THE CULTIVATOR. 
34 
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3. Adaptation to special purposes. Something 
has been gained in this respect. It has been dis¬ 
covered, for instance, that soils which are too light, 
should he plowed in a different manner from those 
which are too heavy; that rough and uneven lands 
require a different plow from those which are smooth 
and level; and some attention has been given to the 
manufacture of implements best fitted to accomplish 
the various objects desired. This is an important 
point, and the encouraging results which have al¬ 
ready been attained, should stimulate to further 
exertions in this direction. 
4. Cheapness and durability. It is a gratifying 
and somewhat remarkable fact, that in addition to 
all the above advantages which the improvement of 
the plow has secured, the implement is afforded at 
about half the cost, and is also much more durable. 
The Shovel. —This implement has undergone al¬ 
most an entire change within the recollection of 
living witnesses. The shovels first used by some of 
our oldest farmers were entirely of wood. They were 
made by working down a thick plank, commonly 
of maple, till it assumed as near as possible, the requi¬ 
site form. Sometimes a thin and narrow strip of 
iron was nailed close to the edge, to keep it from 
being split. To use these shovels the earth had first 
to be thoroughly loosened by the crow-bar and pick, 
and even then, it was not uncommon for one man to 
use a hoe for the purpose of loading a shovel used 
by another. 
This wooden shovel after a while, gave place to an 
iron-shod one. This differed from the first men¬ 
tioned only in having a plate of iron, about three 
inches wide fastened to the edge. In some of the 
best of this kind, the iron was grooved, and the 
blade of the shovel inserted into the groove. This 
was deemed a great improvement, and when shoveling 
was to be done, the laborer deemed himself fortunate 
if he could be allowed an iron-shod shovel. 
The next improvement consisted in substituting 
sheet iron for the plate or body of the shovel. The 
iron was-turned at the sides and top, so as to form 
a rim. A round socket was made near the top, into 
which* a straight stick was driven for a handle. In 
other respects the plate was entirely flat, and in 
shape bore little resemblance to the shovel now in 
use. It was, however, thought to be a great ad¬ 
vance on the former kinds. Still it was but a clumsy 
and inefficient tool, compared with the highly finish¬ 
ed shovel now made. The blade was soft, and it 
had so little substance, that in attempting to force 
it into the earth, it soon became so bent and twisted 
as to be useless. 
It may be safely said that a man can, with the 
same expenditure of strength, perform twice as much 
work in the same time, with one of our best modern 
shovels, as he could with either of the kinds before 
described. This important improvement has been 
Jan* 
effected mostly within the last forty years, and it is 
not too much to say that the credit of it belongs 
principally to a distinguished manufacturer of Mas¬ 
sachusetts, whose shovels and spades, for utility 
and value, are unrivalled in the markets of the 
world. This is, in fact, so generally acknowledged, 
that the stamp of “ 0. Ames” is everywhere regarded 
as a sufficient guarranty of the quality of the article. 
Hat and Manure Forks. —A great improvement 
has taken place in these tools. Until within a few 
years, they were made very heavy and unwieldy. 
The tines were iron, untempered, and to give them 
the requisite strength, it was necessary that they 
should be large. This not only exhausted the 
strength of the laborer in carrying useless weight, 
but prevented the easy working of the implement. 
Notwithstanding their size and weight, they soon 
got sprung out of shape. Manure forks were made 
of rods three-fourths of an inch thick, and they 
would only answer for the coarsest and most fibrous 
manures. 
The neat steel-tempered forks now made by Par¬ 
tridge and others, though of not more than half 
the weight of those in former use, are much stronger, 
and a man will accomplish much more in a day with 
them and with less fatigue, than with the old kind. 
The manure forks are made with such nicety that 
they are used instead of the shovel to a great extent, 
as work can be done with the fork with greater ease 
and despatch. 
The Ax has been the most important implement 
in effecting the first great change in the appearance 
of the country. 
“ With the pioneer ax what a conquest is made; 
What a field from the forest is won ! 
What regions, reduced from the wilderness shade, 
Are now warmed in the beams of the sun!” 
This implement has been greatly improved. No 
“chopper” who has ever used a “Simmons” or a 
“ Collins” ax, would willingly go back to the ill¬ 
shaped things in use fifty years ago. There is also 
a great advantage in the modern implement on the 
score of efficiency and cheapness. It is a maxim 
that “necessity is the parent of invention;” and 
the great use required of the ax in this country, 
may have been the chief cause of its improvement; 
at any rate we believe it may be said that the 
“American ax” has reached a perfection unknown 
in the old world. 
High Farming. —A correspondent of the Ohio Cul¬ 
tivator states that at the last exhibition of the Stark 
county Agricultural Society, the following account 
the produce of 71 acres of land, owned and worked 
by Wm. Pinn, a “ citizen of color,” two miles from 
Massillon, and certified to by J. J. Hoffman and 
Samuel Pease, Esqs., was presented to the Board: 
46 bushels dried sweet corn, worth $4.50...$207 00 
16 bushels common [sweet] corn, $3,50. 56 00 
483 doz. brooms, or corn for that number, 62£... 301 88 
150 bushels broom corn seed, 20c. per bu...... 20 00 
36 bushels corn, 25c. . 9 00 
20 bushels apples, 26c. 5 00 
Fodder estimated worth... 12 00 
$620 88 
