History of the Plow. 103 



power; but its draft is very easy. It won the second prize in the 

 great trial at Albany in 1850, in fallows and in stiff sods. 



It would be very improper to pass over the labors of the cele- 

 brated Daniel Webster, in a report on the history of plows. He 

 invented in the year 183G or 1837, a plow for work twelve and 

 fourteen inches deep, which is still in existence, the property of 

 his life-long and highly esteemed friend, Peter Harvey. It is 

 twelve feet long from the bridle to the tip of the handles; the 

 laud side is four feet long; the bar and share are forged together; 

 the mould-board is of wood plated wdth straps of iron; breadth 

 at the heel of the mould-board to land side, eighteen inches; 

 the spread of the mould-board w^as twenty-seven inches; the 

 lower edge of the beam was two feet four inches above the sole; 

 width of share fifteen inches. 



The history of this plow is so admirably stated in a letter from 

 Gov. Holbrook, of Vermont, that we give it in his words. "I 

 have certainly been faulty in recollection, in that I have not before 

 now, given you an account of what I personally know of the 

 efforts of the late Daniel Webster, to improve the plow for deep 

 thorough plowing. My memory was jogged in this regard by a 

 question put to me in a letter received from a friend, yesterday, 

 touching this matter; and, therefore, I now write to give you an 

 account of Mr. Webster's great plow. 



" You doubtless know that Mr. Webster was passionately fond of 

 farming and rural life, of farm stock, and especially large, sleek, 

 superb oxen, of which he always kept several yokes (as Ave say in 

 Yankee phrase) or pairs for the w^ork of the farm at Marshfield. 

 He not only himself raised the best of large, lusty steers, which 

 were closely matched and trained to the yoke, but not unfrequently 

 he bought Avorking oxen when opportunities offered for securing 

 those which Av^ere Avell matched, Avell trained, of large size and 

 superior quality. 



'• In perfect accordance with his thoroughness in everything else, 

 he belicA'^ed in deep, thorough ploAA^ing, and that our farmers Avere 

 quite too superficial in the tillage of the land. But at that early 

 day there Avere no ploAA's made that could turn a furrow of more 

 than fiA^e or six inches deep. Therefore, he determined to make 

 a ploAV himself that would give him the depth of furroAv he desired 

 in his farming, for a deeper furroAV he must have, no matter, he 

 said, if it was a foot deep. 



" According!}^, some thirty years ago or more, he set himself at 



