THE CULTIVATOR. 
81 
SHELL-WHEEL PLOW_(Fig. 26.) 
The peculiar construction of this plow, consists in the introduction of a friction wheel in place of the land side, 
which the inventor says “ works well in all soils, and saves nearly one-third of the draft.” A trial made at the 
State Fair at Rochester last fall, showed that this plow ran with 99 pounds less draft, than another plow doing the 
same work, and made exactly like it, with the exception of the friction wheel—one plow requiring 298 and the 
other 397 pounds draft—furrow 12 inches wide and 6 inches deep. The inventor and manufacturer is Thomas D. 
Burrell, Geneva, N. Y. 
that in some seasons it will bear to .be thicker than 
others. The failure stated by Mr. Betts, of Newburgh, 
in the Feb. No. of the current vol. of the Cultivator, 
may be traced to this cause. 
7. The impolicy of throwing all the corn put in a hill, 
when planted, together, is forcibly shown by the success 
of planting in drills of a single kernel, as in the case of 
the Messrs. Stevens and Pratts. We frequently hear men 
boasting how much they have planted in a day, when by i 
planting the grain together, they lose more than would 
pay for many days’ work. 
We do not expect that every man will raise a hundred 
and fifty bushels of corn to the acre, even should he use 
every reasonable effort. There are too many concurring 
circumstances, all of a fortunate kind, required to make 
such crops common; but that any good soil, skilfully cul¬ 
tivated, may be made to give 70 or 80 as a medium crop, 
we fully believe. Fewer acres planted, and those better 
manured and tended, would, we are confident, much in¬ 
crease the corn crop of the country, as well as the profits 
of the farmer. 
SPRING WORK. 
There is no season of the year in which energy, ac¬ 
tivity, and good calculation is more requisite than the 
present. Animals of all kinds, young and old, and par¬ 
ticularly those intended for labor, demand increased care 
and attention. March is one of the most trying months 
for animals, as they are, as the saying is, “ between hay 
and grass,” and too often the supply of either they can 
obtain, is barely sufficient to support life. If farmers 
ivould consider the much greater quantity of milk a 
cow will yield in a season that is in good condition in 
the spring, than one that has cc been on lift” through 
March or April, we are confident there would not be so 
many skeleton cows on our farms as there now is. If 
too, they would for one moment reflect that a large part 
of an animal’s power of draft lies in his weight, and that 
where this is wanting, and the whole is thrown on mus¬ 
cular exertion, the animal must soon give way, they 
would feel the necessity of having their working stock, 
horses or cattle, at this season, in good heart, their flesh 
sound and durable; and we should be spared the mortifi¬ 
cation of seeing so many poor and miserable teams in 
the field, at a time when all should be life and activity. 
To work well, an animal must be kept well; and the 
work,in nine cases out of ten will be found best done,where 
the teams are in the best condition. You might as well 
expect that an Asiatic team, of a jackass and a woman 
yoked togetner, ’would break up the ground to the proper 
depth, as that a pair of scarecrow horses or oxen can do 
it. Never undertake to see on how little food your 
teams can subsist. No better criterion is needed of the 
nature of a man's cultivation of his grounds, than is af¬ 
forded by his animals; and he who starves them, will 
soon find his land will starve him. At this season of the 
year sheep require much attention, and will well repay 
it. Sheep are among our most profitable animals, and 
on the whole, require less care than most others; if the 
little they demand is given at the proper time. Look 
out for the lambs and the weak ones of the flock, and do 
not suffer a drove of hardy weathers to pick over and 
trample upon the fodder, before the ewes and lambs can 
get a taste. 
It is an important point in commencing work in the 
spring, that every implement necessary should be at hand, 
and in first rate condition, when wanted. The good 
farmer has his house for his farm implements, as well as 
for himself or his stock, and is careful that all shall be 
put in their place, as fast as the season throws them out 
of use. In the winter, all are carefully examined, and 
the necessary repairs are made. The farmer who per¬ 
mits this work to pass until the implements are wanted in 
the field, will find he must lose many valuable hours, if 
not days, at a time when one, if lost, is with difficulty 
overtaken. 
There is a very great fault among farmers, and we feel 
justified in reprobating it in strong terms, because we 
have been sometimes guilty of it ourselves; and that is* 
laying out more work than can be done by the force on 
the farm, timely and properly; and experience has con¬ 
vinced us that if work cannot be done as it should be, it is 
better not to meddle with it at all. Never is this fault 
more observable, or more injurious, than in putting in 
the crops of the season. There are some cultivated 
plants, which we may be certain will not mature unless 
the seeds are in the ground at about such a time—a time, 
it is true, varying in different latitudes, but generally well 
understood at any given place; yet we find some farmers so 
negligent, and what is worse, making an assumed trust 
in Providence an excuse for their laziness, as to be 
weeks behind the proper time of getting in the seed. 
Indian corn may serve as an example of such plants. As 
a general rule too, spring wheat, barley, or oats, if the 
sowing of them from any cause, is delayed beyond the 
proper time, although by chance, a pretty fair crop, so 
far as regards bushels, may be produced, yet the quality 
will be found inferior, the grain light, and the danger 
from blight, or rust, greatly increased. 
Do not entertain the idea that your farm work can go 
on successfully, unless you give it your personal super - 
vision. The merchant, the lawyer, the doctor, must at¬ 
tend to their business personally, or all will go wrong, 
and it is not less so with the farmer. Poor Richard ne¬ 
ver drew from his stores of wisdom a better maxim than 
that « he who by the plow would thrive, himself must 
either hold or drive.” Laborers may be faithful and 
careful, but they cannot enter fully into all the intentions 
and plans of the farmer; and he must be the guiding and 
