Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1859-09-02
The Great Agriculture Discovery
Of the Are.

The great desideratum Of the age, stean
plo,c, we run but little risk in saying, ha
been supplied in the invention of Mr.. Fawkes
The steam plow has been amply tested on tn
rough land of Pennsylvania, and its success
established almost beyond doubt Trans
ferred to the more favorable soil of the Yves
and South, it promises in a few years tt
become as common as moving, reaping anf
threshing machines, and much more indis
pensable. A description of this wonderful
invention may be interesting to most of ou,
readers:
The engine employed is of quite new and
peculiar construction, 20 to 25 feet in length
and Of thirty horse power. The front part Of
the machine is guided by two wheels about
one foot in width and three feet in hight,
working upon king-bolt the same as in a
carriage, with room for the wheels to run
under the fore part, giving it the power to
turn almost or quite within its own length.
The principal weight of the machine is upon
large drum directly under it, near the end,
which is six feet wide, and about five or five
and half in diameter, thus enabling it to pass
over even the worst portions of land with
facility. The gang Of plows, eight in number,
each turning furrow Of fourteen inches in
width and six in depth, is hung upon shafts
extending from each side at the rear Of the
machine. The plows are ranged at an angle
of forty-five degrees, and can by a sudden
movement be dropped for operation, or raised
a foot above the surface in an instant The
engine is under perfect control, and the
machine picks up the plows and proceeds to
any part of the field desired, takes its stand,
backs up to the starting point, drops the plows,
and sets to work very nearly IS easily as q pal,
of horses can be managed. In the operation
there is no straining or hitching, but the plows
pass through the soil at the rate of Jtue miles
per hour, with perfect ease. The swift,
steady movement of the engine, and the beau
tiful manner in which the plows pass through
the soil, each cutting its fourteen inch slice,
and completely reversing the surface, is one
Of the most gratifying sights to farmers eye
that can possibly be imagined. Two men
only are required to work the machine, and it
can be run for day, plowing from 40 to so
acres, at an expense of not exceeding $40.
The present machine, which is larger than
would in all cases be deemed necessary, is
valued at $500.
This invention is destined to completely
revolutionize farming IN the West, and the
results to which it will lead would
appear at this date almost incredulous. Mr..
Fawkes, the inventor, is now in Illinois, with
MS plow, to compete at the State Fair for the
premium offered by the Agricultural Society
If that State for the best invention of this
Kind. He is a tall, wiry country blacksmith,
'ome thirty-five years of age, and native of
Lancaster county, Pa.
DODGE INELIGIBLE.-The Constitution of
iowa provides that "No person shall be eligible
~ Tic OluCc VI uOVefuOT UT AieuIeudlt OoV'
,rnor, who shall not have been citizen of the
United States, and resident of this State for
7wo YEARS next preceding the election"
3en. Dodge has been absent four years from
he country at Madrid, and according to a
strict construction of the Constitution is not
,nly ineligible to the Office for which he is
but is not legal voter.
Our Democratic friends need not be fright
med, however, as we feel certain nobody con.
iders it worth while to interpose any legal
obstacles to the Generals aspirations. There
S no danger of his election, and consequently
10 probability that the Constitutional barrier
will be required to keep him out of Office.
Cor HIS CoAT OFF AT the discussion
between Kirkwood and Dodge, in Mills
county, Dodge got SO crazily mad that he
pulled off his coat and challenged his opponent
% fight. Mr. Kirkwood pleasantly smiled
It the enthusiasm of the belligerent Ex-Span-
sh Minister, but didn't hurt him. When the
General pulls off his coat to fight, that can
scarcely be called portion Of that "untorm
for which Democratic cotemporary
;ays he is remarkable. We predict that
Dodge will never get through that list of