62 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
is the substitution of iron for the wooden teeth. As 
agriculture advances, better implements are required, 
and make their appearance ; and though it is in the best 
form somewhat imperfect, still its use is of the utmost 
consequence and cannot be dispensed with in tillage. 
The shape of the teeth used in the harrow is of great 
moment, as on these the principal efficacy of the imple¬ 
ment is depending. They, are usually made square, 
and tapered equally on all sides, and then driven into 
the frame without reference to their position, or line of 
draft. The best form of the tooth would seem to he one 
which would give a straight line to one angle of the 
tooth, and then to have it placed in the harrow in such 
a way that the straight edge or rather corner of the 
tooth shall come in front. If the angle of the tooth 
made in tapering it, is obtuse, or the tooth blunt, 
drawing the harrow forward has a constant tendency to 
lift it from the ground, and cause it rather to glide over 
the surface, than penetrate and pulverize the soil. 
There is no advantage gained by having the teeth made 
of a disproportionate length, as they penetrate no deep¬ 
er unless additional Aveight is added to the frame of the 
harrow ; and experience shows they are much more lia¬ 
ble to be bent or broken than when of the proper length. 
Some harrows are made Avith the teeth longer than usual, 
and curved Avith the points fonvard, so as to break up 
and raise to the surface all such roots of grasses or 
Aveeds that might otherwise escape the harroAV, or by 
re-vegetating produce injury to the crop. Implements 
of this kind are called grubbers, and are found of essen¬ 
tial service to the farmer when used. 
The disposition of the teeth in the frame of the har¬ 
row should be such that each one may operate distinctly 
from the other, or so that the number of impressions 
made on the soil Avill be equal to the number of teeth 
used, and at as nearly equal distances as possible, as 
seen in the dotted lines of some of the figures. The 
Aveight of the harrow should be adapted to the nature 
of the Avork to be performed, since it Avould be impro¬ 
per to use on light sandy or friable soils such implements 
as are required to break up and pulverize heavy clay 
ones ; or substitute those of the latter class for the fine 
toothed lighter ones Avhich are best for harrowing in 
grass seeds. Elm is one of the best Avoods for the frame 
of the harrow, as it is less liable to split than almost 
any other, and is also hard and durable. If farmers in 
general would put their large stones into Avails, and the 
smaller ones into drains, instead of alloAving them to re¬ 
main for years on the surface as ploAV and harrow 
breakers, they Avould much improve the appearance of 
their fields, and lessen materially the annual cost of 
farm implements. 
The first figure of the harroAV we shall give, is the one 
of Avhich a cut and description was formerly given us 
by George Geddes, Esq., of Onondaga, and Avhich as 
the construction is simple, and not open to the objec¬ 
tions that can be urged against some others, is deemed 
worthy the notice of the farmer. In the communication 
which accompanied it, Mr. Geddes says :—“ It is not li¬ 
able to clog, from the position of the center teeth, and 
if it should clog, the driver has only to lift up one side 
while under motion, and it immediately cleans itself,- 
while if the patent harrow clogs in the part next to the 
horses, (and that is the part most likely to clog) it is 
necessary to stop Avliile it is cleared. It is adapted to 
every kind of ground. On smooth land it moves with¬ 
out perceptible motion at the hinges—in rough, stony, 
or stumpy land, by its hinges it is fitted to circumstan¬ 
ces. It is lighter than the common harroAV with the 
same number of teeth, the length of the whole timbers 
being but twenty-eight feet, and if properly made, A-ery 
strong • as the shape of it is such that it cannot catch 
and break.” 
Geddes ’ Harrow — (Fig. 32.) (Fig. 33.) 
a and b hinges, which allows it to fit into unevennesses of 
the surface passed over. The hinges being inserted from cor¬ 
ner to corner of the timber, the harrow will be more portable, 
as one-half can be laid over on the other, while moving it from 
field to field. . 
The hook by which it is drawn, is a continuation of the 
pivot on which the hinge turns, as shown on a larger scale, 
figure 33. 
The teeth, c c, are curved, otherwise the tracks made by 
them will be too far apart, d d, two Swedes’ bars, bolted on 
the top of the wood and fastened by screws above. 
The side pieces have tenons, passing through the middle 
pieces, the joints being secured by iron plates above and be¬ 
low, riveted together. The size of the timber three by three 
and a half inches. The iron used for teeth, is seven-eighths of 
an inch square, and running within two inches of each other, 
the thirty teeth make a breadth of four feet ten inches, every 
part of which is harrowed alike fine. 
Teeth passing so nigh each other as within two inches from 
center to center, is perhaps more than would be necessary for 
common use. Twenty-two teeth, so set as to run within 
three inches of each other, making a breadth of five feet three 
inches, would make a fighter harrow, and do the work as well 
as a square harrow with thirty teeth. 
The following cut represents a harrow, invented by 
Edward Wilbur, Esq., of Pittsford, Monroe Co., and 
its advantages are thus described by him in a letter to 
the former proprietor of the Cultivator :—“ The great 
advantage which I conceive my harrow possesses over 
others, even of the jointed kinds, consists in its work¬ 
ing more perfectly the whole surface of the ground over 
which it passes. The arms swinging independently on 
each side of the center beam, enables one to descend 
into a holloAV, while the other on the same side, is ele¬ 
vated by a sod, a stone, or any little eminence ; whereas 
in other jointed harrows, both arms would be elevated 
to the height of the highest, and consequently leave 
some ground undisturbed, or at least but partially har- 
roAved.” 
A. Hooks and eyes on each arm and brace, to permit the 
arms to play according to the surface of the ground. The 
hooks fastened to the arms and braces by screw-bolts and 
nuts; the eyes on the ends of iron bars running through the 
center beam. 
