DITCHING PLOWS. 139 



of the beam and handles, that it may be run down in the 

 bottom of a ditch to a depth of four feet. It is, perhaps, 

 the best implement of the kind for all purposes and soils. 

 The movable portion of the beam is attached to the fixed 

 beam by a stout loop and staple, and rises on a cast-iron 

 arc, which jDasses through it, as shown by the dotted lines. 

 The handles rise on a stiff, wooden arc, (as tlie dotted lines 

 exhibit,) a piece of thick plank, shown in the small figure 

 on the right, being placed between the handles and fast- 

 ened to them, to render them more firm and steady. The 

 iron work, although light, is braced so as to impart great 

 strength and security. The point is screwed on separate- 

 ly, and is nearly the only part that wears by use. 



This ditching plow may be used for common subsoiling, 

 the shortness of the share rendering it especially adapted 

 to stony land. 



Several ditching machines have been constructed for 

 performing the entire operation of cutting the earth and 

 throwing it out, but nearly all of them are too complex 

 for common use. Except in land entirely free from stone, 

 some of their many parts are liable to become bent or in- 

 jured by use, and a very slight derangement of this kind 

 renders them partly or entirely useless. Any ditching 

 machine, therefore, to work well among stone, must be 

 simple and strong, so as to withstand the frequent shocks 

 met with in overcoming obstructions in the soil. 



. MOLE PLOW. 



The Mole Plow has a wooden beam, sheathed with iron 

 on the lower side, which moves close to the ground, be- 

 low which a thin, broad coulter extends downward, and 

 to the lower end of this coulter a sharp iron cylinder is 

 attached. This moves horizontally, point foremost, through 

 the soil, producing a hollow channel beneath the plow for 

 the escape of the water, the only trace on the surface be- 



