Part 28

Now, what a prodigious Advantage must the Influences of the Atmosphere have upon these small Parts, for making a further Division of them! Frost, Water, Drought, and nitrous Air, easily penetrate to their very Centers, which cannot in the largest of them be more than one Inch and a Quarter distant from their Superficies. This Advantage, with a few subsequent common Plowings, performed in proper Seasons, resolves the Earth almost all to a Powder. The Swerd, some being immersed or buried and mixed among so great a Proportion of Mould, is soon rotten and lost; some of the Swerd lying loose a-top, the Earth presently drops out of it; and then the Roots are dried up, and die. Thus is the whole Staple of the Ground brought into perfect Tilth in a very short time beyond what the Spade ever does in such swerdy Land.

Farm. _What sort of Weather is best for using this Plough?_

_Resp._ Any Weather, except the Ground be so dry and hard that the Plough cannot enter it; but it is very proper to be done, when the Earth is so wet, that by no means it ought to be plowed with any other Plough; for it never can be too moist for this, unless the Cattle which draw it be mired; because, tho’ all the Cattle should not go in the Furrow, yet their Treadings are cut so small by the Coulters, that the Earth is not kept from dissolving, as when turned off whole in common Tillage. ’Tis observed, that the Incisions made by the Coulters on swerdy Land, will not heal, or so close up, but that they will open again by the next Plowing, though it be a great while after. A Farmer who uses this Plough, may till in all Weathers and all Seasons of the Year, either in fallowing with this, which is best in wet, or in stirring with the common ones, which must be done in dry Weather; and when the Ground is broken up with this, it may be stirred in the driest Weather that can be, without the Danger of tearing (or spaulting) up of the under _Stratum_ along with the Staple, because this is all broken before, and then no more can rise with it; as it does to the Ruin of the Soil, when in common Tillage they go deeper the Second time than the First: Also, if there be a Necessity of stirring some sort of Land when it is wet, it ought either to be done with this Plough, or else with a common one drawn by a single Row of Cattle treading all in the Furrow; for tho’ some Land be very fine, yet, when plowed by a double Row of Cattle in wet Weather, it will be made into large Pieces by the Treading, and perhaps not dissolve again in a long time: Therefore it is better to be prevented.

Farm. _I perceive this Plough lays the Foundation for all good Husbandry; and there can be no other way to bring Land into perfect Tilth in so short a Time, or with so little Expence. And I am convinc’d, that no Farmer ought to be without it, who desires to be free from the Danger of his Land being ever out of Tilth: But I have heard it objected, that it is harder to draw than the common Ploughs; and that its Beam being longer, upon account of the Four Coulters, it lies farther behind, and comes harder after the Horses._

_Resp._ I must confess, there is something in that Objection; for this Plough, being something longer, may be a little the harder Draught; and also its Weight and Strength must bear a Proportion to the Length of it. But this small Increase of the Draught would have been a much stronger (if not a fatal) Objection, had that Custom been general, of Horses drawing by their Tails, as ’tis said to have been formerly in some Places; for then, perhaps, a sufficient Strength of Horses could not be applied to the Plough. But in Countries where Traces are in Use, every Horse of the Team may draw the Plough equally, and then there will be no other Inconvenience, besides the adding one Horse, or keeping a stronger Team: And he cannot be wise, who would lose the Profit of his Land, for the Odds of sometimes adding a Horse to his Plough. And I am very certain, that this Plough requires a much less Strength of Cattle to draw it in moist Weather, which is the most proper to use it in, than to draw a common Plough in the same Ground, and at the same Depth, in dry Weather; and can seldom be used safely in any other. And the Vulgar, who have always a wrong Cause ready at hand to apply to every thing, impute that Draught to the Fashion of the Plough, which ought to be imputed to its going deeper; and this great Depth at which ’tis capable of plowing, _viz._ Two Spit deep, is one extraordinary Benefit of it, tho’ it may, on Occasion, go as shallow as any.

The Draught is not so much increased by adding Three Coulters, as may be imagined; for when the Ground is moist, the Incisions are easily made by the Edges; and when they are cut small, the Furrows rise much more easily upon the Share and Earth-Board, than if whole.

