Miscellaneous, 



184 



[February, 19i0. 



where ploughs are, however, most com- 

 monly used, and on the whole advisedly 

 so ; but there is no doubt that there 

 would be better ploughmen if everyone 

 had to learn to hold a plough without 

 wheels, for then he would have to give 

 attention to points which he regards 

 but little when using a plough mainly 

 held in position by the wheels ; just as 

 a boy who learns to ride a horse bare- 

 backed over a hurdle acquires a seat 

 that will always make him sit closer 

 and be safer balanced than one who 

 has always depended upon stirrups. 

 The holding of the plough itself is very 

 much a matter of balancing, and a 

 beginner wants to get the knack of it, 

 both for his own sake and tor the 

 sake of the horses, for he then does 

 with very little effort what another does 

 less well by much greater exertion. 

 Where the evenness of the surface 

 permits it, the plough runs more steadily 

 when the little wheel is set wide, but 

 when ploughing on land with a decided 

 and varying incline the greater width 

 between the wheels accentuates the 

 effect on the furrow, for when the little 

 wheel is on the lower side the ploughing: 

 is so much deeper than the level, while 

 when it is on the upper side it is so 

 much shallower. It is in cases such as 

 these that the gallows plough, with 

 the wheels on the fore-carriage allowing 

 the beam free action to turn to either 

 side, and so keep the body of the plough 

 perpendicular, or under the independ- 

 ent balancing of the holder, is really 

 a valuable implement. 



Wheels Must Run Plumb True. 



Where the wheels are depended upon 

 to regulate the depth of the ploughing 

 it is very important that they, and 

 the standards and axle supporting them, 

 are kept plumb true. If any part is 

 bent it should be put right by the 

 blacksmith, and any temporary derange- 

 ment be set right by packing with a 

 wedge to correct it. To set off the 

 coulter also should be arranged to assist 

 the running. Where there is a tendency 

 for the plough to run away from its 

 work, it should be set a trifle wide to 

 pull it back ; but if it runs in, then 

 it should be sent narrower. The coulter 

 can greatly aid when the plough runs 

 away from its work through the land 

 side of the point becoming rounded 

 and having a tendency to follow the 

 inclination of the curve so formed. The 

 coulter is ordinarily best set fairly well 

 forward, but on stony grounds it is de- 

 sirable to set it so that a stone does not 

 pitch between it and the share. By set- 

 ting a coulter point fairly forward, by its 

 inclination it runs freely into the softer 



ground below, and the cut is made up 

 the edge, and the hard surface yields 

 more easily so than when it is attacked 

 more vertically. Sharp knives make 

 easy work, blunt knives hard work ; 

 therefore the coulter, which is a knife 

 blade should be kept sharp. Some- 

 times" one sees them little more than 

 a round bar with three or four inches 

 flattened and thick to do the cuttings — 

 which is not economical. The nice 

 adjustment of the coulter is very essen- 

 tial to the easy running of the plough. 



The Skim Coulter. 



The skim coulter should be set to 

 throw dung, stubble, or weeds into 

 the furrow, and should always be 

 provided with a sharp share, because, 

 from its position, if it does not cut in 

 easily, but rides on the surface, it 

 makes the plough run very unevenly 

 and jumpily. Considering how well 

 the ordinary skim coulter turns its 

 little furrow it is strange that it was 

 not sooner adopted for bigger work, 

 as it is made practically on the same 

 lines as the modern digging plough. 

 The share which cuts the under part of 

 the furrow as the coulter cuts the side 

 (the other two sides not requiring cut- 

 ting), requires to be fit well in the 

 socket and should be in proper align- 

 ment. Where there is structural fault 

 which prevents the share being in 

 proper line the plough will be difficult 

 to hold, and if through wear there is 

 looseness the share must be corrected 

 by the use of thin leather wedges. 

 When a new share is put on after one 

 that has worn short, the ploughing will 

 be considerably deeper because the 

 share is set with a downward pitch, and 

 if the line is carried forward it would 

 be seen that it would run below the 

 bottom of the big wheel, therefore every 

 half-inch worn back from the point 

 appreciably reduces the depth of the 

 furrow ; as most shares have rather 

 greater inclination at the point this is 

 accentuated. On some soils the drawing 

 in, by pulling the wheels tighter down, 

 will make the furrow deeper than the 

 line of inclination indicates especially 

 where, as is often the case, the old share 

 has not only been shortened, but the 

 point has worn slightly upwards and 

 tended to lift the plough. 



Many years ago there was introduced 

 an ingenious attachment to readily 

 counteract the effect of a new share 

 by making the neck into which the 

 share socketed adjustable, This was 

 called a lever neck, and was placed be- 

 tween the breast and the body, 



