690 
Report on Implements at Preston. 
land ploughed up before we could work the revolving harrows, 
we borrowed another plough to aid in the trial ; this was 
furnished by Mr. James Howard, who, with his usual prompt 
courtesy, lent us one of his Simplex ploughs, and ensured its 
being well driven by sending Hulatt, the veteran ploughman, who 
in old days often represented the firm in ploughing contests. It 
will be convenient to take the trial of whippletrees first, and 
leave the description of the other implements and of a draining 
plough, also tried in the field, till we speak of the Miscellaneous 
Implements later on in the Report. 
The trials began on Wednesday morning on Mr. Dodgson's 
Farm at Penwortham, a village on the south bank of the Ribble, 
on the Liverpool road. The field was in clover lea, a deep 
hazle loam, in dry free-working condition. The horses were 
found by Mr. Dodgson, powerful teams, but too-well matched for 
our purpose. This was remedied by having out some other of 
his horses, and dividing the pairs till we got teams that pulled 
with sufficient irregularity to test the compensating powers of 
the different adjustments of the whippletrees. 
In Class No. IV., Sets for Two Horses, the competitors 
invariably used the same material and principle of construction 
for the pomel-tree as for the whippletrees. Out of the nine 
entries, there were four of wood and iron, two of tubular iron, 
and three of steel. 
Round bars of ash, tapering towards the ends and braced 
with iron rods, were employed by T. Corbett, No. 2437, and 
by L. R. Knapp and Co., Nos. 1660 and 1661. The engraving 
given of this very common form of whippletree is from Knapp's 
No. 1660 ; it is lighter by 8 lbs. than his 1661, and shorter 
than Corbett's by lOf inches in the pomel-tree or main 
whippletree. 
Fig. 1. — Knapp's Whippletree, No. 1660. 
Ash bars of an oval section, with long iron links attached in 
an unusual way, were employed by Vipan and Headley ; the 
same form is given in the description of their entry in 
Class VI. on p. 700. 
