The Chickasaw messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1880-1900, 1881-06-16
History ora,e Piousb.

". 4. follefs oec b.
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History orfiie Plough.
An article IN the Indiana Farmer
says that the Greeks held that man
invented the sword and spear, but /
the plough was a gilt from the gods
Their myth relates that Ceres, Che
daughter Of Saturn and Rhea, was
instructed 10y her son-in-law Pluto /
in the mysteries Of agriculture. He
gave her plough ana taught her
how to use its and he gave her seed |
wheat adapted 70 all climates. She
gave Triptolemus, her trusty servant, |
her oWn chariot and two dragons as
a team, and sent him out into all /
countries to distribute seed and to
teach the people how % use the
plough. ia honor Of this event the |
Greeks held ON annual feast, sacred /
to Ceres and the plough But cen
turies before the Hellenists had col /
onized Greece, the Egyptians used |
the plough and cultivated wheat and |
barley, as we learn from inscriptions /
on surviving m0numants But the I
plough Of the Greeks was a livery rude /
Implement II was merely a forkod /
stick-onc branch cut shorter than
the other and property sharpened, or
sometimes pointed with iron, or
bronze. Among the Hebrews this
was a triangular plate of iron bolted
on the foot of the plough SO as to be
nearly horizontal This. IS that
which is called a pl0ugbshare IN
Isaiah ia. The oxen, or asses
we're hitched 70 The longer branch or
fork, and the main trunk was dress
ed 70 serve as a handle Virgil, the
Roman poet, ia the Grst book Of the
Georges directs how to bend the
growing elms SO as 20 give each
branch the proper shape Tor rs piece
in The plough But be speaks Of
mouldboard attached above the
share and So curved as % turn the
furrow The Romans also, invented
tile coulter, which was merely
heavy knife, attached to the beam,
Which cuts the soil and roots, and
opeued line for The heavy plough
shank to follow. IL has been gencr-
ally admitted that Cue use Of domcs-
tic animals for draught preceded the
Introduction Of the plough in every
country; but. according 20 Prescot',
the Peruvians used a plough made
81 stake Of hard wood, properly
pointed and held by lhe ploughman
st an angle on rs degrees To this
was attached q rope by which five or
six men drew e through tie ground
But little improvement was made
tn the plough til near the close OF
the sixteenth century, when a plow
with a wooden frame and mould
board and q wrought iron shdra and
coulter, was in use in Germany and
France. la 1870 plows with wrought
iron mould boards, forged by hand
were made in England, but they were
too expensive % come into general
use in 1910 cast-iron mouldboards
we're made in Scotland ana IN 1855
q cast share was patented 10 England.
In 1798 Thomas Jefferson wrote an
elaborate essay on the proper shape
and construction Of a mouldboard,
and IN 1904 David Peacock patented
a plough hawng the mouldboafl
and landslide made OF east-iron and
the share of wrongll-lron laid with
steel These plouehs came slowly
into use "a New York, Pennsylvania
and New Jersey, but they we're too
expensive for small farmers About
the year 1920, the Carey plough was
introduced ia thc Western States.
L consisted OF wrought iron land /
side, share and half mouldboard, |
attached 70 = strong wooden frame /
This was soon followed by several I
improvements, saeh as a boiler iron /
mouldboard and separate share-a |
HhENi NlNlNHDAtH aNN HttAtNs UNIV q \
east iron mould hoard and share,
chilled 10 intense har,iness ard high
IS polished The last improvement
which We record IS tue sulkg Tough
malc Of steel and aiilehel Is o two
vehicle en- which the plough. I
man rides and controls both bis
plough ana team We no longer (
"folloa lhe plough. but merely ride
with It Tic suky plough IS vel .
adapted ID pfa.uas and delds That
are free from siumps and Other OBJ
struotions THIS may BE- regarded
as the advanced polrt Is which ploW
mpiov menfs has attained, eEd gel
.ha plough Is not perfect 4 tile
Centennial Exhibit 81 i was evident
hat the United Staten Wee ia I'd
vance 81 al other nations rs the i'm
proved construction 81 Tho plough