172 POWER AND THE PLOW 



now been practically discarded, especially for large power units. 

 On the Pacific Coast, however, the large ranchers still use 

 many Stockton gangs, these being cheap and fairly effective 

 modifications of the moldboard gangs. On a triangular wooden 

 frame are fixed from three to eight rigid iron standards, each 

 holding a reversible plow shape. Each plow cuts a furrow 

 eight to ten inches wide and of shallow depth, stirring, rather 

 than turning, the soil. This plow was originally designed as 

 a cultivator, but has been adopted as an engine gang plow by 

 large land owners who adhere to the exploitive type of farming. 

 With the large engines used in that section, a strip thirty to 

 forty feet wide is often plowed at one time and as high as 

 ninety to one hundred acres skimmed in one day. The result- 

 ing outfits are unwieldy, and will undoubtedly give way also 

 to those using larger and more compact plow units, with the 

 capacity for deeper and better plowing. 



FLEXIBLE ENGINE GANGS 



The flexible hitch moldboard gangs range in size from four 

 to sixteen bottoms. The smallest frames are made lighter for 

 use with small tractors, and some are arranged to use from four 

 to six bottoms according to the nature of the soil. The six- 

 teen-bottom size is made only for extremely light soils. Ordi- 

 narily the frames are made to accommodate from six to twelve 

 bottoms, with an extension providing for one or two more if 

 desired. 



The hand-lift gangs consist of frame, carrying wheels, plat- 

 form, plow bottoms, levers, hitches, gauge wheels, and coulters. 

 The frame is triangular in general outline, built up of steel 

 parts, which are solidly trussed and riveted into a rigid whole. 

 The large gangs are sometimes made with flexible frames, 

 which adapt themselves to uneven ground. On several of 

 these the frame is made up of two sections, each of which may 

 be converted into a separate frame for use with a smaller engine. 



