170 



Trial of Plovghs. 



Vol. VI. 



and rather stiff soil, in which they were 

 found very deficient; nay, but little better 

 than the plouoh that was sent by a noted 

 maker in Market street, Philadelphia, for 

 competition with the English ploughs, at the 

 Royal Agricultural Exhibition, the year bo- 

 fore this, where it was found totally impotent, 

 even in the hands of the noble president of 

 the society, the Duke of Richmond ; after a 

 coulter had been added to it, which it is said 

 not to need in this country. 



Now, I know not that there can be stronger 

 testimony to the truth of the assertion, that 

 Small's Scotch plough, so highly extolled 

 even by the Marquis of Tweeddale himself — 

 although working lightly, easily, and making 

 the most beautiful-looking work, as straight 

 as a line drawn from one end of the field to 

 the other, and capable of overcoming obstacles 

 in its progress which would be death and de- 

 struction to almost all others — is not suited to 

 the purpose of properly cultivating the soil ; 

 and to this conclusion I have come from ac- 

 tual observation and experience, having had 

 long and repeated opportunities to test its 

 powers with my own hands, and found it 

 wanting. The fact is, English although I 

 am, and with the means of forming a judg- 

 ment on the subject, which rarely falls to the 

 lot of a single individual, having witnessed 

 the operations of most of those ploughs best 

 known in England, and many also on the con- 

 tinent, I am free to confess that the ploughs 

 of America are the best I have ever known ; 

 but after this, I must be indulged with a pre- 

 ference, which I give, without prejudice, 

 interest, or undue partiality, to Prouty & 

 Mears's Centre-draught plough, being aware 

 at the same time, that it is necessary for a 

 man to see it, to examine it, and become ac- 

 quainted with its peculiarity of construction, 

 and to familiarize himself to its use, before 

 he will be able fully to do it justice. The 

 principle on which it operates is novel, and 

 its "going" will at first appear awkward and 

 inconvenient; but after awhile, it will be 

 found to do its work unlike all others, and in 

 a way which cannot be understood but by 

 practical men. It is professedly a flat-furrow 

 plough; but in the hands of a competent 

 workman, it can be made to throw its furrow 

 just where it is wished that it should fall ; 

 while the power which it has of turning the 

 furrow to bury sod, green crops, weeds, or 

 manure, as completely as though they had 

 never been, is, so far as I know, not pos- 

 sessed by any other, except, indeed, by Rug- 

 gies & Mason's, which is, confessedly, formed 

 on the same principles, and is at present the 

 subject of a law-suit, Messrs. Prouty &, Mears 

 complaining of an infringement of their pa- 

 tent. 



I am glad that Mr. Prouty, of this city, has 



proposed to give a day's ploughing with one 

 of his sod-ploughs, that practical men may 

 have the opportunity to try its powers with 

 their own h.ands; the trial is to continue 

 through the day, and be a complete test of 

 its qualifications; and if the team be strong, 

 and the ploughmen expert in their calling, I 

 cannot fancy any pleasure greater than will 

 be felt upon the occasion, by those who shall 

 attend the exhibition. I understand that Mr. 

 Prouty has addressed a letter on this interest- 

 ing subject to the Philadelphia Agricultural 

 Society. 



Since writing the above, another account 

 of a trial of ploughs has come into my hands, 

 a part of which 1 am tempted to copy, for the 

 sake of some of the observations accompany- 

 ing it, which fully bears out what has been 

 said above. The experiment was made at 

 Rozelle, Scotland, by a committee of the Ayr- 

 shire Agricultural Association. They say, 

 "Impressed with the great importance of en- 

 couraging improvements in agricultural im- 

 plements, and being particularly anxious to 

 ascertain the merits in point of force of 

 draught and superiority of work of the differ- 

 ent forms of ploughs usually employed in 

 this country, and of some obtained from Eng- 

 land," [not a word being said as to the celerity 

 with wiiich the work is to be done, be it re- 

 membered,] " we have resolved that compara- 

 tive trials should be made." Accordingly, 

 there appeared a very considerable number 

 of implements on the day appointed; the 

 ground chosen being a two years' old grass- 

 field, of strong clay-loam resting on a sub-soil 

 of naturally stubborn clay, also a bean-stubble 

 field of much lighter soil. The ploughs being 

 all weighed and numbered, the deputation ap- 

 pointed the judges to superintend the indica- 

 tions of the dynamometer, and to observe the 

 depth and breadth of furrow, and general 

 workings of the ploughs; the dimensions of 

 the furrow were fixed at nine inches wide and 

 six inches deep. It was deemed expedient, 

 that one ploughman and one pair of horses 

 should work all the ploughs, as the best 

 means of doing equal justice to all; and for 

 this purpose a man of known character was 

 appointed. 



The committee remark, " Comparing these 

 results as exhibited in the table, three things I 



