1850. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
241 
Network State Agricultural Societg. 
Trial of Plows. 
Agricultural Rooms. —Meeting Ex.Committee, 
June 4. Present—E. P. Prentice, President; A. 
Van Bergen, Vice President; J. McD. McIntyre, 
H. Wendell, M. D., Luther Tucker, B. P. 
Johnson, and delegates from Ulster, Oneida, 
Wayne, Saratoga, Duchess, Ontario, and Hartford, 
Conn. 
The Judges appointed for the trial were present, 
as follows:—Hon. A.Van Bergen, Coxsackie ; John 
S. Gould, Hudson; Sanford Howard, Albany; B. B. 
Kirtland, Greenbush. Absent—J. Delafield. Hon. 
Peter Crispell, Jr., of Ulster co., was substituted 
in the place of Mr. Delafield. (A letter was recei¬ 
ved from Mr. Delafield, expressing his great regret 
that his engagements in taking the survey of Sene¬ 
ca county, rendered it impracticable for him to be 
present as he had intended.) 
The following competitors entered their plows for 
trial- 
E. J. Burrall, Geneva—3 Plows—Shell-wheel Iron Beam, Stiff 
Soil, and Stubble Plow. 
A. Gileert, New-York—2 Plows—Mooer’s patent for stiff soils. 
French & Smith, Rome, Oneida co.—3 Plows—Michigan Sod 
and Subsoil, Michigan Joint Plow, Michigan Plow. 
W. U. Chase, Amsterdam—3 Plows. 
A. Fleck, Montreal—Wilkie’s Scotch Plow. 
N. B. Starbuck, Troy—5 Plows—Starbuck’s Trojan, do. Iron 
Beam, do. No. 3, do. No. 4, do. Side-hill. 
Peter Auld, New Hartford, Oneida co.—2 Plows. 
Miner, Horton & Co.. Peekskill—4 Peekskill Plows. 
H. L. Emery, Albany—1 Plow. 
Bosworth, Rich & Co., Troy—5 Plows—Cast Iron Beam and 
Sod Plow, Side-hill do., Subsoil do., Stubble do. 
John Randerson, Schodack—1 Plow. 
Prouty & Mears, Boston—4 Centre Draft Plows, and Side-hill 
and Subsoil Plows. 
Eddy & Co., Union Village, Washington co.—Washington Co. 
Plow, Side-nill do., Subsoil do., Grubber do., Stubble do. 
R. R. Finch & Co.., Peekskill—2 Empire Plows. 
Making upwards of 40 plows entered for the trial. 
The trial commenced on Tuesday, June 4, on the 
farm of J. J. Lansing, Greenbush. The stubble, 
or old land, was first plowed. For this 14 plows 
were entered, viz:—Fleck’s Wilkie Plow, French 
& Smith’s Michigan Plow, Eddy’s Washington Co., 
Randerson’s Schodack Plow, Miner St Horton’s 
Peekskill Plow, Starbuck’s Trojan Plow, Auld’s 
‘‘improved” Scotch Plow, Prouty & Mear’s Two 
Centre Draught Plows, Bosworth, Rich St Co. ? s Iron 
Beam, Finch’s Empire Plow, Emery’s Albany Plow, 
Burrall’s Shell-wheel Plow, Chase’s Amsterdam 
Plow. The trial of these plows occupied the judg¬ 
es until Thursday. On Thursday, 3 Side-hill plows 
—Prouty’s, Rich’s and Eddy’s, and also 2 Subsoil 
plows, Prouty’s St Rich’s, were tested. On Friday, 
26 plows were entered for sod land— Stiff soil ; viz., 
3 by Prouty 8c Co., 3 by Miner, Horton Sc Co., 4 
by Bosworth, Rich Sc Co., 3 by French Sc Smith, 1 
by Emery, 2 by Chase, 1 by Burrall, 1 by Eddy Sc 
Co., 1 by Randerson, 3 by Starbuck & Co., 2 by 
Finch, 2 by Gilbert, 1 by Fleck, and 1 by Auld. 
