The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1871-08-30
AGRICULTURAL IMpLEMENTs
CTARKE's DIXIE PLOw.

VI
BY INVITATION OF MIR f. O. wILLIAMs,
OF the county of Nottoway, number of gentle
men assembled at his residence Saturday, De-
cemper 10, to test by practical experiment the
,,, NV value OF the DIXIE PLOW manu-
factured by Starke h Co., and any other that
might enter the field of competition.
Inc plows were taken to the field at half
past two Z, NJ the following gentlemen acting as
Judges; +. w. Eppes, J. Il. Williams, Robert
Scott, Jas. ;. Gillian, VIM T. Christian, Rich
ara Eppes, DR.. Daring, Sidney Graves, Walton
Sydnor, 3 Q. Williams, q: N: Seay, and J. M.
Hurt Mr. 5. Graves and Walton Sydnor were
the princlpai plowmen. Mr.. w. Sidnor working
the Watt pillow, and S. Graves the Dixie-both of
whom handled them with mastery skill and
Those entered were the Dixie two-horse right and
leit-nand pows, and the Watt tWo-horse left
hand. soon after the trial commenced, the beam
oil the Dixie rght-hand broke in two and was laid
ASIDE the contest being narrowed to the Watt left
hand and Dixie righthand. The soil first selected
was q stubble loan without soil but as the plows
were new, and did not turn in consequence of the
roughness of the castings, after short trial it
was decided to take them into another field where
the soil was q wel-trodden, tenacious clay, with
timothy sod covered with vegetation and with
straw. The plows here performed their work ad-
mirably, cutting and turning without choking
AS the Dixie was a new conner, as the contest
waxed warm most OF the judges took hold of it
to test personally its practical working While
there is no intention to do injustice to any, as
neither party had agent or representative pre-
sent, ana both plows did well yet the trial. with
the award of the Judges is deemed of sufficient
Importance the interest of agriculture to justi-
fly its publication
The award of the Judges was unanimously in
favor of the Dixie on the following grounds:
LIST. 1t cut deeper furrow
I'd. 1t cut a wider furrow
3d. 1t more effectually inverted the sod
4th. The draft seemed to be no greater
9th. The mechanical arrangement for altering
cut was deemed more simple and efficient,
At the conclusion of the trial some of the
judges were pleased as TO determine to order
them for their own use.
I'M. HURT, Secretary.
mond "Whig'' for publication by myself that
am not acquainted with Mr.. Starle; that he had
never seen the paper and knew nothing of its
contents, and was in no wise a party to the trial
of the plows alluded to-
january 7, 1871. I'M. HURT
We, the judges in the ''Plow Trial. on. the
farm Of MIR. L. o. Williams, published in the
'Whgn hereby certify that it was directed to be
judges who made the award.
J. M. HURT,
+. 9. WILLIAMS,
W. IT, CHRISTIAN,
j. ID. WILLIAMS, =
January 9, 1871 JAS. S. GILLIAN
do not believe in plow trials made by the
farmer will at once make full trial of the DIXIE
with every plow he can find and buy that which
does the best work have been not able to supply
the demand nor fill my orders for sometime, and
must leave fleld-trals where they rightly belong
to themselves
r. III. STARKE,
ap l2-w3m No. 1440 Main Street.