Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1895-08-01
THE CITIZEN.
The Faults of the Plow.

his vas Ile OIlSludI uuuOAo
| or listen plow, throwing the soil both
ways. An improvement was made by so
shaping the wooden mouldboard as TO
form a twisted wedge, which elevated,
inverted, and carried the soil to one side
! only of the plow. A further improve
| ment was made by making the point of
the share of iron. Simple as it seems, 1t
was not until April, 1881, thar centre
dreught was given to the plow by Meares,
| who inclined the beam inward. In 1877,
New bold patented cast iron plow, and
commenced its manufacture, but aban-
domed it, for the farmers said the iron
plow poisoned the land. The steel and
wrought iron plow was not invented
| until 1908. In 1888, Thomas Jefferson
improved the plow by showing its proper
| principles of construction, and in 1886
and 1887 Daniel Webster e1perimented IN
| plow manufacture, and said that none ol
his successes in public life has given him
so much pleasure as seeing the improved
| plow of his own construction, drawn by
six yoke of oxen of his own raising, cut
| broad and deep furrows through brush and
| saplings. In 1845, Governor Holerook
invented method OF shaping plow mould
boards symmetrically, either convex or
| concsve.
Au of the improvements which have
been made in the plow, from the earliest
agriculture until now, are simply mod
ifications of the original idea: wedge
drawn through the soil, pulverizing and
displacing it. No better method has
been found.
The faults OF the plow are serious ones
The bicycle may be credited with having
brought ball bearings into general notice
and showing decrease of friction when
sliding friction is converted into rolling
friction. All of the weaving surfaces OF
the plow are sliding trictionsl surfaces,
and the loss of power occasioned by fric-
ton of sticky earth upon the plows OF
this broad domain of ours is past computa-
ton. The plows of the day are rigid and
inadiustable in form. In sandy or IN
loose or light soils, and IN lumpy or
clayey soils in shallow or in deep ploW-
ing, in blowing at slow or at tsst speed
no adjustment or change of form can be
made to suit the special conditions OF
the ork, yet these different conditions are
often found in one plantation, and the
plow should be capable of being modified
to suit these conditions.
Ifa perpendicular line is drawn from
the point Of attchment of the harness tug
and hame to the ground, aud another line
from the same point to the center OF
work in the mouldboard of the plow, and a
horizontal line connecting the center OF
work with the perpendicular line, then
the hypotenuse of the triangle thus formed
represents the total trsctige effort, the
horizontal line, or base of the triangle, re-
presents the useful tractive effect, and the
perpendicular line represents the part OF
the traction which is expended in pulling
the horses down upon the ground. In
some cases one-third of the tractive
effort of the horse is expended in increa5-
ing the pressure of the horses feet upon
the ground instead of in advancing the
plow.
In IL inch plow the earth is elevated
say IA inches carried sideways IA inches
and deposited, inverted, in the preceding
furrow. 1t is easy to see that each inch
of unnecessary elevation represents great
amount or unnecessary labor during the
lifetime of plow, and that the carrying
OF all the surface soil sideways to the
preceding furrow represents great sg-
gregate travel of soil; that is, effort III
plowing large fields.
The share OF the plow, like the fuke OF
ships anchor, is shaped SO as to draw
down into the soil. The line of traction,
from the center of the mouldboard to the
center of the horse collar, tends to draw
the plow out of the ground. The ploW
advances horizontally as sort OF COM
promise between these divergent lines,
and there clearly results loss of power
occasioped by the line draught being in one
plaue while the line of traction is IN
another plane.
When the total weight of all the sur
face soil which is elevated, and also
carried sideways, in plowing all the
cultivated area Of this country is calculat-
ed it is clearly seen that the agricultuI-
lists of the country waste each year, IN IN
cidental but not in useful work, in exces-
sive sliding friction, in indirect Lines OF
traction, in unnecessary resistance caus-
ed by imper feet forms, and by inadjusa-
bility OF form Of the plow, greater
amount of labor than was wasted by the
building of the great Pyramids in Egypt, or
in the building of the Chinese Wall. If
all the soil thus removed were transported
to the aggregate distance which it is
transported and elevated to the aggregate
height which it is elevated, in one heap,
no one would dare to attempt the re-
moval of the heap with no better i'm
plement than the plow.
Although 1922 patents have been
granted ON the plow, in this country
alone, 1t still offers = promising field for
future inventors. The killing strain on
the muscles Of horses in starting street
cars was not fully concidered until the
electric motor took the place or horses IN
street car work; then it was found that
it required three times a. powerful
a motor to start car as TO run 1t
after it was started. The les of power in
vehicles by sliding friction was not under
stood until the bicycle, propelled by hu-
man muscle, showed the utility Of convert
ing sliding into rolling friction by ball
bearings, and the labor wasted in drag
ging the plow will never, perhaps, be right
" considered unless inventors themselves
drag the plow, and inquire into the reasons
and causes OF excessive effort required by
this ancient and indispenss BILE implement
upon which all cultivation depends. The
horse and the mule cannot complain, and
so the plow remains the plow, improved
in material ard workmanship, but retain
ing many of the faults of the plow of our
remote ancestors.
1t would seem that agricultuIists have
to observe the working OF the implements
they use, to notice errors OF construction,