A CONSOLIDATION OF DUEL’S CULTIVATOR AND THE GENESEE FARMER. 
Cult. Vol, VIII—No. 2. 
ALBANY, N.Y. FEBRUARY, 1841, 
Cult, & Far. Vol. II.—No. 2. 
PUBLISHED MONTHLY. 
GAYLORD So TUCKER, EDITORS. 
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TRIAL OF PLOWS. 
Experiments in England and at Worcester, Mass. 
{Concluded from 'page 11.) 
It has long appeared clear to us, that in all calcula¬ 
tions on the power required in plowing, the important 
point of friction or adhesion was too much overlooked ; 
a fact to be regretted, as it is plain that on adhesive 
ground the great point in the plow is to present the 
least surface, -while in loose, light, friable, or sandy 
soils, surface forms no objection. The experiments of 
Mr. Pusey fully confirm the correctness of this suppo¬ 
sition. The plow made on mathematical principles, 
(Ferguson’s) which, setting adhesion aside, as is seen 
in trial 3, would require the least power, required the 
most, uwiug to its long wedge-like form, the great sur¬ 
face of its mold-board, and its wanting a wheel, which 
made its surface draft so enormous. In a clay soil, or 
one of great tenacity, the less surface there is exposed, 
the easier will the draft be for the horses. If any one 
doubts it, let him test the difference in the force requi¬ 
red to draw a broad shovel or a narrow one over a bed 
of clay. The difference between Ferguson’s Scotch 
plow and the short open one of Hart, is in this respect 
conclusive. 
There is another error, we believe, quite common 
among farmers, and that is that the resistance to the 
plow increases with the rapidity with which the team 
; moves, or in other words, that a team moving one and 
a half miles an hour, does not exert so great a force in 
plowing, as one that moves at the rate of two and a 
half miles an hour. This mistake arises from overlook¬ 
ing the fact that friction or adhesion is rarely, perhaps 
never, increased by increased rapidity of motion. In 
plowing, the resistance arises from the weight of the 
implement pressing against the bottom of the furrow, 
that pressure increased by the weight of the furrow 
slice, the rubbing of the plow against the earth on the 
land side, and the furrow slice rubbing against the mold 
board; a resistance not to be increased by additional 
speed. It is true the amount of resistance in an hour, 
is greater at a good pace than in a slow one, as a great¬ 
er amount of earth is moved, hut that does not affect 
i the amount of resistance at any given moment. The 
I following table, showing the force required at different 
1 rates of speed, in a series of experiments, made for this 
! purpose by Mr. Pusey, will show the correctness of our 
5 position: 
Rate of going Time required to Draft of 
per hour. plow an acre. plow. 
U miles,.. 7 h. 20 m. 23 stone. 
1! “ 6 h. 30 m. 23 “ 
2| “ 4 h. 0 m....22 “ 
3 a “ 3 h. 8 m. 24 “ 
Thus it appears that a pair of horses walking at a 
'Pace which will plow an acre in four hours, do not ex¬ 
ert as much force as a pair that requires seven hours to 
perform the same work. 
Mr. Pusey remarks, “ In plowing an acre with the 
furrow 9 inches wide, the horse has to walk in the fur¬ 
row 11 miles exactly ; if then he plows three-quarters 
of an acre a day, he has to walk 81 miles only ; if five 
quarters, or a Scotch acre, he must pass over i31 miles 
but 5i miles more than before.” Where the furrow is 
twelve inches wide, as is generally the case here, the 
travel will not of course be as great ; and whether he 
goes at the rate of one and a half or two and a half 
miles an hour, can make but little difference in the fa 
2 ' 
[Prouty 4" Mears’ Premium Plow —Fig. 7.] 
tigue of the horse, as the severity of the draft is not at 
all increased. That the power of a horse to drag a 
weight decreases with his velocity is certain, but this is 
depending on circumstances that can rarely have appli¬ 
cation to plowing or other farm labor. The man there¬ 
fore, who accustoms his young horses to step out freely 
(and all the movements of a horse in harness, are the 
result of habit,) will find a span will plow an acre and 
a half a day, ordinarily, Avith the same ease that they 
would an acre, or even less, if suffered to move at the 
snail’s pace so common Avith many farm horses. In the 
hard labor, such as ploAving, or heavy Avork on the road, 
the horse cannot be forced beyond his natural pace to 
any extent, Avithout seriously distressing h i m ■ and as 
his rate of going is very much depending on his train¬ 
ing, it is a point not to be overlooked in rearing farm 
horses, more than others. 
