CULTIVATION OP CROPS. 61 



So an acre may require eight or nine hours. Ploughs 

 cutting a double furrow, or three, four, or more furrows at 

 the same time may be estimated on the same lines. 



Points in Ploughing. Ploughs with one or two wheels 

 are the easiest for the inexperienced, and practice, with the 

 advantages of a good steady team, and an implement 

 suitable for the soil, with the further advantages of being 

 acquainted with the principles upon which the 'machine 

 does its work, are all effective in training for this kind of 



labor. The plough 

 body and beam 

 should be upright in 

 the furrow while at 

 work. The wheels 

 are for regulating: 



Wheel Plough British Style. . 



the width a n d 



depth, and for turning the plough round at each end of the 

 furrow. The small, or land wheel, runs on the surface of 

 the ground, and the higher it is drawn up, the deeper the 

 plough will work. The large or furrow wheel runs in 

 the preceding furrow, level with the bottom of the plough, 

 and regulates the width of the furrow slice. 

 The plough should come out of each furrow easily at the 

 end, by a little pressure on the handles whilst the 

 horses are moving forwards. The plough should not be 

 lifted or carried round at the end of the work, but 

 must follow the horses or draught power, and should be 

 turned on the large, not on the small wheel. A little 

 practice soon enables this to be done easily. The draught 

 chain at the head should be set so that the plough will run 

 straight forward in work, and the best point will soon be 

 found by trying it in the different positions from the centre 

 either to the right or left. It can also be raised or lowered 

 for hard or soft land. Two horses or six bullocks are found 

 sufficient for ordinary work. Yoke them in pairs. In dry 

 soil the animals should be further from the plough than in 

 loose or soft soil. Steel breasts or mould-boards are better 

 than iron for stiff soil. The share should have more or less 

 inclination downwards at the point in proportion to the 

 hardness of softness of the soil. Stiti' soils require sharp 



