PLOWS AND PLOWING. 
157 
narrow, the wedge power great, and the back 
part of the mould board is adapted to place the 
furrow slice exactly at an angle of 45° before 
leaving it. The land side is perpendicular, and 
the coulter stands in a range with it. 
In considering the form and proportions of a 
plow best adapted to the working of stiff heavy 
soils, Messrs. R., N., M. & Co. have thought 
that plow the best that will cut a perfectly rec¬ 
tangular furrow, whose depth is to its width as 
two is to three, and lay it at an angle of 45°. 
The plows for stiff lands, that they now offer 
the public, are adapted to work as above speci¬ 
fied. They combine the best working proper¬ 
ties of the celebrated Scotch plow invented by 
Small, with the lightness and cheapness of the 
American plow. The lines of the scale from 
which these mould boards are fashioned, give 
them a slight convexity of surface, which is 
considered an advantage in the working of te¬ 
nacious, unyielding soils; but the lines may be 
varied to straight lines for medium soils, or to 
concave lines for light, sandy soils. The line 
of transit for the upper edge of the furrow slice, 
is adapted to the delivery of the slice with an 
unbroken crest. The mould board presents a 
uniform resistance to the furrow slice, and will 
brighten uniformly over the entire surface, 
however tenacious the soil may be. 
Fig. 38 represents the action of this plow in 
furrows seven inches deep by ten inches wide. 
The plow enters the ground very easily, a good 
hinge is preserved upon which to raise the furrow 
slice to its perpendicular position, the back 
part of the mould board lays the slice at an 
angle of 45° before leaving it, and the two expos¬ 
ed faces of the slice are of equal breadth, name¬ 
ly, seven inches. 
Fig. 39 represents the action of a plow un¬ 
adapted to laying proper lapped furrows. The 
plow is so wide upon the bottom as to require a 
width of furrow slice of at least twelve inches, 
and yet it cannot go more than seven inches 
deep—indeed, it can hardly do that, without 
crowding over to the left, or land badly, and it 
cramps and breaks the slice very much. But 
the slices are of unequal proportions. The 
width is too much for the depth, and, conse¬ 
quently, so flat a surface is formed, that if the 
furrows are to lie exposed for some time to the 
weather, and if the soil be a stiff adhesive clay, 
it will run together and bake so much as to 
render the harrow quite inoperative, and but a 
shallow seed bed will be raised. The spaces 
underneath the furrows are wide and low, and 
they will be apt to fill with soil, which will 
prevent a proper circulation of air, and a free 
passage of superfluous moisture, and the sur¬ 
face will be apt to be wet and heavy. 
The triangles, abc , efg, fig. 38, are of equal 
sides, and the angles, 5,/, are angles of 45°. The 
triangles, hik, kirn , fig. 39, are of unequal sides, 
and the angles, i, k, are angles of only 36°. If 
we suppose a series of sections of these 7 by 
10 and 7 by 12 furrow slices, each extended to 
ten rods, for instance, in width, and that they 
are one inch thick, we shall find upon a calcu¬ 
lation of the aggregate exposed surface of each, 
that the furrow sections, 7 by 10, of equal faces, 
have exposed 2,791 inches of surface to the air, 
while the sections 7 by 12 of unequal faces, 
have exposed but 2,722 inches; and any one 
who chooses to extend the calculation and com¬ 
parison to an acre of ground, will find the bal¬ 
ance to be very much in favor of the slices 
represented in fig. 38. A like comparison of 
rectangular furrow slices, whose depth is to 
their width as two is to three, and which are 
laid at an inclination of 45°, with furrow slices 
of any other form, or proportions, that are prac¬ 
ticable to be laid, will be found to result in fa¬ 
vor of those first named; indeed, it can be 
shown that no furrow slices but rectangular 
ones, whose depth is equal to two thirds their 
width, can be laid at an inclination of 45°; and 
since it can be proved that rectangular furrow 
slices, whose depth is equal to two thirds their 
width, and which are laid at 45°, present the 
greatest surface to the ameliorating action of 
the atmosphere; and since it can also be proved 
that such furrow slices present in their project¬ 
ing angles the greatest cubical contents of soil 
for the harrow to operate on, in raising a fine, 
deep tilth, or seed bed, and that such furrow 
slices have the best spaces for the circulation 
of air, and the passage of water, underneath 
them, we may conclude that all plows, for lay¬ 
ing lapped furrows in heavy adhesive soils, are 
absolutely faulty in just so far as they fail to 
cut rectangular furrows, whose depth is to their 
width as two is to three, and to lay them at an 
inclination of 45°. I would give unerring math¬ 
ematical demonstration of these points, were it 
not that I should be extending an article already 
too long.” F. Holbrook. 
Braltleborough , Jan. 10 th, 1851. 
-♦©-.- 
Qualities of American Produce.— South Car¬ 
olina and Georgia produce the best cotton, (Sea- 
Island,) and the best rice in the world. 
There are no other apples equal to those of 
America. 
