PLOWING. 



79 



REPORT ON PLOWING. 



BY. K. G. mow, M. D. 



"Was the plow used by Adam? "And the Lord God planted a 

 garden eastward in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had 

 formed."— Gen. ii: 8. After planting, we find that " The Lord God 

 took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it, and 

 to keep it." — Gen. ii : 15. 



Let us, for a moment, contemplate the man, created by divine wis- 

 dom for agricultural pursuits. In his physical nature, he was a fin- 

 ished production of infinite skill. Intellectually, as a perfect model, 

 he must have stood at a height, that none of his descendants can 

 hope to reach ; while, upon his moral nature no blighting stain had 

 fallen. The lineaments of an endless life were his. 



For such a man, the cultivation of the ground was deemed by the 

 Creator, a suitable employment. But we are not informed in regard 

 to the manner in which Adam carried on his farming operations. We 

 are not told, whether he used a spade or plow, rake or harrow, hoe 

 or corn-planter. We feel quite sure, however, that in the absence of 

 the sons of the " Emerald Isle," he could not have relied exclusively 

 on the spade, in preparation of the soil, even before the thorns and 

 briers came. It will not at all surprise us, if at some future day, a 

 Layard should exhume from the garden of Eden the original pat- 

 tern of the genuine Michigan plow. 



To the successful prosecution of agricultural pursuits, a thorough 

 preparation of the soil for the reception of seed, is essential. One of 

 the most, if not, indeed, the most, essential implement for the accom- 

 plishment of this object, is the plow. The office of a plow is to stir 

 and turn over the soil from a suitable depth, leaving it in a light and 

 thoroughly pulverized condition. It is not enough that the ground 

 is simply turned upside down. A plow may be capable of domg 

 this in the most perfect manner, and still be very imperfect ; for, it is 

 easy to see that, so far as it fails to pulverize and render the furrow 

 light, a necessity is created for the additional labor of the harroAV. 



It is proper, also, in forming our estimate of the true value of a 

 plow, to consider the strength of team necessary, and the ease with 

 which it can be managed. 



In regard to the question so much agitated at the present tune 