There can be no question that the disposition or make 
of the harness in Avhich a team is Avorked, has much in¬ 
fluence on the ease with which their labor is performed. 
The draft must of course be performed by the muscular 
strength and weight of the horse, and the point from 
whence they draAV must he the shoulder ; but the line 
of draft, or suspension of the line of draft, may be much 
shortened, and in all properly made harnesses is short¬ 
ened, by a AA r ide strap of leather properly padded passing 
over the back and carrying the traces in such a direc¬ 
tion or position, that when at work the weight of the 
Avhippletrees and part of the weight of the ploAV, where 
there is no wheel, rests on and is carried by the back 
of the animal, and so far lessens the Aveight of draft. In 
arranging a harness, alloAvance must be made for a high 
or Ioav draft, on the Avagon, or on the ploAV, for instance, 
so that the support rendered by the hack strap may be 
effectual in both cases. In ploAving, the traces should 
be as short, or in other Avords, the horses should be as 
near the plow as possible. This is desirable for tAvo 
reasons : it gives a greater inclination to the line of 
draft, and makes the Aveight and muscular force of the 
hprse act with greater efficiency ; and by lessening the 
distance betAveen the point of draft and the point of sus¬ 
pension of the ploAA r Avhich is the share point, it materi¬ 
ally lessens the surface draft. A very long beam to a 
plow Tinless supported by a wheel, must of necessity act 
injuriously by increasing, owing to its lever-like power, 
the surface draft. A good exemplification of our ideas 
on this matter of harness and draft, may be seen in the 
figure of the Clydesdale horses and Scotch plow, Avhich 
Ave have given from the English Journal alluded to. 
Mr. Pusey speaks of producing an uplifting power, 
by shortening the point of suspension in the back strap’ 
or placing that so far back that there will be considera¬ 
ble, deviation from a direct line in the trace from the 
whipple-tree to the point of draft in the collar. YVe 
should not approve of any uplifting poAver, farther than 
Avhat is required to sustain the Aveight of the beam, Avhip- 
ple-trees and traces, as mentioned above, since, as the 
ploAV acts only as a Avedge, any uplifting force exerted 
more than this, must tend to throAV the point out of the 
ground, and must be met by constant counteraction on 
the part of the ploAvman. All experience shoAVS that a 
ploAV to run well, should be easy for both the team and 
the holder, and that any effort that is required on the 
part of the ploAvman to keep the implement in place 
while at work, adds proportionably to the heaviness of 
the draft, and consequently to the distress of the horses. 
In the July number of the Farmer’s Magazine for 
1840, page 17, there is an account of some experiments 
made by an indA'idual, Avhich in the main, go to prove 
the correctness of the results obtained by Mr. Pusey 
and at Worcester. Several plows AA^ere tried,- the 
ground Avas an oat stubble, hard from dry AAmather, and 
the result was as folloAvs—furroAv 5 inches by 9. 
Hart’s ploAV, . 13 stone. 
Wooden plow,. n “ 
Iron ploA\ r s,. 19-20 “ 
Old Welsh plow,. 20 “ 
Hart’s Avheel Avas then fitted to the AA r ooden plow, 
and on the same ground the draft Avas at once reduced 
to 14 stone. In this instance, the Hart maintained its 
superiority as before ; and this the experimenter attri¬ 
buted to its open mold-board, which so greatly reduced 
the surface exposed to friction; but he objects to the 
work of this plow, “ that it leaves the furrow standing 
too much on its edge, Avhereby the surface grass and 
weeds are not sufficiently covered and destroyed.” On 
the subject of the wheel, this experimenter makes the 
following remarks, Avhich we think eminently just. 