The trial of these plows was completed on Sat¬ 
urday afternoon. 
On Tuesday, June 11th, the trial on Sandy soils 
commenced on the Island opposite the city, above 
the Boston Railroad Depot. For this trial 24 plows 
were entered, all of which were tested, and the tri¬ 
al completed on Wednesday afternoon. 
All the plows were tested upon each of the lands 
with the dynamometer, the same team being used 
for each plow, so as to secure as near as possible, 
an equal draught, so far as the team was concern¬ 
ed—the plows being guaged to cut furrows as near 
as possible of an equal depth and width. Wherever 
there were variations, they were noted by the judg¬ 
es, and will be taken into consideration in making 
up their final award. 
In addition to testing the draft while plowing 
the different kinds of soil, the plows were also test¬ 
ed with the dynamometer, by hand power, operated 
by a windlass. This gave a steady and uniform mo¬ 
tion, and secured a fair test of the power required 
to draw each plow—the soil and turf as nearly 
equal as it was possible to obtain it. 
It has been the object of the Executive Commit¬ 
tee to have this trial as full and complete as it was 
possible to make it, so that another trial could not 
be necessary, unless some new and important 
improvements should be developed. They are 
not aware that anything has been overlooked on 
their part or on the part of the judges, that would 
have made the trial more perfect, and it gives them 
great pleasure to be assured by the competitors, and 
other distinguished plow manufacturers in the coun¬ 
try who were present, that their arrangements were 
in all respects satisfactory, and the best calculated 
to elicit the qualities of the various plows, of any 
that they had ever witnessed. 
Every plow that was presented, has been tested, 
it is believed to the full satisfaction of the competi¬ 
tors. The exhibition of plows has probably never 
been equalled. Such has been the expression given 
by gentlemen, both manufacturers and others, who 
have examined the plows presented and tested, as 
well as the work performed by each. For durabili¬ 
ty, neatness of workmanship and material, the per¬ 
fection of finish, the adaptation to perform the 
work of the farmer, it is confidently believed that 
so fine a display has not before been seen in an equal 
number of plow's. The work performed by all of 
the plow's has been such as to merit and receive the 
approbation of the great number of persons who 
have been in attendance upon the trial. 
The aw r ards of the judges w T ill be made as soon 
practicable, consistent W'ith a due and careful exam¬ 
ination of every question that has a bearing upon 
the subject. The importance of their decisions is 
apparent, and the subject w 7 ill receive at their hands, 
all that deliberate and careful consideration which 
it demands. When the aw-ards are made, they will 
be announced to the successful competitors, and 
will be made known to the public, probably, at the 
Annual Fair of the Society in September, when it 
w 7 ill be necessary for the plows to which the premi¬ 
ums have been awarded to be on the grounds, if not 
already deposited in the Museum of the Society. 
B. P. Johnson, Sec’y. 
®l)t Jarmfr’s Note-Book. 
Short Horn bull 3d Duke of Cambridge. 
The engraving on the opposite page is designed 
to represent the Short-horn bull 3d Duke of Cam¬ 
bridge, at present the property of J. M. Sher 
wood, of Auburn, and A. Stevens, of New-York 
by whom he was imported from England. His pe¬ 
digree as given in the fourth volume of the Herd- 
Book, page 614, is as follows: 3d Duke of Cam 
bridge (5,941,) roan, calved September 14. 1841, 
bred by Thomas Bates; got by Duke of Northum 
berland (1,940,) dam Waterloo 2d, by Belvidere 
(1,706,) grand-dam by Waterloo (2,816,) great 
grand dam by Waterloo (2,816.) 
This animal was imported in 1849, together w'ith 
several heifers, and a notice of them was given in 
our last volume, page 130. He is a bull of rare ex¬ 
cellence. both as regards shape and quality. He 
