THE PLOW IN GREAT BRITAIN 143 



In England a great step in advance was made when, in 1785, 

 Robert Ransome, of Ipswich, obtained a patent for making 

 plowshares of cast iron, and again in 1803, when the same 

 man perfected a method of case-hardening, or chilling, shares. 

 Between 1800 and 1810 the plow made entirely of cast iron came 

 into general use, and for the next quarter century the changes 

 were largely in the way of local adaptations. About 1840 Rev. 

 W. L. Rham proposed that all lines of the plow running from 

 front to rear should be straight, the vertical lines being suited 

 to the different soils i.e., convex for stiff clay, straight for mel- 

 low loams, and concave for sandy and loose soils. His theories 

 were generally adopted in England, and in America plowmakers 



Howard's plow. The utmost perfection in English plows of 1870 



were already following Pickering's teachings in this respect. 

 About the same time, Mr. Howard had produced a plow with 

 a share closely resembling modern types. Both his plow and 

 Ransome's had jointers, gauge wheels, knife coulters and other 

 improvements, and represented the latest stage of perfection. 

 Factories established by these two men are still in operation. 



