History of the Plow. 97 



" There arc other points that should be kept in view, particn- 

 hirly the line of draft, compromised in the height of the horses' 

 breast, and of the end of the beam and its length. I know plow- 

 makers Avho are unacquainted with this essential principle. When 

 the land side is straight on the bottom from point to heel, the 

 end of the beam must be one inch or more higher in order to 

 make it enter, particuhirly in rough or hard land. This inch in 

 the forward end of the beam places it thus much above the line 

 of draught. In drawing, the team pulls the beam down, causing 

 the plow to run on the point, and causing it to run unsteady, and, 

 as farmers say, to root the ground. The half inch concave on the 

 l)()ttom will enable the plowmaker to fix the beam below the 

 line of draught, which will make the plow run flat, and not ren- 

 dering it liable to tip up behind when meeting with obstructions. 

 This principle, as simple as it is, gave m}^ plow a decided prefer- 

 ence. The proper length of the beam is important, and often 

 overlooked. Although smooth, mellow soil requires some varia- 

 tion in the plow from that designed for hard and stony land, yet 

 for hind in ijeneral two or three inches in the beam makes o-reat 

 difference in the running, throwing the end out of the line of 

 draught. The length that I have found as generally best for an 

 half inch concave is two feet two inches. I place my plow on a 

 straight place, then measure the perpendicular from the point of 

 the plow to the beam; then from this point two feet two inches to 

 the end of the beam. For hard ground, two feet, and for mellow 

 soil, two feet four inches are the extreme lengths. 



"Owing to the ignorance and prejudice of ftirmers it has cost 

 me more labor to introduce my plow than to make the improve- 

 ments. These difficulties were aggravated by having my improve- 

 ments pirated by almost every plowmaker in the country. The 

 province of Congress is to give protection to the real inventor, 

 not to convey his improvements to another. Every farmer has a 

 I'ight to his own field and its products; equally inalienable are the 

 rights of inventors. 



" My long experience in the construction and great familiarity 

 with the use of the plow have led me to comprise the excellencies 

 of the plow in seven essential points — materials, strength, draught, 

 expense of first construction, workmanship, yearly expenses and 

 performance. A deficiency in one of these may make the plow 

 comparatively worthless. 



