280 Report of the Special Coiimittee. 



The mould-board was removed from No. 65, and the plow was 

 made to run seven inches deep, with the following results: 



The consumption of power by the mould-board would thus 

 appear to be 482 — 512 := 30 pounds, or 5,8 per cent, of the whole 

 amount; the consumption by the sole, 14.5 per cent of the whole 

 amount. 



In Mr. Morton's experiments, 10 per cent of the whole power 

 was consumed in turning the furrow, which is very small, but 4.2 

 per cent less than our experiments would indicate. In Mr. Pusey's 

 experiments, 50 per cent of the power was consumed in what he 

 calls surface draught; but it must be observed that this was 

 obtained by running the plow through an empty furrow, and 

 embraces the friction of the land side as well as of the sole, whereas 

 ours was obtained by simply allowing the plow to run over the 

 top of the ground, and we therefore obtained the friction of the 

 sole without being complicated by the land side. 



The plows which we used were so constructed that the land 

 side could not be detached from the share, and we were, there- 

 fore, unable to determine the power required by the land side 

 and the share separately. 



The power required to draw the plow through a furrow seven 

 inches deep was, as we have seen, 512 pounds. Power absorbed 

 by the sole, 77 pounds; power absorbed by the mould-board, 30 

 pounds. Now, if we assume with Mr. Pusey, that the sole and 

 land side together consume 50 per cent of the whole power, then 

 50 — 1.45 = 35.5 per cent, which is absorbed by the land side; 

 therefore, the poAver consumed by the land side is 179 pounds, 

 leaving for the power required for share and coulter 226 pounds. 



V. What is the influence of the coulter on draught ? 



Mr. Stephens has stated the result of a very remarkable experi- 

 ment tried by him to ascertain the influence of the coulter upon 

 the draught. He adjusted a plow Avith a coulter which projected 

 seven inches beloAv the sole of the ploAv, and having adjusted the 

 hook of the Avhitfle-trees in the l)ridle, so that the sole would 



