AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS. 239 



founder and worker in brass and iron on this continent, and 

 he certainly was the first to make any agricnltnral imple- 

 ments by machinery. The first threshing machine patented 

 in this country was in 1791, and was soon succeeded by 

 many more. The war with Great Britain in 1812, however, 

 stimulated invention and manufactures amazingly. 



From 1809 to 1819, from twenty to forty patents were 

 taken out on each of the inventions we have mentioned 

 above. 



The three great problems to be solved in the practical 

 operations of agricultural machinery were : first to skilfully, 

 effectual Ij' and cheaply prepare the ground for the reception 

 of the seed, and to cultivate the growing crops ; second, to 

 harvest them; and third, after harvesting, to prepare the 

 various grain crops for use or transportation. 



Of the first, the plough, as the most important, takes the 

 precedence of all others, having been used time out of mind 

 as the symbol of agriculture, and as the most ancient and 

 common to all ages and countries, as far as is within our 

 knowledge of history. 



The plough and ploughing are early mentioned in the sacred 

 writings. Perhaps the most notable passage is that in the 

 book of Kings, where Elisha, when called to prophesy, is 

 represented as ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen, — upon 

 which an old Dutch commentator remarks, " that if Elisha 

 had such ' breaking up ' to do, it was no wonder he quit 

 farming and turned to preaching." 



For hundreds of years, the plough was, while the most 

 necessary, yet the most clumsy of all implements in use, 

 rivalled only by the fl'iil ; and it is only about one hundred 

 years since the old-fashioned mould-hoard, hewed from a 

 plank and shod and strengthened by iron straps, was super- 

 seded by a cast-iron ploughshare. 



But little advance had been made in the old country, when 

 Charles Newbold of New Jersey, in 1797, patented the first 

 cast-iron plough ever used in this country; " being of solid 

 cast-iron, consisting of a bar, sheath and mould-plate, serving 

 for share and mould-board ; that is, to cut and turn the fur- 

 row." 



