304 



Ploughs and Ploughing. 



other, as shown in Fig. 5, designed for doing the work extra deep 

 and extra broken ; while to do away with the necessity of leaving 

 large and deep finishing furrows, reversible or one-way ploughs 

 are common, whereby the furrow-slices are all laid one way, and 

 there are no open furrows left at the finish at all. For sidelong 

 or hillside ploughing one-way ploughs are particularly suitable, 

 as the furrow-slice can then be always thrown downhill, thereby 

 rendering the work much easier. A common practice in 

 x^merica is to plough round and round a field and finish in the 

 centre. This system obviates all the trouble and waste of 



labour connected with "drawing off" a field into ridges or 

 stetches, making the finishing furrows and turning at the land 

 ends. 



In the writer's district, for instance, the ploughmen actually 

 cannot " open up " a field — even where there are pre-existing 

 furrows — without having the first furrow-slice " chucked away " ; 

 if this is not done, then the crown of each ridge will be made 

 to stand up like a turf dyke down the field. Yet this system 

 is actually approved of by the masters and encouraged at 

 the ploughing matches. All this trouble and waste of labour 

 would be obviated by the use of a one-way digging plough. 



On digging ploughs and others of a similar nature there is 

 sometimes fitted a tail-knife which cuts and still further divides 

 the furrow-slice after it has passed from the mouldboard. 

 This is an invaluable aid on clay soils which do not readily 

 pulverise, where a wide and deep furrow is being taken, but is 

 not so necessary on the lighter classes. 



Fig. 5. — Chilled Steel Digging Plough 



