The Kalida venture. [volume] (Kalida, Ohio) 1841-1865, 1847-06-04

uRINuhuhot htPtOmVutb III NAOAiNO1 WuiNu
will doubtless be interesting'to the farmers
in this country, by showing what miserable
teols Mexican can work with. Below we
copy some Of these descriptions, as to the
manner in which they sew their grain:
PLOwS, HARROws, AND SOWING
WHEAT.
Riding on the tenth Of December, up the
valley in which Parras is situated, came 70
field where they were sewing wheat. The
sewer was sowing the wheat broadcast on
the unplowed ground. Twenty y-three plews
followed each other on the same land, plow.
ing the wheat in. A contrivance for har
row levslled the ground after the plows.---
Each plow was drawn by two oxen. The
plows were the same pattern used by the
Romans two thousand years since. They
were made Of The fork of a small tree, one
prong Of which answered for the beam, and
cut long enough to fas,en the oxen to-; tho
other was cut off about four feet long, and
sharpsned at the end, and single stick fas-
tened into the fork and projecting back,
made;the handle. This was the whole plow
lock, stock, and barrel. When a forked
tree cannot DO found, the short stick is NOR
ticed into the long one. The short prong
was tho coulter--the long one the BEAM
This was fastened by araw-hidc thong to the
OK yoke, which, in turn, was fastened in front
Of, and to the horns of the oxen. by another
raw-hide thong. The handle was held by
person who was armed in the other hand
with long pole with sharp goad in the end
Of it, which he unsparingly plunged into the
oxen 10 quicken their speed, or change their
direction.
Some of the better plows have the coulter
shod with piece Of iron, resembling a bull
tongue, eight inches long, and ,apering from
thence 10 two inches at the point This is
the greatest improvement made upon the
plow.
The ground is never thoroughly broken
up, and is only scratched into furrows few
inches deep. Efforts have been made to in.
troduce better plews, and some have been
brought from the United States. But the
Mexicans did not like TO use them. They
were soon broken and thrown aside as use
less, beeause no one would plow with them.
The harrow was as simple contrivance
as the plew, and consisted Of single stick
of square timber, the size of joisi, fastened
in two places with raw-hide rope to keep
i, square TO the front, and drawn by q yoke
of oxen 10 level the ground.
CORN MILLS, HOES, AXES, AND OK
CARTS
The metate or stone corn mill, used for
preparing tertillas, are the same article that
was used by the Indians at the first conques,
Of Mexico.
Their hoes are clumsey, rough machines,
decidedly meaner than the meanest hoe in
old Virginia-and that is as bad character
as know hew TO give them.
Their axes are long and clumsy, with
blades abeut three inches wide, and rsscm-
bling the upper part of pickaxs or grub
biRg hee. II looks remarkable that they
should ever be able TO peck a tree down
with one. The great superiority of the A.
merican axe is SO evident, that some few
venturssome persons have commenced the
use Of them.
A Mexican cart is the most unique Of all
their invertions. 1t has not piece Of iron
in or about it. 1t is constructed entirely of
wood and raw-hde. The axletres is rough
hewed log rounded a. the ends. The
wheels arc make Of knotty live oak, tive feet
and a hale through the hub, and trimmed
down TO seven inches in the tread. Two
slabs Of the same width are pinned on to the
centre piece, to give retundi,y to the wheel.
A heavy tongue is mortised into the axle,
and has wooden pin inserted through the
upper end, by which to fasten il 10 the yoke.
The body is made Of wooden poles inserted
into round saplings eight feet long. This is
used for hauling wood, &c. When they wish
to haul corn, corn stalks are placed across
the wooden poles and !ashed tightly 10 them
with strips Of a raw hide. When wheat or
shelled corn is 10 be carried, they line inside
of the stalk bed with m, ting made of the
palmiIla, which resembles the material of
which gunny bags are made.
The OK yoke is piece of timber five
inches wide and three inches thick, slightly
indontsd near each end. This is tied in front
Of, and across the horns, with piece oftough
raw-hide. Another piece fastens the yoke
tightly to the tongue Of the cart, a second
yoke of cattle is usually fastened TO the cart.
Tho driver moves along by the side of the
cart, sometimes on foot and sometimes on
an ugly illnatured mustang, with a long OK
goad in his hand. He uses this very freely,
and when he wishes TO "file left," he pops
his goad into ths,off OK, who screws his tail
and runs around his fellow, and changes the
direction of the cart. They move more
briskly than American oxen. This is no
wonder, fer they are all taught 10 "walk Span
ish."
They haul very large loads in these carts,
and travel az fast as horse teams usually do