HISTORY OF THE CAST-IRON PLOW. 
121 
HISTORY OF THE CAST-IRON PLOW. 
First Improvement of the Plow in Europe. —Al¬ 
though Fitzherbert, in 1532, Heresbach, in 1570, 
Worlidge, in 1677, and Tull about 1703, wrote 
more or less on the subject of plows, we can 
find no record of any decided improvement in them 
till Joseph Foljambe, of Yorkshire, England, got 
out a patent for one in 1720. His first was made 
in the town of Rotherham, and hence its name, 
“ Rotherham plow,” which it has ever since borne. 
Previous to this, the plow was a great, heavy im¬ 
plement, consisting almost entirely of wood, and was 
of exceedingly rude construction. It required from 
four to eight horses to draw it, and even then, it did 
its work in a very slow and imperfect manner. 
Figure 28, gives the reader an accurate idea of 
Foljambe’s plow, which, so far as the general prin¬ 
ciples of form are concerned, shows quite a per¬ 
fect implement • and one which modern mechanics 
have but slightly improved, except in using cast 
and wrought iron in the construction of its several 
parts. This implement was formerly made almost 
entirely of wood. 
This plow measured from the end of either han¬ 
dle to the point of the share, 7 feet, 4 inches. Length 
of the beam, 6 feet. Length of the landside and 
share, as they run on the ground, 2 feet, 10& inches. 
Height from the ground 
to the top of the beam 
where the coulter goes 
through, 1 foot, 8 inches. 
Weight of wood and iron 
work, 140 lbs. 
With this plow, a man 
and two horses could turn 
over, in a superior man¬ 
ner, from one to one and 
a quarter acres of ground 
per day, of nine hours 
long. 
The clevis of Fol- 
jambe’s plow was of wrought iron. The coulter 
and share were of wrought iron, edged with steel. 
The mould board and landside were of wood, covered 
with thin plates of tough iron. 
In 1730, a man by the name of Lummis, intro¬ 
duced the Rotherham plow into Scotland, when the 
improved Scotch clevis, as shown at a, in fig. 28, 
was made for it. A person by the name of Dalziel, 
a few years after,added another improvement, viz : 
that of the draft chain, which was fastened to the 
centre of the beam over the mould board to pull by, 
the same as in modern plows. 
The Rotherham plows, from the time of Lummis, 
were somewhat varied in the form of their mould 
boards, &c., by different manufacturers, to adapt them 
for heavy or light soils. We saw them, when in 
England, thus slightly altered in their shape, for 
particular purposes. 
The Cast-Iron Mould Board. —To James Small, 
of Berwickshire, Scotland, belongs the high honor 
of the invention of the cast-iron mould board, and 
the improvement of its shape for stiff, clayey soils. 
This was about the year 1740. In general con¬ 
struction, his plows were like the Rotherham; and 
they are still considered as a standard for the ele¬ 
ments of good plow making. 
Mr. Small was extensively engaged in the manu¬ 
facture of plows and other agricultural implements, 
in Berwickshire, till his death, in 1793: and did 
much during his life time to spread his improve¬ 
ments throughout Great Britain. 
The Cast-Iron Share.— The next most important 
improvement in the plow, was the invention of the 
cast-iron share, by Robert Ransome, of Ipswich, 
England. This he patented in 1785. In 1803, he 
obtained a second patent for case-hardening or cold- 
chilling the point and edge of the share. This 
makes that part of the share as hard as steel, and 
adds greatly to its durability. This, also, was a very 
important improvement. 
The Cast-Iron Landside. —A plain farmer of Suf¬ 
folk county, England, constructed the landside of 
the plow, of cast iron, soon after the invention of 
the share by Mr. Ransome. 
The Cast-Iron Plow Complete. —Thus about the 
year 1790, the body or skeleton of the plow, com¬ 
prising the mould board, landside, and share, made 
of cast iron, in three distinct parts, was well known, 
and in use in Great Britain. Wrought and cast- 
iron beams, handles, and all other parts have since 
been frequently substituted for wood, particularly 
in Scotland. 
Improvement of the Cast-Iron Plow in America. 
—Without any knowledge of these improvements 
of the cast-iron plow in Great Britain, about 1799, a 
highly enterprising and ingenious person, of Burling¬ 
ton, New Jersey, by the name of Charles Newbold, 
took up the plow with the view of improving it in the 
United States. On the 17th of June, 1797, he 
obtained a patent for the cast-iron body or skeleton, 
in one piece, complete. Subsequently, he made his 
plow with a cast-iron mould board and landside, 
and attached to it a wrought-iron share, edged with 
steel. In the year 1800, he repeatedly spoke of 
still further improving his plow, by substituting the 
cast-iron share. But having spent upwards of 
$30,000, in his improvements and efforts to intro¬ 
duce it into use in the United States and elsewhere, 
without a corresponding return, he became discour¬ 
aged and gave up the business. 
Mr. Jefferson, late President of the United States, 
constructed a mould board on scientific principles, in 
1798, and wrote an elaborate article on the subject. 
Peter T. Curtenius kept plows for sale in the 
city of New York, as early as 1800, the shares and 
mould boards of cast iron, in separate parts. Who 
the manufacturer of these was, we are unable to 
learn. 
In 1807, we believe, David Peacock, of New Jer¬ 
sey, obtained a patent for a plow, the mould board 
and landside of cast iron and in separate parts, the 
