PLOUGH. 



PLOUGH. 



lines in the direction, first, from the point of 

 the share to the throat of the plough, to pro- 

 duce the effect of elevating the furrow-slice; 

 and, second, from the edge of the coulter to the 

 heel of the rest, to effect the turning of the flag, 

 is that which he has adopted ; making these 

 lines tend to an angle of 15 degrees. With the 

 assistance of an ingenious ploughwright in his 

 own neighbourhood, several ploughs on this 

 principle were constructed, and these have 

 been the basis upon which still further im- 

 provements in the detail have been carried 

 out. They are now so constructed that the 

 ploughman can readily shift his coulter by 

 HI'MIIS of a lever, which reaches the bottom of 

 the handles, and also his rests or mould-boards 

 from side to side, without leaving his station 

 between the handles of his plough, they being 

 so arranged that, by withdrawing a small pin 

 and pressing the projecting rest towards the 

 body of the plough, the mould-boards on either 

 side become alternately the land side when not 

 in work. 



Ploughs for the purpose of turning the fur- 

 rows all in one direction, and laying the slices 

 at an ansjle with the horizon, as is done by 

 the common plough, have been within the 

 last \ far or two brought before the public, but 

 we cannot learn that they have been generally 

 adopted. 



In going thus at length into the subject of 

 the plough, we have shown the present slate 

 ultural mechanics as respects those in 

 gf-nrral IIM-. To have gone more fully into 

 the description of those out of the common rou- 

 tine of farming, would have carried us beyond 

 what we imagine to be the proper limit of 

 this portion of the work. At the same time it 

 must be observed, that there are a variety of 

 purposes for which ploughs of a particular 

 form, different from any already described, are 

 required; such as paring ploughs, draining 

 , drill ploughs, &c. &c. On each, in- 

 deed on all of which, a considerable amount 

 of judgment and ingenuity has been expended. 



Ploughs even for common purposes have 

 been long in arriving at their present state; 

 and there are doubtless many improvements 

 that may yet be accomplished. 



In the construction of ploughs, the first ob- 

 ject to be borne in mind is the proper perform- 

 ance of the work to be done; the next, that this 

 should be effected with the least expenditure 

 of animal power, and with the greatest econo- 

 my; and, lastly, that they should be made as 

 simple as possible in reference to the plough- 

 man who will have to use them. The circum- 

 stance of repairs, which will be continually re- 

 quired as the parts wear out, should also be 

 kept in view, and the whole require to be made 

 on an accurate plan, so as to insure every part 

 fitting properly; the workman may then fix 

 them on the spot as readily as a mechanic at 

 his manufactory. Nor should it be forgotten 

 that quality of materials and workmanship are 

 main points in economy, and that to dispense 

 with either is to pave the way to dissatisfaction 

 and trouble to all parties concerned. 



It is difficult to suggest alterations on the 

 present implements, which appear adapted 



to the purpose, and likely to agree with the 

 description of the requisites just given ; but 

 there is no doubt that the plough, in its various 

 forms, is capable of great improvement; and 

 amongst the points to which attention may be 

 usefully directed are the following: 



Amount of draught that different forms of 

 mould-boards and shares require, in order to 

 determine those best suited to the purpose. 



A mould-board that will best turn the work 

 on either side of the plough, so as to admit of 

 its being changed from one to the other, after 

 the plan of the Kent turn-rest. 



A ready means of altering the depth or pitch 

 of the swing plough while in motion, without 

 stopping the horses, so that it may be accom- 

 modated to any difference in the nature of the 

 soil, or inequalities on its surface, which the 

 plough may meet with. 



The same as respects the wheel plough, with- 

 out placing any of its forces in opposition to 

 each other. 



Many papers on ploughs and ploughing are 

 contained in the best modern agricultural pe- 

 riodicals. Wilkie's turn-resfc plough is de- 

 scribed in the Trans. High. Soc. vol. vi. p. 484. 

 Mr. Heathcote's steam plough, Ibid. p. 72. Mr. 

 Laiillaw "On the general advantages of Two- 

 horse Ploughs," Qunrt. Ji/nrn. uf.flgr. vol. ii. p. 

 712. "On the Plough of Palestine," Ibid. vol. 

 iii. p. 373. "On Small's Plough as a Drill 

 Plough," Ibid. p. 854. " On the Mathematical 

 Construction of the Plough," by Mr. Amos, 

 Com. Board of Jgr. vol. vi. p. 437. " On Wheel 

 and Swing Ploughs," by Mr. Handley, Journ. 

 Roy. dgr. Soc. vol. i. p. 140. " On Draught in 

 Ploughing," by Mr. Pusey, Ibid. p. 219. "On 

 Subsoil Ploughing," by Sir James Graham, 

 Ibid. p. 245/ "On the Rackheath Subsoil 

 Plough," by Sir E. Stracey, Ibid. p. 253. " On 

 the Charlbury Subsoil Plough," by Mr. Pusey, 

 It'id. p. 433. "On the Rackheath Subturf 

 Plough," by Sir E. Stracey, Ibid. vol. ii. p. 37; 

 and "On a Light Subsoil Plough, adapted for 

 two Horses," by Mr. Gabell, Ibid. p. 421. 



The Plough in the United States. Whilst in 

 Europe, and particularl) in Great Britain, the 

 plough has been so much improved, American 

 intelligence and ingenuity have been rewarded 

 with great success in the same pursuit. The 

 implement which the pioneer is obliged to 

 make use of in first stirring and partially turn- 

 ing up the soil filled with roots and stones, is 

 necessarily very rude, sometimes almost equal 

 in this respect to those of the primitive ages 

 of husbandry. One of these rough contri- 

 vances is, in New England and the Northern 

 States, familiarly called the Bull plough. The 

 several improvements on the plough in the 

 United States seem to have progressed, for the 

 most part, with little or no reference to Eu- 

 ropean plans or models, and to have been 

 almost exclusively confined to swing-ploughs, 

 wheel-ploughs being scarcely ever seen. Sim- 

 plicity and economy seem to have been kept in 

 view by all who have undertaken to improve 

 or modify the implement. As the various sec- 

 tions of the Union present varieties in the con- 

 ditions of the soil, the ploughs are constructed 

 with reference to these conditions, so that in 



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