Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1871-03-16
swivel Pl0ws
THEIR ADVANTAGES ON LEVEL LAHD
AND SIDE HILL.

Of the CWlVel IloW, III 'i -,
smooth and even surfaces are SO desirable
for the proper and most effective working
of the modern improved harvesting ma
chimes, are so striking and obvious that
merely condensed summary of the leading
points will be sufficient to suggest to the
practical man the various details OF the
whole matter. :,
1. Swivel plows years ago were called
Side hill plows. They were used chiefly
GA hill-sides, to turn the burrows down
hill, and they worked pretty well Tor tnat
purpose, but were not of much use on level
land, as they could not turn sod without
the advantage of downward sloping sur
face.
9. With the introduction of the NOW,
ing Machine, Reaper, Hay Tedder ana
more improved varieties OF the Horse rake,
came the frequent inquiry for an improved
form of the Plow, embracing the o"lVel
or Reversible principle, that would turn
level lands all one way, avoiding the dead
burrows and ridges necessarily resulting
from the use of the common land side or
level land pillow, and lay the fields down
even and smooth. In the use OF the
Moving Machine particularly, dead
furrow is a serious inconvenience: Anu
here it may be said, incidentally, that one
of the great benefits resulting to our agrl-
culture, from the introduction OF the
Mower, is that it compels us to smooth the
surface of our fields and remove obstruc-
tlons which were an offence to the eye as
we'll as a hindrance to cultivation, and
cause of loss both Of the labor and OF the
crop.
3. A great deal of first class inventive
genius is now directed TO the production
of new and various agricultural machines
for the harvesting of crops and saving of
hand labor and the rapidly increasing
use of such machines renders it more and
more desirable to get rid of dead burrows
and ridges in our tillage lands, as all
these machines work much better and
gather and save more hay or other crop,
where the surface of the land is even,
than where it is married by those insight
ly inequalities.
4. Take two fields which have suffi-
cient artificial or natural drainage, and
which are exactly equal in all conditions,
excepting that one has smooth, even
surface and the other is broken and mar
red by dead burrows, ridges, little hillocks
and hollows, ETC., and, as rule, the field
that has the even surface will cost less in
the tillage, and produce more and of a
better quality of crop than the field of
broken and rough surface. In the latter
case the ridges will be the first to suffer in
a dry time, while in wet season the low
places may be too wet to produce good
crop.
5. In many rather level districts of
country, with moist soil requiring some
sort of drainage it has been customary to
plow the fields in narrow lands, with high
browning ridges and deep dead burrows Of
course frequently occurring, to carry of
the surface moisture. At best this is a
poor substitute for under drainage. Ger
tainly in all districts not remote from
good markets it would be better to under
drain such land with tile or other covered
drains, and dispense with dead burrows,
ridges by using the Swivel Plow, and
have a level surface for the more effective
nse of harvesting machines.
6. In any season there will be loss
Of crop in dead burrows, the surface soil
being pared and turned away in making
them. Where crops oflarge market value
per acre, like the best grades of tobacco,
are raised, the loss of crop from this cause
IS no inconsiderable item. In other words,
the increase in product of tobacco on say
five acres of good land without dead fur
rows, over what would have been realized
had the field been plowed in the usual way,
in narrow lands and frequent dead burrows,
would be sufficient in one year, to pay for
a good Swivel Plow.
Z. For side-hill blowing the Swivel
Plow is indispensable. The burrows are
better turned and the labor of team and
plowman much lessened. Above all, by
thus blowing across or at right angles
with the slope, the soil is better preserved
from washings which would occur if the
hillside were plowed up and down the
slope. as would be the case in using the
common Landslide pillow. ...-.~
8. The Swivel Plow, when specially
rigged for the work, is particularly we'll
adapted for retaining bog meadows. Its
wide, steel-edged swivel share, say cutting
from 10 to 20 inches wide, with one wing
cutting horizontally under the furrow slice
serving all the roots that hold it to the firm
earth below, while the other wing cuts
vertically, in line with the Landslide, in
place of the usual cutter attached to the
beam, and separates the slice from the
unplowed land; and thus liberated on the
side and bottom, the slice is beautifully
lifted and twisted over into the previous
turrow by the mould. board. The steel
edged wings Of. the share are kept per-
lectly sharp by filing them as often as may
be necessary for that purpose. The offsets
on either side of the clevis supported by
the side draft rods on either side of the
beam carry the line of the draft to one
side or the other, according as the plow is
going or returning with its furrow, so that
the team, both near and off animals, can
travel beside the furrow on the grass or
unplowed land, both going and returning.
In blowing soft bog meadow, the team
could not travel a rod in the furrow before
becoming hopelessly mired. With the
Swivel Plow thus rugged, one can begin
on one side of the meadow and pillow out
and back continually, turning the throws
all one way, working the team always on
the grass or unplowed land, and making
no dead furrow for water TO stand and
stagnate in. He can also accomplish at
least twice as much in day as he could
do with the Landslide Pillow. 1t is not safe
to pillow around the field with the Landslide
Plow, because as the team approaches the
center it is obliged to travel more or less
on piowed land, and would get fatally
mired hence, the Landslide pillow can only
be safely used to pillow out one way, and
returning must be dragged back, or, az
we say in pillow phrase, In returning we
are obliged to carry the furrow.'
9. The Swivel Plow, with wide, steel
edged share wings, is doubtless well
adapted for breaking prairie. With a
Swivel Plow OF medium size, a good pair
of horses would easily break raw prairie
the required depth of two or three inches
snd say Is inches wide, since in New
England the same team can easily break
unreclaimed bog meadow six or seven