare of the race as the development of this humble 

 implement. To many persons is ascribed the credit of 

 the invention of the modern moldboard plow, for the 

 implement' seems to have originated independently in 

 different countries, and even in America there are 

 various contestants for the honor. Thomas Jefferson, 

 Charles Newbold, David Peacock, and others have 

 been accorded the honor. There is reason for ascribing 

 the modern type of plow to Jethro Wood, of Scipio in 

 Cayuga County, New York. The years 1814 and 1819 

 are the dates of his most important patents, although 

 the latter is usually regarded as the natal day of the 

 implement. Wood was born in Massachusetts in 1774 

 and died in 1845 or 1846. (See "Jethro Wood, Inventor 

 of the Modern Plow," by Frank Gilbert, Chicago, 

 1882.) The study of plows is a curious and profitable 

 undertaking, and one that still needs to be prosecuted. 



The large-area farming of North America and the 

 apprehension of the principles that underlie tillage have 

 resulted in the invention of a great number of surface- 

 working tillage tools. These inventions are particularly 

 important in orcharding, as they enable the grower to 

 maintain the necessary surface mulch with small ex- 

 penditure of labor and without training the trees too high. 

 There are now many cultivators and harrows that cover 

 a wide space and that are adapted to the light stirring of 

 the surface soil without the turning of furrows and the 

 ridging of the land. One who contemplates a serious 

 study of tillage tools should familiarize himself with the 

 inventions of Jethro Tull, before the middle of the 

 eighteenth century. Tull devised implements to facili- 



tate the tillage of plants when they were growing in the 

 field. See Cyclopedia of American Agriculture, Vol. I, 

 page 374. 



In hand-tillage tools, the recent development of the 

 wheel-hoe is significant for horticultural operations. 

 This light and simple tool, usually with adjustable 

 blades, performs the labor of many sets of fingers and 

 does the work more effectively so far as tillage is con- 

 cerned. It also enforces better initial preparation of the 

 land in order that it may do its work more perfectly ; and 

 this remark will also apply to the modern seed-sowers. 



There has been surprisingly little authoritative early 

 writing on machinery and implements. Practically, our 



2244. Ancient plows. 



only sustained effort in that direction for many years 

 was Thomas' "Farm Implements and Machinery," 

 1859 and 1869. Very recently, the subject has been 

 taken up in the colleges of agriculture and elsewhere, 

 and important reports and books are now available. 



L. H. B. 



The present symposium on machinery and imple- 

 ments in their horticultural relations comprises the 

 following discussions: 



Tillage machinery (Trullinger), page 1942. 



Tools for the orchardist (Alderman), page 1949. 



Machines and implements in vegetable-gardening (Corbett), 



page 1953. 

 Brief lists of implements for greenhouse and grounds (Thilow), 



page 1955. 

 Spraying machinery and tools (Anthony), page 1956. 



