THE CULTIVATOR. 
45 
in this country, the credit of which belongs to this Soci¬ 
ety, it is believed gave the first decided impulse to im¬ 
provement in this direction. Their first plowing match 
took place at Brighton in October 1817. The offer of 
premiums for the best plow, by this, and other associa¬ 
tions, soon followed; and by the competition which was 
thus in various ways created, improvements were started 
and pushed on, till at the present time a degree of per¬ 
fection has been reached in some of the best constructed 
plows, to which it seems almost impracticable to make 
any farther additions. 
As Massachusetts took the lead in the institution of 
plowing-matches, and the offering of premiums for the 
best plows, a brief sketch of the progress of improve¬ 
ment in that State, will be read with interest. 
At some of the first trials of plows under the direction 
of the State Ag. Society, at Brighton, those made by Jes¬ 
se Warren, of Dedham, Charles Howard, of Hingham, 
and —— Hall of Sutton, attracted particular attention. 
The first premium at the first trial, (1817,) was awarded 
to Mr. Howard and his partner. At this trial, the once 
famous English Bevcrstone plow, was brought into 
competition with those of American manufacture, by 
the late John Prince, Esq. of Roxbury. For several 
years, the plows used at these trials, were made of wood, 
ironed in the old mode. A cast iron mold-board, the 
share and other parts being made as before, was after a 
while adopted by Mr. Howard, and about the same time, 
some plows wholly of cast-iron were introduced. The 
latter were Tice’s and Wood’s. Some cast iron plows 
were also imported from Scotland. But the iron plows 
were slow in coming into use. Those of the Tice and 
Wood patterns, were frequently used at the Brighton tri¬ 
als. They were admitted to run with less resistance than 
most of those made of wood, but from their extreme 
shortness, and the abrupt position of the mold-board, they 
did not turn a sod-furrow so well and handsomely as was 
desired, and on this account were not very successful in 
obtaining prizes. The castings w r ere also bad—the plows 
broke a great deal, which created a prejudice against cast 
iron plows, not very easy to be overcome—anil various 
circumstances combined to throw the Wood and Tice 
plows into disuse. 
In the mean time the mechanical principles on which 
the plow should be constructed, engaged the attention of 
men of the strongest minds. The late Hon. Timothy 
Pickering, who, after his retirement from an important 
political post, the Secretaryship of State, to which he had 
been appointed by Washington, engaged in agricultural 
pursuits with great zeal, laid down the following rule for 
the construction of the mold-board: 
“ Having fixed a straight line, by one cut of a saw 
from the upper corner of the mold-board behind, to its 
point forward, cut away the wood above and below that 
line in such a manner that when finished, if you carrj a 
straight rule from the fore to the hind part, keeping it all 
the way at right angles with the straight line, it shall 
touch the face of the mold-board, in its whole breadth, in 
straight lines, through its entire winding, so that its up¬ 
per corner behind shall overhang the lower sufficiently 
to effect a complete turning of the furrow slice.” 
The above rule is in accordance with the principles 
advanced by Mr. Jefferson in his letter to Sir John Sin¬ 
clair, and which have been and are still adhered to, in all 
modern improvements of the plow. 
As the trials of plows by the Massachusetts Society, 
annually brought the various competitors together, a pro¬ 
gressive improvement was every year observable. Mr. 
Warren, by study and practice, greatly improved the con¬ 
struction of his plow. It made beautiful work—-many 
premiums were awarded to it at the Brighton plowing- 
matches, where for several years it was much esteemed. 
Mr. Warren finally got out patterns for iron plows, on 
the general principle of his wooden one. Some of these 
we have held with our own hands. They were good 
plows, though destined soon to be eclipsed by better ones. 
Mr. Howard continued to add improvements to his 
plow, and was very successful in obtaining prizes. About 
the year 1825, Messrs. Prouty and Mears, with various 
patterns of the “Hitchcock” plow, became conspicuous 
among the successful competitors. The Hitchcock plow 
may be considered the basis on which has been engrafted 
the various improvements that in these days have render¬ 
ed the plows of Messrs. P. and M. famous over the whole 
country. 