“ Of the advantage of a wheel, I think there can be no 
question, for, besides keeping the ploAV constantly to 
the same depth, it seems always materially to lighten 
the draft ; and I think the reason is plain, for Avhen at 
Avork, much of the surface draft is transferred to the 
Avheel, from its resisting the tendency the share has to 
draw the ploAV downwards.” 
From the results of these various experiments, those 
of Mr. Pusey, those at Worcester, and those described 
in the Magazine, it Avould seem, in the first place, that 
the friction or adhesive power of the ploAV is much, 
greater than has usually been alloAved, and that conse¬ 
quently the less surface there is exposed, the less will 
be the draft. This opinion receives corroboration from 
the i'actthat the skeleton plow used in some parts of Eng¬ 
land Avhere the clay is stiff, a plow in which the cutting 
part is narroAV, and the mold-hoard of narrow bars of 
iron, runs easily with tAvo horses, Avhere three or four 
Avould he required to move the Scotch plow with its 
long, broad, smooth iron surface. 
2d. That the shorter the Avorking part, or that part 
of a plow exposed to friction, can be made, consistent 
Avith steadiness of motion in the ground, the easier will 
be the draft. This arises from tAvo causes—the less weight 
of the implement itself; and the less space for adhesion 
of earth or friction. It is not to he inferred, hoAvever, 
that such short, square-breasted ploAVS, will do the best 
work ■ on the contrary, the long plows invert the earth 
more completely ; the adA r antage is only in the matter 
of lightness of draft. 
3d. That a Avheel ploAV is to be preferred to a swing 
ploAV, Avhere lightness of draft is a great object. On 
smooth, or well cultivated lands, a Avheel acts favorably 
several ways ; it lessens the surface or friction draft in 
the same degree that a Aveight can be easier rolled than 
slid over the ground ; and it regulates the depth with¬ 
out that constant attention of the ploAvman that some 
other forms of this implement require. The wheel, 
hoAveA^er, Avill not make a poor plow a good one, though 
it may obviate some of its deficiencies. On soft, clayey 
land the wheel ploAV is inadmissible, as theAvheels clog 
and add to the Aveight to be draAAm. 
4th. That a harness should be so constructed, as to 
give the greatest effect both to the muscular force and 
Aveight of the horse, and hence the nearer he is brought 
to the point where the poAver is to he exerted, the bet¬ 
ter. Horses abreast have much more poAver than when 
in line ; and experience sIioavs that a team Avorks more 
easily Avhen part of the Aveight is supported by the back 
rather than Avholly hv the neck. 
5th. That a pace of 2| or 3 miles per hour, occasions 
no heavier draft than a pace of 1| miles per hour. This 
is an important fact, where much plowing is to he per¬ 
formed, and it is clear the pace must add to or detract 
much from the value of the farm or road horse. The 
pace, howeA r er, Avhen once established, cannot he essen- 
tially quickened Avithout causing much additional dis¬ 
tress to the animal ; and the rate of traveling is in a 
great measure depending on the training of the colt. 
Neither man nor beast can exert themselves beyond 
their usual habits for any time without great suffering • 
but both man and animals have the poAver of accustom¬ 
ing themselves to movements and exertions, Avhich, un¬ 
less the result of habit, Avould be impossible or fatal. 
6th. While the Worcester experiments sIioav that in 
the same soil, some ploAvs have more than 100 per cent 
adA-antage in the lightness of draft, the experiments of 
Mr. Pusey shoAV that the difference in poAver required 
to plow loamy sand, and clay loam, is not less. By 
overlooking this important fact, and by not adapting the 
plow and the team to the difference in the soils, some 
farmers are guilty of the most cruel treatment of their 
animals. A pair of horses is expected to perform la¬ 
bor that Avould severely tax the powers of four, and this 
perhaps, is one Avay to account for the “ villainous foun¬ 
dered and spaAuned” beasts that throng our streets 
worn out in a few years, and turned over to the tender 
mercies of some barbarous master, when if properly 
treated they might have been relied upon for many 
years longer. 
7th. It may, we think, fairly be inferred from these 
experiments, that there are tAvo elements of resistance 
