The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-03-08
THE LEFT-HAND PLOW.
Has 1t Any Neutrality-suspicious. Hints
on Flowing.

In nearly all lines of work there is
more or less variation in the manner
aud custom of doing things Mathe-
NAUTICAL and other scientific problems are
often solved by different modes, each
worker preferring that system in which
he has had the most practice, writes
Is. f. Mack to the editors of the In
diana Farmer. Certain habits or GUS
toms of doing farm work prevail in GER
tain sections and it is assumed by the
people, there, that there is no other
way of doing the work so well.
In the matter of blowing one might
suppose that there could be but little
difference in the manner of htching and
controlling the team. In all work opera
t;ons. that mode seems easiest OF ac-
complishment and at the same time well
done is commendable. Throughoutt the
East and in many other sections, the
right hand pillow is popular and there
arc few in those sections who could
imagine any other style of pillow as
practical. Notwithstanding there are
other sections where the lefthand pillow
prevails and in these sections many have
never seen a right-hand pillow.
Which is best. depends entirely upon
the custom of the advocate and in so
far as the work is concerned, / pre-
sumo there is practically little differ
ence. In the Miami valley in Ohio,
where the writer was raised, the left
hand pillow was absolute. The writer
never saw right hand pillow until aft
er he was grown and naturally regard
ed it as an awkward affair. Where the
right hand pillow is used it is necessary
that the off-horse occupy the furrow,
while in the case of the left-hand pillow,
the near horse, which is the leader,
occupies that position. In most cases
where the left-hand pillow is used, dou-
BILE lines are not used and the single
lIc takes their place. To one aecus-
toned to double lines it is not conceiv-
ale that the single line could be as
.neetual and also more convenient.
In using the single line, a double
rein is common. The lead rein to which
the line is attached rests between the
harness and the check rein hooked over
the hame holds it in place. The line
is held in the left hand gripping the
pillow handle. The leader having been
broken to the words Gee" and "Haw,"
is controlled by these words, and the
line is only used to remind him of
their meaning. In training him to the
words when you say Gee" which means
turn to the right, gently jerk the line,
ara when You say "Haw," which means
turr to the left, gently pull the line.
BY repeating the words and operating
Inc line. a horse will soon learn to obey
and when once trained, the line is hard
w necessary | well remember old Jim,
one of the team that helped to bring
me up.
IN cuItiyating corn singly with him,
| did not use the line sometimes in a
whole halfday. In stacking hay from
the cocks. in the meadow, it used to be
custom to use a long rope, and some
times what was better, a grape vine
The ends were attached to the rings Of
the trace chains, and were long enough
to reach around the hay cock and was
well tucked under at the sides. BY
standing on it at the back side OF the
coel and starting the horse the hay cock
would slide along over the smooth sur
face of the meadow stack, where one of
us boys did the stacking and father
pitched the hay from off Che ground.
One boy did the hitching in the mead
ow and old Jim did the rest, going to
anu lIbH lllt sNhNk NlbHbhb IL liver.
But to go back to the pillow The off
horse is controlled by the jockey stick.
being 81 feet long and attached at
one end by "a string to the ring in
the bit on the outside of the off horse.
To hold the off horse in check and keep
him even with the leader strap at
tached to the inside of the bit extend
ed back and was fastened to the trace
OF the near horse. BY this means the
otf horse was entirely under the control
of the leader. and the leader under the
control OF the words and line. This
arrangement is so simple and at the
same time so effectual and easy that
anyone once accustomed to it would
not think of using the double line.