B. Center beam, with a swell eight inches wide to receive 
two teeth, which are four inches apart in fine, and set stand¬ 
ing so that the points may be six inches apart; they are set 
catering from each other, to prevent clogging; another tooth 
farther down works in the center of the two first. 
CC. Arms, each having six teeth ; teeth nine inches apart 
on beams, but working six inches apart in fine, and so ar¬ 
ranged that the teeth on the lower arms work in line in the 
middle of the track between the teeth on the fore arms. 
D. Braces to the arms, into which they are fastened by te¬ 
nons, and pinned. 
The arms may be taken off from the center beam, by tak¬ 
ing out the bolts from the braces and swinging them forward. 
The following cut with the description, is from Prof. 
Low’s “ Elements of Practical Agriculture,” and repre¬ 
sents one of the best and most esteemed implements in 
use in Great Britain. It Avill be seen that the harroAV 
itself does not differ materially in principle in construc¬ 
tion from the double harrows in common use in the 
United States, except in the points of the shape of the 
teeth ; the passage of the rods making the connecting 
joints through the Avhole harrow frame ; the greater 
Avidth of the space harrowed ; and the mode of attach¬ 
ing the team for the draft. 
“ The harrows represented in fig. 35, of Avhich the frame is of 
wood and the teeth of iron, are formed with a regard to these 
general principles. They are connected together in pairs by 
hinges. They consist each of four bars of ivood, AB, CD, 
&c. which are joined together by an equal number of cross¬ 
bars of smaller dimensions, mortised through them. The 
larger bars may be two and a half inches in width or more, by 
three in depth, and the smaller two and a quarter inches in 
width by one in depth. The larger bars are placed oblique to the 
smaller bars, and to the fine oi the harrow’s motion, and the 
teeth are inserted into them at equal distances from each other. 
This inclination is made to be such, that perpendiculars from 
each of the teeth falling upon a fine LM, draw at right angles 
to the harrow’s motion, shall divide the space between each 
bar into equal parts, so that the various teeth, when the instru¬ 
ment is moved forward, shall indent at equal distances the 
surface of the ground over which they pass. 
The number of teeth in each harrow is 20, five being inserted 
in each of the larger bars. When two harrows, therefore, are 
employed together, the surface of the ground from L to M is 
indetned by forty teeth, impressing the ground at equal dis¬ 
tances from each other, and covering the space of about nine 
feet. The teeth may project below the under surface of the 
frame seven or eight inches, their length somewhat increasing 
from the hindmost to the foremost rows, where the oblique 
position of the line of draught tends most to elevate the har¬ 
row. The teeth are often inserted into the frame with a little 
inclination forward ; but this deviation from the perpendicu¬ 
lar, if made at all, should be very slight, because it renders the 
harrow more apt to be impeded by the weeds or other sub¬ 
stances collected in the angle between them and the frame. 
The teeth are fixed in the bars by boring holes with an auger 
of about three-fourths of an inch in diameter, and then driving 
them firmly through. The teeth, when thus driven into the 
bars, will be retained with sufficient firmness. The best of 
the common kinds of wood for the larger bars, as being the 
least liable to split, is elm, birch or ash, and for the cross-bars 
ash. 
The iron rods which terminate in tfie hinges, O, O, may 
pass through the framework to give it greater strength. These 
rods keep the harrows at the distance required, and the hinges 
admit of either harrow rising or falling according to the ine¬ 
qualities of the surface. When thus joined, the harrows are 
drawn by two horses guided by reins, the driver walking be¬ 
hind, so as to be prepared to lift up either harrow when choked 
by weeds, or otherwise interrupted. 
The method of attaching the animals of draft will be ex¬ 
plained by the apparatus of swing-trees, shown in the figure, 
by means of which each animal must exert an equal force in 
pulling. There are plates of iron, N, N, passing through the 
left-hand bars of each harrow. These plates have a few holes 
in them, so that the line of draft may be shifted to the right 
or left as may be required. 
The position of P is not fixed, but must vary with the rough¬ 
ness of the surface over which the harrows are dragged. 
Hence not only must the staple P be placed somewhat to the 
left-hand, but there must be the power of moving it more or 
less towards the left-hand, according to the roughness of the 
surface passed over. This is effected by the iron plates, with 
holes, and by means of which the driver can readily shift the 
line of draft more or less to the left hand, as may be re¬ 
quired.” 
It sometimes happens that meadoAvs or pastures 
which it is inconvenient to ploAV for the purpose of ro¬ 
tation, become deficient in the more valuable grasses, 
or requires renewal, and for this purpose an implement 
called a scarifier, a kind of harrow, has been extensively 
used in England and the continent. This loosens the 
earth, and fits it for a dressing of manure, and a re¬ 
seeding with better herbage. In this country an imple¬ 
ment called “ Conklin’s Revolving Press HarroAV,” an 
engraving of Avhich is given beloAV, has been highly ap- 
proved, not only on grass lands, but on tough swards 
or lands that require extra labor to fit them for crops. 
Conklin’s Revolving Press Harrow —(Fig. 36.) 
Fig. 2, represents the end of one of the cylinders, showing 
in particular the manner in which the teeth, which are attach¬ 
ed to the frame behind, operate in clearing the teeth of the 
roller. 
The machine consists of two cylinders, twenty inches in 
diameter, and three feet long, formed of cast iron stavesj 
which are bolted to end pieces or heads, in the center of 
which are boxes, similar to those of a cart-wheel, and revolves 
on an axle in the same manner. The teeth are of wrought or 
cast iron, and are inserted in the staves, and are fastened by 
means of keys o r nuts upon the inside. _ 
Oats require strong rich soil, good culture, and early 
sowing. 
