178 



NEAV ENGLAND FAlliMEK. 



April 



PLOWS AND PLOWINO-. 



In the weekly Farmer of Feljruary 20, and in 

 the monthly for Mai'ch, page 2S, we briefly spoke 

 of the operation of plowing, of the efforts that 

 have been made to devise new forms of the 

 plow, and introduced two or three illustrations of 

 the new Universal Plow, recently invented by 

 Mr. Frederick Holbrook, of Brattleboro', Vt. 



As the proof of the pudding is in the eating, 

 so the test of the plow is in the using ; for, to 

 the eye, it may possess all the graceful curves 

 and nice lines imaginable, in beam, mould-board, 

 share and cutter, yet upon applying it to the work 

 about to be done,, it will sometimes fail to accom- 

 plish it. In the construction of plows, whatever 

 be the sort used, there are a few general princi- 

 ples that ought invariably to be attended to, and 

 Mr. Holbrook has given these the nicest care. 

 It will be seen that he has given that part which 

 "enters, perforates, and breaks up the ground, 

 that sort of long, narrow, clean, tapering, sharp- 

 ened form, that affords the least resistance in 

 passing through the land ; and to the mould- 

 board, that kind of hollo wed-out and twisted 

 form, which not only tends to lessen friction, but 

 also to contribute greatly to the perfect turning 

 over of the furrow-slice." The beam is also so 

 contrived that the team may be attached in the 

 most advantageous line of draught. 



Some of the advantages of the Universal 

 Plow are these : It is sold with one mould-board 

 only, or with any number, as the purchaser may 

 select. It is a desirable implement if but one 

 mould-board is wanted, because that one will do 

 thorough and finished work, and when worn away 

 considerably or broken by accident, its place can 

 be cheaply supplied with a new one. Again, the 

 purchaser, after obtaining one mould-board, and 

 the standard, share and frame-work to go with it 

 can at any time procure such other mould-boards, 

 of the series as he would like, at slight expense, 

 as compared with buying new plows entire ; and 

 thus he may be induced to employ a larger and 

 better assortment of plows, suited to his various 

 fields and modes of culture, than he would other- 

 wise use. 



The opinion which we offer of these Plows was 

 not made up in the parlor, by reading descrip- 

 tions and an examination of figures of them, but 

 by actual trial in the field, and in the presence of 

 many spectators. 



It was on one of those calm and sunny days of 

 middle November last, that some dozen persons — 

 most of them as good at the handle of the plow 

 as any son of Neptune ever was at the helm of a 

 ship — assembled upon our farm to test the Uni- 

 versal Ploio. Mr. Holbrook, the inventor, was 

 present, and assisted throughout the day. His 

 associates were all practical farmers, men who 



not only plan but work out results by their pa- 

 tient, daily labor, and who quickly discover and 

 appreciate whatever will be likely to facilitate 

 their plans and increase their profits. The teams 

 for the occasion were a pair of horses, a yoke of 

 oxen and a four horse team, so that whatever 

 change was made in the plow for working deep 

 or shallow, narrow or wide furrow-slices, there 

 was a team present ready for it. 



The ground to be plowed was free from stones, 

 a portion of it covered with a thick sward, and 

 the remainder stubble ground. It is scarcely 

 necessary to occupy space with a detail of the 

 precise operations of the several mould-boards, 

 as to inches in depth and width, as there was no 

 difficulty whatever in doing as much good ivork 

 within a limited time as would satisfy the most 

 exacting. At high noon the teams went to their 

 provender, and the plow people from labor to re- 

 freshment. The ample dinner provided by the 

 mistress of the mansion was pretty much a home- 

 made affair ; roasted turkey and cranbeiTy sauce, 

 delicious ham and cup potatoes, bread from wheat 

 that grew in the young orchard, and pies from the 

 apple-trees that stood among thewh(;at, with va- 

 rious incidentals, made up the country dinner ; 

 but all this was seasoned with an earnest, intelli- 

 gent and instructive conversation upon Plows 

 and Plowing, in character with the work that had 

 been done. It was in reality a feast of reason, as 

 well as of the good things which the farm affords. 



Thus physically and mentally refreshed, as soon 

 as the sun leaned from the zenith to the west, 

 men and teams were moving again, and continued 

 the trial throughout the afternoon. Mr. Hol- 

 brook invited any objection that presented itself, 

 and gave such pertinent illustrations both by 

 hand and word, as to satisfy all that he had 

 achieved a signal success with the plow. The day 

 was not long enough to permit a trial of all the 

 mould-boards ; but two or three of the intervale, 

 as many of the upland, t\ie prairie and the double 

 mould-board or skim-plow were tested. 



Something was certainly due to the skill with 

 which the plows were handled, though these ex- 

 perienced workmen were unanimous in their 

 commendation of every pattern that Avas tried. 

 The double plow drew forth lively cnconiums ; 

 and it was often said — "I liave never seen so good 

 work with the skim-plow done before." The 

 stubble-plow certainly surpassed in execution any 

 we had before seen, in throwing up a large col- 

 umn of earth, and leaving it in a loose and well 

 pulverized condition ; and this without an un- 

 usual strength of team, a pair of horses doing 

 the work. 



We feel free to advise our friends to make a 

 careful examination of the Universal Plow before 

 purchasing. 



