258 Report on Trials of Plows. 



encounters any sudden strain, the wooden pin breaks at once, and 

 its connection by the bolt leaves it simply as a loose joint, and 

 takes off all the strain until the obstacle is passed. 



It will be seen by a careful study of this arrangement that it 

 provides for a very wide range of adjustment. The wheels may 

 be set at any distance apart by raising or lowering the curved 

 levers in the slots of the vertical bars. The plow points may be 

 made to take more or less depth by means of the lifting lever. 

 Any one or more of the plows can be lifted from the ground, 

 either wholly or in part, by the holes at the slot ends of the 

 curved levers; they can be lengthened or shortened, and the 

 plov/ can be made to go as deep or as shallow as is desired. 



There is a semicircular arch shown in the fio-ure, one end of 

 which rests on the axle and the other on the slotted bars; it is 

 furnished on the outer circle with notches. A thumb latch at 

 the upper end of the lifting lever works a rod connected with a 

 spiral spring, and permits a bolt to enter the notches, by which 

 the teeth are raised out of the ground. 



A convenient seat for the driver, resting on a steel spring, is 

 seen in the figure. An arm projecting laterally can be bolted to 

 the end of either of the curved levers, by which the number of 

 plow or cultivator teeth can be increased at pleasure. 



The machine is also provided with a steering apparatus. An 

 iron bar is bolted to the under side of the axle, having a circular 

 disk in the center, in which is a circular slot. The pin of the 

 tongue is inserted in the slot, but is fastened by a bolt kept in 

 place by a spiral spring. When the spring is raised by a lever 

 the tono-ue has a motion of rotation to the extent of the circular 

 slots. An iron bar 1 foot 4 inches long projects from the tongue 

 on each side, and a chain passes from either end of it to the ends 

 of the under bar. A lever can therefore change the angle of the 

 tongue with the axle at pleasure. The machine was tried in all 

 the operations that it professed to perform, although we could 

 only consider it officially as a cultivator. 



It first operated as a seed-sower, scattering rye very evenly, 

 and covering it with four plows running shallow and turning the 

 earth all one way. Next it worked with seven cultivator teeth, 

 throwing the earth in opposite directions. It cultivated two rows 

 of corn, one plow on each side throwing earth towards the corn 

 and one throwing it away from it. Again, all the plows threw 

 earth towards the corn, and then both threw it away from it. 



