PLOUGH. 



PLOUGH. 



t>ack of the feather. The character of this 

 plough is to take a furrow of 10 inches in 

 breadth by 7 inches in depth, cut rectangular, 

 leaving the sole of the open furrow level and 

 clean. The resistance to the draught is gene- 

 rally below the average of ploughs, and this 

 plough is employed for every kind of soil. 

 The improved English swing plough, as made 

 by Ransom, is represented in PI. 17, e. 



The Northumberland plough, and the Berwick- 

 shire plough, are very nearly the same imple- 

 ment, differing from Small's plough in having 

 the mould-board less concave. 



\\'ill;ie's swing plough, which Loudon says is 

 the best iron swing plough in Scotland, is 

 formed entirely of iron, except the points of the 

 handles. Its characteristic, in point of form, 

 is a longer mould-board with a greater twist 

 in it, the object of which is to reverse the fur- 

 row more completely in light or highly pul- 

 verized soils. 



Finlityson's iron ploughs are, as he informs us 

 (British Farmer, p. 9), constructed in imitation 

 of those of Wilkie, but with improvements and 

 modifications adapted for particular circum- 

 stances. 



The heath or self-cleaning plough, or rid plough, 

 is formed with the beam so curved vertically, 

 or divided and curved horizontally, as to leave 

 ho resting-place for stubble, heath, or other ve- 

 getable matter, at the top of the coulter, where 

 in rough grounds, with ploughs of the ordinary 

 construction, it gets entangled and stops the 

 work. 



Finlayson's Kentish skeleton self-cleaning plough 

 (PI. 17,/) is intended as a substitute for the 

 common Kentish turn-wrest plough. "The 

 soil, in great part of Kent, is of a peculiarly 

 adhesive clay. When this soil is between the 

 \ret and dry, it adheres to the body of the 

 plough like glue, by which the draught is in- 

 creased probably double or treble." By sub- 

 stituting 3 or 4 iron rods for the mould-board, 

 the soil is prevented from adhering, while the 

 operation of ploughing is at the same time 

 performed in an equally perfect manner with 

 two horses as with four. This is accounted 

 for " by the whole surface of this plough not 

 being more than one-third or one-fourth the 

 surface of other ploughs." In like manner, 

 when it is necessary to dig or trench very 

 strong clayey soil between the wet and the dry, 

 the operation is performed with much greater 

 ease by a two-pronged fork. It is important to 

 agriculturists to know the opinion and expe- 

 rience of a man of so much science and ex- 

 tensive practice as the late Mr. Finlayson, who 

 says, "from my own experience I have no he- 

 sitation in saying that the most adhesive land 

 may, with ease, be ploughed by the skeleton 

 plough and one pair of good horses." 



Finlayson's line plough is characterized by a 

 rod which proceeds from the sheath of the 

 plough to the muzzle, which is put on when 

 the plough is drawn by horses in a line a very 

 disadvantageous manner, but yet common in 

 many parts of England. 



The Simierville siving plough is known by its 

 mould-board, a part of which is rendered mo- 

 vable by hinges; the advantage of this is, that 

 the furrow can be laid more or less flat at 



' pleasure. This plough, however, has been but 

 little used, and does not seem to meet the ap- 

 probation of the best cultivators. 



Turn-wrest swing ploughs are such as admit 

 of removing the mould-board from one side to 

 another at the end of each furrow, for the pur- 

 pose of throwing the earth removed always to 

 one side. Their principal use is in ploughing 

 i across steep declivities, in order that the 

 furrow-slice may always be thrown down. 

 Wherever it is practicable, however, it is best 

 to plough obliquely up and down such decli- 

 vities ; because the other practice soon renders 

 the soil too rich and deep at bottom, and too 

 thin and poor at top. 



Gruy's titrn-irrrxt string plough is one of the 

 most scientific implements of the kind. The 

 beam, head, and sheath, must always be placed 

 in the direction of a line passing along their 

 middle; and the two handles must be placed 

 equidistant on each side of that line. There 

 are two mould-boards and two coulters, and a 

 nvuilil-board is produced on either side, at 

 pleasure, by moving a lever between the 

 plough handles from the one side to the other. 

 The line of draught can be shifted with equal 

 ease and expedition, and at the same time one 

 of the coulters raised up clear of the land, and 

 placed along the side of the beam, whilst the 

 other is put <l.>wn, and placed in a proper po- 

 sition for cutting off the furrow-slice from the 

 furrow-ground. All this is performed at once, 

 without the ploughman changing his position, 

 by means of two levers. 



A skiin-and'rr (PI. 17, m, t/j) may be added 

 to any plough, and may be useful in turning 

 down green crops and long dung, as well as in 

 trench ploughing. But in most instances it is 

 thought a preferable plan, where the soil is to 

 be turned to an unusual depth, to make two 

 common swing ploughs follow each other in 

 the same track; the one before taking a shal- 

 low furrow, and the other going deeper, and 

 throwing up a new furrow upon the former. 



The double share plough is distinguished by 

 having one share fixed directly over the other. 

 It is made use of in some of the southern dis- 

 tricts of England with advantage, in putting in 

 one crop immediately after ploughing down 

 another; as by it a narrow, shallow furrow is 

 removed from the surface, and another from 

 below placed upon it, to such depth as may be 

 thought most proper, it being capable of act- 

 ing to 10 inches or more. In this manner 

 many sorts of crops, such as rye and other 

 green crops that have much height of stem, 

 may be turned down without the inconvenience 

 of any of the parts sticking out through the 

 seams of the furrow-slices, by which the farmer 

 has a clean surface of mould for the reception 

 of the grain. 



The mining plough, or trenching plough, is some- 

 times employed for the purpose of loosening 

 the soil to a great depth, without bringing it up 

 to the surface ; a mode of operation which is 

 particularly useful for various sorts of tap- 

 rooted plants, as well as for extirpating the 

 roots of such weeds as strike deep into the 

 i ground. For these purposes it may be em- 

 ployed in the bottom of the furrow after the 

 , common plough. It is constructed in a very 



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