H AR 



H AR 



181 



gether^t the angle, ore!se framed 

 together like a pair of rafters, ex- 

 cepting that the butt ends, being 

 toughest, and strong^est 'nust be put 

 together. But the jo nt must be 

 streiiiithened by a good iron hoop 

 smartl) driven on to the nose, af- 

 ter the wood is thoroughly dry. and 

 fastened vvith strong nails ; and 

 further strengthened with a brace 

 from one leg to the other, framed 

 in, about two feet from the juncture 

 of the legs. 



The angle may be more or less 

 acute, according to the state of the 

 land in which the harrow is mostly 

 to be used. For the roughest 

 ground the angle must be more 

 acute ; but for well cleared ground, 

 the angle may be of 45 degrees,or 

 more. The snore obtuse the angle 

 is, the more near together the teeth 

 must be placed. In this kind of 

 harrow some put 9, some 1 1, and 

 some 13 teeth, or even 15. The 

 rougher and harder the land, the 

 fewer the teeth ; and the fewer 

 they are, the longer and stronger 

 they should be. Twelve inches 

 clear of the wood is not too long, 

 nor three pounds too heavy for a 

 tooth in the strongest harrows. 



To prevent this machine from 

 fastening itself often in immovea- 

 ble stumps and roots, (he teeth may 

 be set leaning a little backwards. 

 But where there are no obstacles, 

 they should rather incline the con- 

 trary way, or at least they should 

 be perpendicular. 



Some make use of a horse har- 

 row of the forked kind, and very 

 narrow, to mellow the ground and 

 kill weeds, betwixt rows of Indian 

 corn. But the horse plough an- 



swers the purpose better in gener- 

 al, unless it be upon green sward 

 ground, in which the horse plough 

 will not answer at all. The stiff- 

 ness of the old furrows will prevent 

 its regular going. Lord Kaimes 

 recommends what he calls a clean- 

 ing harrow witli no less than 56 

 teeth, which teeth are no more 

 than six inches apart. The use of 

 it is to clear land of roots, in an ex- 

 peditious and etrectual manner. — 

 The weight of a tooth is one pound 

 only. It they are set raking for- 

 ward they will penetrate the deep- 

 er, and have a better effect. 



The harrows most generally used 

 are of an oblong shape, each con- 

 taining 20 tines, 5 or 6 inches long 

 beneath the bars in which they are 

 inserted. It is still common for 

 every harrow to work separately ; 

 and though always two, and some- 

 times three harrows are placed to- 

 gether, each of them is drawn by 

 its own horse. The great objec- 

 tion to this method is, that it is 

 scarcely possible, especially upon 

 rough ground, to prevent the har- 

 rows from starting out of their pla- 

 ces, and riding on one another. — 

 To obviate this inconvenience the 

 exterior bars of each are usually 

 surmounted by a frame of wood, 

 raised so high as to protect it from 

 the irregular motions of its neigh- 

 bour ; but in many instances, they 

 are connected by chains or hinges, 

 and cross bars, which is a prefera- 

 ble plan. Another objection, which 

 has been made to the common har- 

 row is, that the ruts, made by the 

 tines, are sometimes too near, and 

 sometimes too distant from one an- 

 other ■, but this is not a great fault ; 