Other competitors also appeared in the field. Promi¬ 
nent among these, were Messrs. Ruggles, Nourse and 
Mason, who were not long in securing a share of the 
honors to be gained in the contest. For several years 
past, it may be said that the competition in Massachusetts, 
has been between the plows of the three last named 
firms—that is, between those of Howard, Prouty & 
Mears, and Ruggles, Nourse & Mason. 
Each of these concerns manufacture a large number of 
plows of various patterns, and there are large ware-hou¬ 
ses in Boston, where all of them, as well as other imple¬ 
ments, are extensively sold. We have before spoken of 
the establishment of Messrs. Breck & Co., (where How¬ 
ard’s plows are sold,) and that of Messrs. Ruggles, 
Nourse & Mason. In our visit to Massachusetts in Oc¬ 
tober last, we visited the warehouse and manufactory of 
Messrs. D. Prouty & Co., successors to Prouty & Mears. 
Their store is in Boston, and their manufactory in South 
Boston. The latter is a very large establishment. The 
building is 120 feet long, 36 feet wide, and four stories 
high. They manufacture plows of various patterns, 
though they are mostly on what is called the “ centre- 
draft” principle—that is, the beam is placed over the 
center of the weight of the plow. These plows have ac¬ 
quired an extensive reputation, and orders are constantly 
received for them from all parts of the Union. 
Messrs. P. & Co. also make many subsoil plows of dif¬ 
ferent kinds—also harrows of very superior construction 
—sowing, or planting machines—straw-cutters, and most 
other farming implements. Every tool is made of the 
best material, and in the most finished style of workman¬ 
ship. All their operations seem to be conducted with 
much system, and great regularity and neatness are ob¬ 
served throughout. 
CORN-STALK SUGAR AND MOLA«SSES. 
Mr. William H. Deaderick, of Athens, Tennessee, 
gives a communication in the Tenn. Agriculturist, on 
the manufacture of corn-stalk sugar. Mr. Deaderick has 
made more or less of this article for the three last years. 
During the last season he made over 100 gallons, or one 
hogshead of sugar. By planting corn at various times, 
the molasses season, he observes, can be prolonged in 
that State from the middle of July to the middle of Oc¬ 
tober. He directs that the mill for grinding the stalks, 
be made with three rollers, at least twenty inches in di¬ 
ameter, and twenty-six inches long, and four inches 
above the cogs. The cogs four inches wide, and eigh¬ 
teen inches below the cogs. The necks about three 
inches long, and six in diameter, with a smooth iron 
band fitted on to prevent their wearing. The stem of 
the middle roller, should be twelve or thirteen inches in 
diameter, and five or six feet long, the neck to be re¬ 
ceived in a corresponding hole in a transverse beam 
resting on two posts about twenty-five feet asunder. 
This arrangement will cause the mill to run more equal¬ 
ly than if there was no support above. There should 
also be some contrivance of wedges and keys, with 
which to adjust the outside to the middle roller. 
Mr. D. remarks, that for the sake of convenience, it 
may be proper to assign to the corn-stalk two stages in 
its growth, as the most suitable for making molasses and 
sugar: 1st. When just in roasting, or boiling ears. 2d. 
When it has passed out of the roasting-ear stage, and 
become too hard for cooking. The syrup made during 
the first or roasting-ear stage, if boiled moderately 
thick will very much resemble honey, both in appear¬ 
ance and taste. In the second stage, which Mr. Deade¬ 
rick considers on the whole the proper one, or when the 
corn has become too hard for cooking, the syrup w$ 
more nearly resemble that made from the sugar cane, 
and is the age of the stalk at which the syruj is most 
disposed to granulate. As the stalk ripens, i' j molasses 
will become darker and not so agreeable the taste. In 
the roasting-ear stage, it requires ten r ons of juice to 
make one of syrup. In the second s >|, or two weeks 
