51 



To Sylvester Dane, of Hamilton, the first premmm of diplo- 

 ma and 1 1 2. Plough, Eagle, No. 73^ ; time, 30 minutes. 



The second premium of $10, to Albert Titcomb, of Rowley. 

 Plough, Huzzey, No. 16 ; time, 40 minutes. 



The third premium of $8, to Edward H. Brown, of Glouces- 

 ter. Plough, Belcher & Taylor, No. 61 ; time, 32. minutes. 



The fourth premium of $6, to Curtis C. Cressy, of Glouces- 

 ter. Time, 33 minutes. 



The Loring premium of $10, for best teamster, to Oscar 

 Littlefield, of Rowley. 



The land selected for ploughing was rather uneyen and 

 sideling, very dry and gravelly. It has never before been our 

 good fortune to witness such noble horse teams for ploughmg, the 

 uniformity in tlieir size, their movements and worli. They 

 performed the work assigned them witli apparent ease in 

 ploughing the sixth of an acre, in an average of thirty-five 

 minutes, with the exception of Mr. C. C. Cressy's team. 

 Owing to his using a plough not suitable for a pair of horses, 

 he could nofe avoid ploughing his land eight inches in depth,, 

 cutting a furrow sixteen inches wide. We think the plough he 

 used would have answered the purpose for four or six oxen^ 

 and no doubt good work could have been done. 



It is very important that a suitable plough should be selected 

 for a pair of horses. We have no doubt had Mr. Cressy had 

 a good and suitable plough he would have taken a larger 

 premium. It is just as important that we have good ploughs, 

 as that we have good horses for ploughing. 



The history of the cast iron plough cannot be otherwise than 

 interesting. About tlie year 1720, Joseph Foljamble, of Roth- 

 erham, England, received the first patent upon record for a 

 plough. No doubt it was a great improvement upon those, 

 previously used. Again, about the year 1740, James Small, of 

 Berwickshire, Scotland, invented the first cast iron mould board , 

 and they were manufactured by him for fifty years, still using 

 the wrought iron share. In 1785, Robert Ransom, of Ipswich, 

 England, first applied cast iron for that purpose. Charles 

 Newbold, of Burlington, N. J., made the first cast iron plough 



