TOOLS 



American is inventive. The resnit is thar there is a tool 

 to expedite and lighten almost every labor. The ett'ort 

 of each man is mnltiplied. Not only are (he American 

 tools numerous and adapted to almost uve-i 

 tural labor, but they are trim, lii^iit and eoi 

 sign. 



A tool is properly a hand ini{dfment, 

 used to facilitate mere mainial labor. A 

 nuiehiue is a contrivance, usually nwvr 

 elaborate, that niultiidies and transmits 

 power or motion. Yet tools and inaL-hincs 

 eompletely that it is impossible to make a dv 

 gory of one or the other. The word implenu'nt is uiorr 

 generic, and applies to any intermediary dt-vice by 

 means of which a man accomplishes a givm work. 

 The phrase "agricultural implements." as used by 

 tradesmen, usually refers to both tools and machines. 

 In general discussions the word tool is used somewhat 

 indefinitely, as in this sketch; but even then it docs 

 not include complicated machinery. 



The tools used by luirticxiltnrists can be tiirown inlo 

 four general categories: 



1. Tools for tilling the land, as ]i1o\ts. harrows, roll- 

 ers, cultivators. weeders.hot-s, rakes. See TiUmj^ . 



■_'. Tools to facilitate various handwork, as seed- 

 sowers, transplanters, markers, pruning imple- 

 ments, and most greenhouse devices. 



3. Tools or machines to facilitate the destruction of 



insects and fumri. as funiiirators. syringes, spray- 

 ing devices. See Spra i/i inj, Ii'Sf:'vtii:i<Jt's. Fini- 

 (/iciiJes. 



4. Tools or vehicles for trausportinir. as carts, har- 



rows. 

 In the multiplic- 

 ity of tools, one is 

 often at a loss what 

 to purchase. The 

 buyer sliould have 

 a delinite idea of 

 the kind of labor 

 that he needs to 

 have per f orm]ed 

 and he should then 

 consider how well 

 adapted the tool 



may be to perform that labor, (jnee purchased, the tools 

 should Vie eared for. A tool shed orrooni is the greatest 

 convenience and often the greatest economy. Labor is 

 expedited and annt)yance saved if each tool has its 

 place. Every farm or garden should be provided with a 

 room that can be warmed in cobl weather, in which re- 

 pairs can be made on tools and machinery. No i.'eneral 

 farm barn is complete without su('ii a room. The care 

 of tools not only contributes to the longevity and use- 

 fulness of the implements themselves, but it sets dis- 

 tinct ideals before the farmer and therebyis ameans of 

 educating him. The greater the variety and the better 

 the quality of the tools the more alert the user of them 

 i-^ likelv to be. One should look up the new ideas in 



TOOLS 



1S1>1 



appears to have been a forked or crotched stick, one 

 prong of which was nsed as a handle ami the other as a 

 ideaving instrument. From this ihe hoe and the plow 

 appear to have developed. Fi--. l^r.^O. Tin. hoe and the 

 plow are srill the fiunlamental <ir i.rhnarv tillage tools. 



2529. An European ti'pe of plovN', stilt used in its improved forms. 



2530. The perfected American plow. 



one being for hand-work essentially what theotheris for 

 team-work. As the philosophy of tillai;e has come to 

 be better understood, tliese tools have bnu greatly 

 modiJied and varied. It is snr]>rising to ku<'\v tliat the 

 plow was not perfected until within a century. It is 

 doubtful if the invention of any of the most important 

 machines of modern times has really meant so much for 

 the welfare of the race as the birth" of this humble im- 

 plement. To many persons is ascribed the credit of the 

 invention of the modern plow, for the im]dement seems 

 to have originated independently in different countries, 

 and even in America there are various contestants for 



the honor. Thomas 

 Jefferson, Charles 

 Xewbold. David 

 Peacock, and others 

 have received the 

 honor. There i s 

 reason for ascrib- 

 inir the ni o d e r n 

 tvpe of plow to 

 ■T'ethro Wood, of 

 Scipio. C a y u g a 

 count V, New York. 

 The years ISU and 

 t important patents, al- 

 regarded as the natal 

 was iHjni in Massachu- 

 or ]^4i.i. (See "Jethro 



Lsl9 are the dates 

 though the latter 

 day of the implenn 

 setts in 1774 and i 



f his rno-- 

 < u-^uallv 

 \YoMd 

 !^d in 1S4-: 



nt 



2528. An early Yankee plow, made ot wood and the mold- 

 board protected by iron nailed on. After Robert^. 



tools each year as he does in markets or crops. The 

 advertising pages of rural papers are su^-L'-estive in this 

 direction. 

 The original tool for opening or tilling the ground^ 



Wood, inventor of the Modern Plow," by Frank Gilbert, 

 Chicago. 18SL*. ) The study of ]dows is a curious and 

 profital.de undertaking, and one that still needs to be 

 prosecuted. Some of the forms of plows, ancient and 

 modern, are shown in Figs. '2^^'27-'M). 



The large-area farming of North America and the ap- 

 prehension of the principles that underlie tillage have 

 resulted in the invention of a large number of surface- 

 workiuiT tillage tools. These inventions are particu- 

 larly inqiortant in orcharding, as theyenabh- the grower 

 to maintain the necessary surface mulch (see TiJlcuje 

 and Pom oh:> {I If ) with a small amount of labor and without 

 training the trees too high. Tin-re are now many culti- 

 vators and liarrows ^vliich cover a wide swath andwliich 

 are adapted to the liicht stirrinir 'd' the surface soil with- 

 out the turning of furriiws an<l the ridging of the land. 

 Fig. '-I.':;!, rtne who is '-ontemplating a seriotis 

 stuily of tilla;;'e tools should familiarize himself 

 with the inventions of dethro Tull. before the 

 middle of the eighteenth century. Tull devised 

 Implements to facilitate the tillage of plants 

 when they were growing in the field. 



In hand-tilIaLj:e tools tlie greatest recent ad- 

 vancement is in the development of the wheel 

 Fig. 25152. This light and simple tool, usually 

 with ad.iustal)le blades, performs the labor of many 

 sets of fingers and does the work more effectively so 

 far as tillatre is concerned. It also enforces better 

 initial pre]taration of the land in order that it may do 

 its work more perfectly; and this remark will also 

 apply to the modern seed-sowers. Fig. 2.'):;:;. 



Cnfortunately, there is no recent American hMok that 

 discusses the princi]des underlying 'the application of 

 farm tools and machinery. Practically, our only sus- 