Farm. _If this Plough be so beneficial, having so many Advantages, and only the Two Inconveniencies, one of requiring a little more Strength to draw it, and the other its being unfit for dry hard Ground, I wonder why it is not become more common?_

_Resp._ It has been used with very great Success for these several Years last past, but never like to be common, unless it be described in a more geometrical Manner, than any Plough has hitherto been; for the Plough-wrights find it difficult enough to make a common Plough with one Coulter to perform as it ought, for want of the necessary Rules of their Art. It is upon this Account that the Two-coulter’d Ploughs are used in few Places, though they have been found of excellent Use, and have been formerly common: But, alas! when the Makers, who by their diligent Study and much Practice had attained the Perfection of their Art, died for want of learning to write their Rules mathematically, and shew how the mechanical Powers were applicable to them, the Art was in a Manner lost, at the Death of those Artists; and then the unskilful Plough-wrights, destitute of the true Rules, were not able to make a Two-coulter’d Plough to perform well, and then it was left off. Very lately ’tis revived, since the Three and Four-coulter’d ones have been used; from whence some have made a Shift to take the Rules of placing Two Coulters into a Plough, and they begin to be common again; and, no doubt, will cease again as soon as the Rules are forgot.

[Illustration: _Page 291_

_Plate. I._

_B.Cole. Delin. et Sculp._]

’Tis strange that no Author should have written fully of the Fabric of Ploughs! Men of the greatest Learning have spent their Time in contriving Instruments to measure the immense Distance of the Stars, and in finding out the Dimensions, and even Weight, of the Planets: They think it more eligible to study the Art of plowing the Sea with Ships, than of tilling the Land with Ploughs; they bestow the utmost of their Skill, learnedly, to pervert the natural Use of all the Elements for Destruction of their own Species, by the bloody Art of War. Some waste their whole Lives in studying how to arm Death with new Engines of Horror, and inventing an infinite Variety of Slaughter; but think it beneath Men of Learning (who only are capable of doing it) to employ their learned Labours in the Invention of new (or even improving the old) Instruments for increasing of Bread.

The easiest Method of perpetuating the Use of the many coulter’d Ploughs, and other newly-invented Instruments of Husbandry, is by Models, _i. e._ the Things themselves in little; and these may be all portable even in a Man’s Pocket: Every Part must be fully described, with the true Dimensions, and the mathematical Reasons, on which their Contrivance is founded. Directions also for using them must be given at the same time that their Manner of making is described. In some, the very Horses which draw must be represented, to shew the manner of fixing the Horses, and the Traces: Cautions against all the Errors that may happen by the want of Experience in the Makers or Users, must be given.

When this is done, and the Rules put into a Method, the new Hoeing-Husbandry, in all its Branches, will be much more easy and certain than the old; because there are no mathematical Rules extant in any Method; and a Man may practise the old random Husbandry all his Life, without attaining so much Certainty in Agriculture as may be learned in a few Hours from such a Treatise.

The Rules, indeed, require much Labour, Study, and Experience, to compose them; but when finish’d, will be most easy to practise: Like the Rules for measuring Timber; their Use is, at first Sight, easy to every Carpenter, and to most Artificers who work in Wood; but no illiterate Person is able to compose those Rules, or to measure Timber without them.

CHAP. XIX.

_The Description of a_ Four-coulter’d Plough.

To describe all Parts of a Plough geometrically, would require more Time and Learning than I am Master of: Therefore leaving that to be done by somebody else, who is better qualified for it, I shall at present attempt little more than what relates to the Three added Coulters.

In _Plate_ I. _Fig._ I. is the Portrait of a common Two-wheel’d Plough used in _Berkshire_, _Hampshire_, _Oxfordshire_, and _Wiltshire_, and in most other Countries of _South-Britain_; and is generally esteemed the best Plough for all Sorts of Land, except such miry Clays that stick to the Wheels, and clog them up, so as they cannot turn round.

But they have, in some Places, a Contrivance to prevent this Inconvenience; which is done by winding Thumb-ropes of Straw about the Iron Circles of the Wheels, and about the Spokes. The Wheels pressing against the Ground, the Thumb-ropes are distended on each Side: which Motion throws off the Dirt, and prevents its sticking to the Wheels, which it would otherwise do.

’Tis commonly divided into Two Parts; _viz._ the Plough-head, and the Plough-tail.

The Plough-head contains the Two Wheels A, B, and their Axis or Spindle of Iron passing thro’ the Box C, turning round both therein, and in the Wheels; the Two Crow-staves D, D, fastened into the Box perpendicularly, and having in each Two Rows of Holes, whereby to raise or sink the Beam, by pinning up or down, the Pillow E, to increase or diminish the Depth of the Furrow; the Gallows F, thro’ which the Crow-staves pass at top, by Mortises, into which they are pinned; G the Wilds with its Links and Crooks of Iron, whereby the whole Plough is drawn; H the Two-chain, which fastens the Plough-tail to the Plough-head, by the Collar I at one End, and by the other End passing thro’ a Hole in the Middle of the Box, is pinned in by the Stake K; L the Bridle-chain, one End whereof is fastened to the Beam by a Pin, and the other End to the Top of the Stake, which Stake is held up to the left Crow-staff, by the With M, patting round it above, and under the End of the Gallows below; or instead of this With, by a Piece of Cord, and sometimes by the End of the Bridle-chain, when that is long enough.

