CHAPTER VI 



THE OBJECTS AND METHODS OF PLOWING 



PLOWING is of greater antiquity than any 

 other tillage operation because it was found 

 necessary to break ground so that seeds could 

 be planted long before stirring the soil for other 

 purposes was thought of. Four thousand years 

 ago, and probably earlier, the plow was the chief 

 and usually the only implement of tillage. The 

 style of plow that was used at different periods in 

 the history of the world is a very reliable index 

 to the agricultural development of the time; just 

 as to-day we gauge the ability of a farmer chiefly 

 by the skill and thoroughess with which he handles 

 the soil. 



The Early Plows. The primitive plow was a 

 small tree having a small branch starting out from 

 it in the form of the letter V. The trunk of this 

 was the beam, and the branch, which was much 

 shorter than the other and was sharpened, was the 

 point. The beam and point were often braced 

 by being tied together with a withe; a handle was 

 made by lashing another branch to the beam. 

 When this crude tool was dragged along the sur- 

 face it scratched the ground to a depth of three or 

 four inches deep enough to allow seeds to be 

 planted, which was considered the only reason for 

 plowing in those days. This very unsatisfactory 

 tool was replaced by wooden plows of various pat- 

 terns, most of which simply stirred the soil, but 

 did not invert it. Not till about the eleventh 



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