No. 4.j EVOLUTION OF FARM MACHINES. 247 



Evolution means unfolding. We may consider, then, 

 that modern farm machinery has been unfolded from the 

 minds of the inventors, and we shall often find, as in the case 

 of the development of living organisms, that the old is often 

 retained in a modified form with something added. 



Previous to the beginning of the nineteenth century the 

 improvement of the plow had begun in England, probably on 

 lines taken from a plow introduced from Holland. The first 

 patent was obtained by Joseph Foljambe in 1730. Jethro 

 TuU may be considered the father of modern farm machinery. 

 His inventions included a plow, drill, cultivator and thresh- 

 ing machine. This plow, known as the Berkshire plow, was 

 attached to high wheels and gallows by means of beam and 

 chain. It was provided with four coulters to thoroughly 

 pulverize the soil. In 1730 Tull's work, "Horse-hoeing 

 husbandry," was published, in which it was claimed that 

 with thorough tillage no manure was needed. For this 

 extreme position he might be called a crank ; but recent 

 experiments have proved that considerable increase in the 

 crop may be obtained by more thorough work, for the reason 

 that cultivation liberates plant food in the soil and prevents 

 too rapid evaporation of moisture, — a condition so essential 

 to plant growth. We must admit that it is unwise to expend 

 a large sum for fertilizers unless careful attention is given to 

 preparation of the soil. In this particular we often fail for 

 want of time and perhaps for lack of the best implements. 

 The farmer of to-day must know something of science as 

 applied to his business, and he needs to know something of 

 machines, — at least enough to adjust his machinery so as to 

 get the best results, and at times make slight repairs. 



In 1763 James Small, in England, invented a bridle and 

 clevis, to adjust the point of draft to the beam, similar to the 

 ones in use at the present day. This inventor claimed that 

 he had rules for projecting the lines of the mold-l)oard to the 

 plow so as to place the furrow in any position desired. In 

 writing upon the subject in 1802 he says : "If all farmers 

 were agreed as to the place and position in which the earth 

 nmst be left, all plows would be made alike. The mold- 

 board should have equal degrees of rise and twist for each 

 inch the plow advances." 



