54 FARM MACHINERY 



farm at Marshfield, Massachusetts. It was over 12 feet long, 

 turned a furrow 18 inches wide and 12 inches or more deep, 

 and required several men and yoke of oxen to operate it. 

 ^xOiarles Newbold, of Burlington, New Jersey, secured the first 

 letters patent on a plow in 1797. Newbold's plow differed from 

 others in that it was made almost entirely of iron. It is stated 



FIG. 32 THE NEWBOLD PLOW 



that the farmers of the time rejected the plow upon the theory 

 that so much iron drawn through the soil poisoned it. and not 

 only retarded "the growth of plants, but stimulatedTTne growth 

 of weeds. 



Jetlvro Wood gave the American plow its proper shape. The 

 moldboard was given such a curvature as to turn the furrow 

 evenly and to distribute the wear well. Although Wood's plow 

 was a model for others which followed, he was unrewarded for 

 his work, and finally died in want. William H. Seward, former 

 Secretary of State, said of him: "No man has benefited his 

 country pecuniarily more than Jethro Wood, and no man has 

 been as inadequately rewarded." 



86. The steel plow. -As farming moved farther west the early 

 settlers found a new problem in the tough sods of the prairie 

 States. A special plow with a very long, sloping moldboard 

 was found to be necessary in order to reduce friction and to turn 

 the sod over smoothly. Owing to the firmness of the sod. it 

 was found that curved rods might be substituted for the mold- 

 board. Later when the sod became reduced it was found that 

 the wooden and cast-iron plows used in the eastern portion of 

 the country would not scour well. This difficulty led to the 