The Plough-tail consists of the Beam N: the Coulter O; the Share P; and the Sheat Q; the Hinder-sheat R, passing thro’ the Beam near its End; S the short Handle, fastened to the Top of the Hinder-sheat by a Pin, and to the Top of the Sheat by another Pin; T the Drock which belongs to the right Side of the Plough-tail, and whereto the Ground-wrist V is fasten’d; as is the Earth-board, whose Fore-part W is seen before the Sheat; and also the long Handle X, whose Fore-part Y appears before the Sheat, and is fasten’d to the Drock by a Pin at _a_, the other End of which Pin goes into the Beam. Z is the double Retch, which holds up the Sheat, and passes through the Beam to be fasten’d by its Screws and Nuts at _b_ and _c_.

But without intrenching much farther upon the common Plough-wright’s Art, whose Trade is his Living, I’ll hasten to shew the necessary Difference there is betwixt the common Plough, and the Four-coulter Plough, beginning with _Fig._ 2. where it is represented as standing upon a level Surface.

_Fig._ 2. And, First, The Beam differs in Length, being Ten Feet Four Inches long, as the other Plough-beam is but Eight Feet; it differs in Shape, as the other is strait from one End to the other, but this is strait only from _a_ to _b_, and thence turns up of a sudden, in the manner that is shewn in the Cut; so that a Line let down perpendicular, from the Corner at _a_, to the even Surface whereon the Plough stands, would be Eleven Inches and an half, which is its Height in that Place; and, if another Line were let down, from the turning of the Beam at _b_, to the same Surface, it would be One Foot Eight Inches and an half, which is the Height that the Beam stands from the Ground, at that Part; and a Third Line let down to the Surface, from the Bottom of the Beam, at that Part which bears upon the Pillow, will shew the Beam to be Two Feet Ten Inches high above the Surface in that Part.

From the End _a_, to the Back-part of the first Coulter, is Three Feet Two Inches; from thence, to the Back of the next Coulter, is Thirteen Inches; thence to the Third, Thirteen Inches; and from thence to the Fourth, the same. From _a_ to _b_ is Seven Feet.

This Crookedness of the Beam is to avoid the too great Length of the foremost Coulters, which would be necessary if the Beam was strait; and then, unless they were vastly thick and heavy, they would be apt to bend, and the Point of the Fourth would be at so great a Distance from its Coulter-hole, that it would have the greater Power to loosen the Wedges, whereby the Coulter would rise up out of its Work, as it never doth when the Beam is made in this bending Manner. This Beam is made either of Ash, which is the lightest, or of Oak, which is the most durable. Its Depth and Breadth may vary, according to the heavier or lighter Soil it is to till; but this before us is in Depth Five Inches at the first Coulter-hole, and in Breadth Four Inches.

_Fig._ 4. Is the Sheat Q in _Fig._ 1. (broad Seven Inches) with the Iron Retch on it, the left Leg of which Retch must stand foremost, to the end that the Edge of its Fore-part, that is flat, may fit close to the Wood of the Sheat: This Retch holds the Sheat fast up to the Beam by its Nuts and Screws; as also doth a Pin driven into the Hole _a_, which Hole being a small Part of it within the Beam, the Pin being driven into the Hole, draws up the Sheat very tight to the Beam. The principal thing to be taken notice of here, is the Angle _b c d_, which shews the Elevation of the Sheat; the Line _c d_ is supposed to be equal with the Bottom of the Share (or rather with the plain Surface whereon it stands); when this Angle at _c_ is larger than of Forty-five Degrees, a common Plough never goes well: In my Four-coulter Plough I choose to have it of Forty-two or Forty-three at the most.

_Fig._ 5. Is the Share; _a_ is the End of the Point; _b_ is the Tail of the Share, long from _a_ to _b_ Three Feet Nine Inches; _c_ the Fin; _d_ the Socket, into which the Bottom of the Sheat enters; _e_ a thin Plate of Iron riveted to the Tail of the Share: By this Plate, the Tail of the Share is held to the hinder Sheat, as at _d_ in _Fig._ 1. by a small Iron Pin with a Screw at its End, and a Nut screw’d on it on the inner or right Side of that Sheat. From _a_ to _f_ is the Point, long about Three Inches and an half, flat underneath, and round at Top: It should be of hard Steel underneath. From _f_ to _c_ is the Edge of the Fin, which should be well steeled; the Length of it is uncertain, but it should never make a less Angle at _f_ than it appears to make in this _Fig._ The Socket is a Mortise of about a Foot long, at the upper Part, Two Inches deep: The Fore-end of this Mortise must not be perpendicular, but oblique, conformable to the Fore-part of the Sheat which enters it; the upper Edge of which Fore-part must always bear against the Sheat at _e_ in _Fig._ 4. but if this End of the Socket should not be quite so oblique as the Sheat, it may be help’d, by taking off a little of the Wood at the Point _c_.

