PLOWS FOR ANIMAL POWER 163 



grade is cheaper to manufacture, not only because the cost 

 of materials is less but because more labor and equipment are 

 required for handling the higher carbon steel. The softer 

 metal has a coarse grain which becomes fractured if a beam is 

 sprung. Even if straightened it will easily bend again at the 

 same point. The higher quality of steel is more elastic and 

 can be restored again to its original condition. 



A low, rather straight beam, curved to join the plow bottom, 

 is used on prairie breakers. On stubble plows the beam is 

 usually higher and has greater curvature, so as to clear the 

 trash and weeds. For stubble plowing in very hard ground 

 a high beam with a goose neck is necessary to keep the plow 

 in the ground. On wooden beam plows and on some gang 

 plows where a perfectly straight beam is used a cast standard 

 sometimes connects the beam with the share, moldboard, and 

 landside, taking the place of the frog. The higher the beam 

 the greater the possible adjustment as to depth and the greater 

 the ease with which a rolling coulter can be used. 



The clevis, or bridle, as it was formerly called, is provided 

 for connecting the plow beam with the eveners. It is made 

 so that the plow may be adjusted for depth and width simply 

 by changing the position of the pins in the clevis. The handles, 

 which are usually fastened to the beam and the moldboard 

 or the frog, are provided for the use of the plowman in lifting 

 and guiding the plow. The modern plow, however, should 

 run easily with very little guiding by the operator. Handles 

 are usually of wood, although steel is being used to an increas- 

 ing extent. The coulter, or cutter, is provided to aid in severing 

 the furrow slice from the land. It may be fastened to the 

 landside of the share, extending upward out of the ground, in 

 which case it is known as a fin coulter. This type is quite 

 efficient for breaking sod, but much less so for stubble plowing. 

 The coulter may extend downward from the plow beam, the 

 other end either fastened to the plowshare or left free. A 

 plow thus rigged with standing cutter requires special knowledge 



