1856. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



119 



the mould-board of a plow as it should be. He 

 described it as forming a perfect wedge, which was 

 the true scientific principle. Mr. Brooks said he 

 did not know of any plow constructed on that prin- 

 ciple now, and therefore he thought there was a 

 doubt as to whether there has been any improve- 

 ment in the mould-board. 



A plow should run easy, and do its work well at 

 the same time. The rubbing surfaces are the 

 same — iron and earth — in the ancient and modern 

 plow. The new one does not run so easy as the 

 old one therefore, if it is of the same construction ; 

 because it is heavier. A wooden plow with a 

 wooden mould-board runs easiest. A wooden shod 

 sled runs easier than one shod with iron. Wood 

 and earth produce less friction than iron and earth. 



The modern plow has not a sufficient angle at 

 the land side. The Michigan plow, however, leaves 

 the land light, and in that respect operates well. 

 The old Dutch plow, for the same reason, was a 



emploj'ed while the grass was being cut. He had 

 found that a machine would do the work of six men 

 at a cost of about half that which would be paid to 

 the men. 



The Independent Horse Rake was another imple- 

 mentwhich he considered the greatest improvement 

 that he had seen for thirty years. He had raked with 

 one over stone heaps as high as the axle-tree of the 

 machine, into hollows eight or nine inches deep. 

 They were the only implement that he considered 

 a genuine unmitigated saving. 



Mr. Sprague, of Duxbury, defended modern 

 plows. The cattle were much farther from the 

 plow, as formerly made and used, and therefore 

 needed a driver, and the handles of old fashioned 

 plows were much longer than those of modern 

 ones. Modern plows, therefore, do the work much 

 easier ; and most farmers are of opinion that one 

 yoke of cattle with a modern plow, will do as much 

 work as two would do with an old fashioned one. 



good one. If these are facts, he could not see The iron part of a modern plow can be renewed for 



what improvement there had been in plows. The 

 modern jtloAV is heavier, and does not do its work 

 any better, nor generally so well as the ancient one, 

 of the same construction. Though changed within 

 the last sixty years, he could not see that it had 

 been improved. On the subject of plows, at this 

 point in his remarks, Mr. Brooks cautioned against 

 buying plows merely on the recommendation of 

 others. He had paid $150 for plows within the 

 last fifteen years, which were not worth two cents 

 to him now. 



He next compared the ancient and modern Hoe. 

 He thought the ancient one quite as good as 

 the modern. The modern one is heavier. He ad- 

 mitted that the old-fashioned one would clog more 



about three dollars, and that, as a matter of econo- 

 my, is one improvement. In conclusion, Mr. 

 Sprague expressed the opinion that the gentleman 

 from Princeton had utterly failed to show that 

 there had been no improvement in the plow and 

 hoe. 



Col. Newell, of West Newbury, did not under- 

 stand the proposition of Mr. Brooks as to hoes, un- 

 less he meant that a man must wear out one of 

 each kind every day in order to make the old hoe 

 as profitable as the new one. 



As to plows, the mould-boards of modern plows 

 are varied, and adapted to either sandy or clayey 

 land. He was not certain as to the superiority of 

 the Michigan plow. The harrow would sometimes 



than the new ; but then the new was heavier, and j bring the first furrow to the top. The share of 

 was more liable to get out of repair. The new hoe [those first made was not wide enough. As to the 



costs more than the old, and the amount of labor 

 expended in worldng with a hoe which clogs — as 

 the old one does — was balanced by the increased 

 expense of the new hoe. Labor must be employed 

 to earn the extra amount of money to buy a 

 new fashioned hoe, and that labor which would 

 be necessary to earn the extra money, would do the 

 work with the old hoe. So that it amounts to the 

 same thing whether you expend a certain amount 

 of force with the old hoe, or buy a new one and 

 then spend the same amount of force or labor to 

 pay for it. This argument seemed to excite some 

 incredulous smiles on the part of the audience, 

 and gave rise to some cross-questioning; but nothing 

 was elicited. 



Mowing Machines were next spoken of, and 

 these Mr. Brooks thought were an improvement 

 wherever they can be used. There were disadvan- 

 tages with them, however, the greatest of which 

 he had found tcJ be that more men were needed to 

 secure the hay when dry, than could be profitably 



draft of a plow, he was certain that a large one, — 

 Eagle, No. 25, for example — would turn a furrow 

 7 inches by 12, with as little power as a small plow. 

 He had seen that matter tested by experiments 

 which occupied two days. 



He agreed that the Independent Horse Rake was 

 a good one. In the use of mowing machines, he 

 had tried oxen, and found them able to mow an acre 

 in an hour, and to do it as well as horses. He had 

 found no difficulty in keeping liis men employed 

 throughout the day. 



Mr. Hauvey Dodge, of Sutton, was surprised to 

 hear his friend from Essex speak of using a harrow 

 after a Michigan plow. The road-maker uses a 

 harrow to bring the earth to a consistency. The 

 real Michigan plow does its work perfectly. All 

 that is needed after it to smooth the land, is half-a- 

 dozen white birches, put into a straight stick, and 

 drawn over the land, to fit it to sow or mow. Three 

 heavy yokes of oxen are needed on Worcester coun- 

 ty land, to draw the Michigan plow. 