_Fig._ 6. Shews the Share, with its right Side upwards, in the same Posture as when it plows; whose Side _a b_ should be perfectly strait, but its under Side at _c_, which is its Neck, should be a little hollow from the Ground, but never more than half an Inch in any Plough, and a Quarter of an Inch in a Four-coulter Plough; so that the Share, when it is first made, standing upon its Bottom, bears upon the level Surface only in Three Places; _viz._ at the very Point _a_, at the Tail _b_, and at the Corner of the Fin _d_.

_Fig._ 7. Is the Share, turn’d Bottom upwards; and shews the Concavity of the Fin at _a_; which must be greatest in a stony rubbly Soil.

_Fig._ 8. Shews the Share, the right Side upwards, but leaning towards the Left.

In placing of the Share rightly upon the Sheat, consists the well going of a Plough, and is the most difficult Part of a Plough-wright’s Trade, and is very difficult to be shewn. Supposing the Axis of the strait Beam, and the left Side of the Share, to be both horizontal, they must never be parallel to each other; for if they were, the Tail of the Share, bearing against the Side of the Trench, as much as the Point, would cause the Point to incline to the right Hand, and go out of the Ground into the Furrow. If the Point of the Share should be set, so that its Side should make an Angle on the right Side of the Axis of the Beam, this Inconvenience would be much greater; and if its Point should incline much to the Left, and make too large an Angle on that Side with the Axis of the Beam, the Plough would run quite to the left Hand; and if the Holder, to prevent its running out of the Ground, turns the upper Part of his Plough towards the left Hand, the Fin of the Share will rise up, and cut the Furrow diagonally[259], leaving it half unplow’d; beside, the Plough will rise up at the Tail, and go all upon the Point of the Share: To avoid these Inconveniences, the strait Side of the Share must make an Angle on the left Side of the Beam, but so very acute, that the Tail of the Share may only press less against the Side of the Trench than the Point does. This Angle is shewn by the prick’d Lines at the Bottom of _Fig._ 1. where the prick’d Line _e f_ is supposed to be the Axis of the Beam let down to the Surface, and the prick’d Line _g f_ parallel to the left Side of the Share; but this Angle will vary as those Two prick’d Lines are produc’d forwards to the Fore-end of a long and a short Beam, keeping the same Subtense: For Plough-wrights always take this Subtense at the Fore-end of a Beam, whether it be a long Beam or short one; and it is the Subtense _e g_, that determines the Inclination the Point of the Share must have toward the left Hand. Plough-wrights differ much in this Matter; but, by what I can learn by those that make the Ploughs I see perform the best, this Subtense at the Fore-end of an Eight-feet Beam should never be more than one Inch and an half; and by full Experience I find, that whether the Beam be long or short, the Subtense must be the same; for when my Plough-wrights take this Subtense at Eight Feet from the Tail, when they make my Four-coulter Plough, whose Beam is Ten Feet Four Inches long, the Point of the Share will incline too much to the Left, and it will not go well until this Fault be mended, by taking the same Subtense quite at the End of the Beam; which makes the mentioned Angle more acute.

[259] This is the greatest Misfortune incident to a common Two-wheeled Plough, and happens generally by the Fault of the Maker, though sometimes by the Plowman’s setting it so, that the Point of the Share turns too much to the Left. I have seen Land plowed in this manner, where not half of it has been moved, nor better tilled than by Raftering, not only cut diagonally, but also half the Surface hath remained whole, where when the Earth that was thrown on it was removed, the Weeds appeared unhurt on the unplowed Surface. In this Case, they for a Remedy let the Plough to go deeper; and then, if it go deep enough for the Fin to cut off the Furrow at a just Depth, the Point will go below the Staple, which may ruin the Soil, unless it be very deep.

When our _English_ Ploughs go in this manner, they make much worse Work than the _Eastern_ Ploughs, that have no Coulter; for these, contrary to ours, though they always cut their Furrow diagonally, cut it thin on that Side from which it is turned, as our bad Ploughs leave it thin on that Side towards which it is turned. The Earth the _Easterns_ leave by their Diagonal in one Furrow, is taken off by the next; but ours leaving Part of their Furrow behind them, on the Side next to the plowed Part of the Field, come at it no more; but the other can plow cleaner, their Diagonal being contrary to ours, which leaves the Trench deepest on the Side next to the unplowed Part of the Field; but unless the Fin of the Four-coultered Plough go parallel to the Surface of the Earth, it will not plough at all; or will leave Two or Three of its Four Furrows untouched.