History of the Plow. 117 



the greatest, the bending of the furrow will continue and be 

 increased as it passes horizontally as well as in its ascent. By 

 forming the lines of ascent cycloidal concavely and the horizontal 

 lines cycloidal convexly, the twist in the mould-board will gradu- 

 ally increase from the fore to the hinder part as the curves con- 

 tract, which Avill operate very advantageously in pulverizing the 

 soil. The convex cycloidal form given to the horizontal lines will 

 cause the furrow slice to leave the mould-board in a direction 

 M'cll calculated to prevent it from falling otf in segments. The 

 advantages possessed by this mould-board, as has been abundantly 

 proved in practice, are, that it will seem light, and that it will 

 turn the furrow slice over in a connected sheet well pulverized." 



It has always been an object with inventors to diminish the 

 friction of the land side. The first earnest attempt to realize this 

 idea in practice was by T. D. Burrall, of Geneva, who claimed, on 

 the 28th of October, 1843, as follows: 



"The nature of the invention consists in removing the sole of 

 the land side, and placing an inclined wheel, denominated a shell 

 wheel, between the land side and the mould-board, with its face 

 in a line with the cut of the coulter. The land side curves up 

 from the point of the share and backward to the junction of the 

 handle and beam. The beam is halved on the land side outward 

 and the handle is aifixed to the side of it, the whole being secured 

 by a screw bolt passing through them. This forms a secure joint, 

 without tenon and mortise, without materially weakening the beam 

 or handles. This plow was carefully tested by the New York State 

 Agricultural Society. At first it ran easier than the plows that 

 were tried in competition with it, but after a little while it became 

 choked, and then its draft was greater than the others. The 

 judges of the society did not consider it an improvement, and we 

 believe the public have pretty fully ratified their decision." 



In the year 1839, Cyrus Alger, of Boston, received a patent for 

 annealing cast iron plows, by which they were rendered malleable, 

 so that the shape could be altered when desired, and then hardens I 

 and tempered like steel. We are not informed whether this 

 patent was ever brought into practical use, or whether it answered, 

 in any tolerable degree, the purposes for which it was designed. 

 If it really accomplished what it proposed to do, it would, in our 

 judgment, be very important. 



The next attempt at a mathematical mould-board was made by 

 Mr. Samuel A. Knox, of Worcester, for m.-iiiy years the foreni.iii 



