Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1880-10-06
A One-Horse Smoothing Harrow.

A Young Farmer" writing in the Free
man. gives his experience in wedding corn
and potatoes with harrow, and expresses
himself as being perfectly satisfied with the
results. This is just as we expected. 1t is
the young men only who are going to adopt
such radical improvements as narrowing
corn when six inches high to kill the weeds.
1t is perfectly practicable, but no power on
earth can make old farmers believe it. Con-
sequently the old farmers will never raise
corn cheaper than they can buy it. But the
young ones will. If it were not for the cost
of husking the small ears of our Vermont
varieties of corn, which run from two hun
bred to three hundred to the bushel and are
harder to husk than western sorts that run
only eighty ears to the bushel, corn could
be grown on Vermont farms for twenty-five
cents bushel when planted and titled en-
tirely by machinery. Our corn costs us
twelve cents bushe to husk, the best we
can do. Husking machines have been in
vented, but they "muss up" the stalks so
badly that they are useless. If anybody
would invent cheap and rapid husker that
would leave the stalks straight, and deliver
them in shape to be quickly bound again in
bundles, it would be great boon, and ten
acre fields of corn would become as plenty
in New England as half acre patches are
now. Young Farmer" thus describes his
one-horse smoothing harrow, which anybody
ought to be able to make from his descrip-
ton.
g. did not really like the Thomas harrow, be-
cause the teeth do not draw straight forward, but
little sideways, making it better to smooth the
ground, but not so good for narrowing corn etc,
as 1t is more likely to tear 1t up. So went to
work and made what call an improvement upon
the Thomas harrow. 1t is made with four strips
of wood, two by three inches and five feet long,
These strips are placed in the form of a square,
with rod through the middle from one corner to
the corner opposite, dividing 1t into two wings.
The wings are hinged upon the rod like the COM
mon butterfly harrow, so that each can be lifted
independent of the other. Two corners are
hinged in an opposite direction, so that the hind
that is hinged to the rod can be slid up or
back and fastened with a set nut. 1t operates ex-
actly like opening and closing an umbrella. The
teeth are made of half-inch round steel put in
each piece Of wood about four inches apart and
slanted back good deal more than those of the
Thomas harrow The teeth are not placed in a
straight line, out are set one forward ana tine
other so that small straw stubble will
not clog rs 1t does in the Thomas harrow, but
slip by from one tooth to the other. and 80 pass
through to the middle of the harrow, which is an
open space, and then out at the back in the same
way. The harrow is light, and requires but one
horse to draw 1t. We use IL to harrow in our
grass seed, and 1t proves to be just the thing
have used it three years
The objection made to the side draft of
the teeth in the Thomas harrow is only
obviated in this one of Young Farmers
where it is left in the square form. When
he closes it like an umbrella +" it will have
side draft of the teeth growing greater as
the front and rear corners approach each
other We do not see any particular use in
this umbrella" arrangement, but perhaps
there may be in practice. At any rate here
is handy one-horse smoothing harrow that
will take the weeds out of the hill (and
elsewhere) among the corn and potatoes a
hundred times as fast and fourteen million
times as easy as it can be done in the old
way. The old fogies will turn up their
noses at the idea, but, boys, you try it. Just
make you a little smoothing harrow on
Young Farmers plan and try it. We ensure
you that it won't hurt the corn. (The slope
of the teeth in the Thomas harrow is forty
degrees.)