1 1 2 Implements of Husbandry. 



general purposes. The Rotherham plough, (with a straight 

 mould-board), was, it is said, the first light swing-plough, 

 adapted for two horses, that was used in England. From 

 Yorkshire, it was introduced into Suffolk, and other Eng- 

 lish counties, and into Scotland, about the year 1742 ( I6z ). 

 But it was not till the year 1764, that a plough, with the 

 curve mould-board, was manufactured by Small, an ingenious 

 mechanic in Berwickshire ; and he afterwards made a still 

 greater improvement, that of forming the mould-board of 

 cast-iron, instead of wood covered with plates of iron, as it 

 formerly was. This plan was of great use, not only on ac- 

 count of the cheapness and durability of the metal, but as, 

 when a mould is once formed on correct principles, any 

 number can be cast, and sent to any part of a country, and 

 thus, nothing is left to the ignorance or caprice of country 

 artisans, in the construction of this important part of the in- 

 strument ( I(S3 ). Latterly, the whole implement has been 

 made of iron, which is not affected by any weather, nor 

 liable to suffer from any climate. The most recent im- 

 provements in the plough have been made by Mr Wilkie 

 of Udingstone, near Hamilton ; in particular by his intro- 

 ducing a wheel under the plough, by which the friction of 

 the sole of the plough, on the bottom of the furrow, is in 

 a great measure prevented. It has been calculated, indeed, 

 that with this improvement, a plough is drawn with one- 

 fourth, and, in some circumstances, nearly one-third less 

 power, than on the former construction. 



2. Harrows. Implements of this description are neces- 

 sary in the practice of husbandry, to pulverize the ground, 

 to clear it of weeds, to prepare it for the operation of 

 sowing, and to cover the seed when sown. It is evident, 

 that the construction of harrows ought to depend on the 

 nature of the soil. Those which are best calculated for 

 strong clay, cannot be the most suitable for light sandy soils. 

 The following are the principal rules regarding the forma- 

 tion of harrows : 1. That not any two of the teeth should 

 move in one track ; 2. That the tracks should be at equal 

 distances from each other ; and, 3. That the teeth should 

 either be round, or perhaps with a sharp edge bent forward, 

 like so many coulters, as they make themselves cleaner than 

 when they are square, or of any other shape, and work easier 

 after the horses. The teeth of harrows are frequently made 

 of unequal lengths, the front row being about half an inch 

 longer than the second, and the third row being about one 



