Burlington hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa) 1845-185?, 1850-05-09
OFfxln Of the PleW.


To understand its form and origin, il 10
necessary to bear in mind that the plow
was undoubtedly substituted instrument.
intended to accomplish more expeditious-
ly, on larger scale, by means Of animal
draught, that which would, in the first In
stance, be the work Of a simple tool used
by the hand. In this country we would
pronounce that tool to Be the spade but ii
we 90 no fiirther of than the shores Of
Spain and Portugal, We shall Be induced
to pause before we award the palm Of an
tiqnity to that implement. The city Of
Cadiz was colonized, at a very remote Pc
riod, from the eastern shore Of the Medi-
terranean, by the, Phnnicians: No dis
trict of Western Europe claims 50 high :
pedigree in regard to the useful arts -
the coast Of the Peninsula, reaching from
Vigo to the Straits of Gibraltar-and there
we find that the implement Of single handr
ed cultivation is not the spade, but sort
Of hoe, with a very long blade. With
this the workman cleaves the ground,
dragging towards him the broken soil as
he stands on which, the treading Of his
foot helps, in a dry climate, TO break the
clods as they are turned away from the
"land side" This mode Of cultivation
would not suit moist climate. The Por-
tuguese, who got it through the Pheni-
clans from the East, have in turn carried
it TO their own colonies, where II may b
seen in Madeira, the Brazils, the West
Indies, and even at the settlement Of
Macao, in China, as the common instru-
ment Of tillage, as the spade is with u.s.
In Portugal it performs its task, tearing
up the soil to the depth Of two, and even
three feet. 1t is an instrument with one
long blade, but bent to a more acute angle
with the blades of the picxaxe, and some
times connected with it BY cross-bar Of
wood or iron, reminding one Of the capi-
tai letter A, with one leg shorter than the
other. -.~~s. sr.s...-..< s..-<-s.. .@..-.
In the Egyptian paintings and hyero-
glyphics the object often occurs both BY
itself and the hand Of the workman. Now
let US imagine him, tired Of the slow pro-
gress of tearing up the soil by hand with
this implement, 10 conceive the idea Of
yoking pair Of oxen (for horses were
never used in ancient agriculture to the
end of the handle, and making them drag
it along the field, tearing up sort Of fur
row as it goes he himself following, and
holding it at the point where the blade and
the handle Join. The oxen would in this
case only be doing more quickly and on a
larger scale what the wor kman had been
doing slowly, though with more care and
finish. The instrument would tear up
| the soil as il went, and throw it in irreg-
ular Jumps ON both sides the workmen,
however, would desire that it should
throw the soil on one side only, in order
to leave clear trench to receive the next
furrow-siice in coming back: be would
soon find il convenient, however, to give q
twist to the blade Of the instrument, 80 -
to make il cast out the furrow-sice on one
side. Now picture the yoke Of oxen pull
ling at the end of the long handle, the mar
holding the instrument by the apex, On
tended out little to give him more lever.
age and command Of stsadying it, the blade
twisted obliquely, so as 10 cut forward and
press on the soil sideways, and the little
cross bar sharpened so as TO cut tho sol
in advance, instead of being an impedimenti
and we have at once the rude elementary
form of the Egyptian plough-the same in
strument used by tho Lycian peasant Il
this very time, and containing the sksletor
of the machine, from the first that evsI
was invented, down TO the latest 'new and
improved" plow Of the present day.