[ 13 ] 



Hill- side Plough, American Ploughs. 



Read April 1816. 



Belmont, 5th April, 1816. 



Dear Sir, 



For the information of the Society, I send a letter 

 from Mr. Jefferson giving an account of the success of 

 Gypsum in the country in which he lives ; also of the 

 mode introduced by his son-in-law, Col. Randolph, of 

 ploughing a hilly country. A description of Col. Ran- 

 dolph's plough calculated for the purpose, is also contained 

 in it. The mode of ploughing is practised in the hilly 

 countries of the North of Europe ; but they use a shift- 

 ing mould-board, which is rapidly turned, on a vertical 

 pinion, at every bout. I have requested a draft or model 

 of the plough and share, which I will present to the Socie- 

 ty when I receive them. Please to extract the parts of the 

 letter relating to agriculture, and file the extracts. After 

 which I will thank you for the return of the letter. I also 

 send a letter from our friend and member Robert Barclay 

 Esq. of England, giving an account of the trials of some 

 ploughs I had made for him. The society will be, no 

 doubt, gratified, when they perceive that we are capable, 

 in any thing, to reflect back to that country, the light we 

 have received from it, on the subject of our institution. 

 These ploughs have fully proved on their first trials, (and 

 they will perform better when the British ploughmen are 

 more accustomed to them,) my assertions in the note in 



