Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1920-06-17

plows, about so per cent stated that
they use horse-drawn gang plows, and
IA per cent reported the use of tractors
for blowing.
16-Inch Sulky Plows Popular.
A large majority of the farmers use
16-inch sulky plows, nearly all OF
them with three horses in the spring.
Three acres is an average days work
for this outfit. For the comparatively
few farmers using 14-inch sulky plows
with three horses in spring, blowing
about three acres is an average days
work. While theoretically the 16-inch
pillow should cover about Is per cent
more ground in the same length of
time, this apparently has not been
found true in practice.
Four-Horse Teams, Preferred.
The greater number of four-horse
teams and even some five-horse teams
on 14-inch sulky plows for fall plow-
ing is accounted for by the fact that
blowing in the fall is usually about one
incl deeper than in the spring, and
also by the fact that the ground is gen.
orally dry and hard to turn. On an
average, outfits of the same size cover
about a half acre less per day in the
fall than in the spring, due not only
to the more difficult conditions men
toned above, but also to the fact that
the time spent in the field is about two
thirds of an hour less per day in the
fall.
AS is the case in spring blowing, the
14-inch pillow seems to cover practi-
cally as much ground per day as the
1G-inch size, provided both are drawn
by the same number of horses. The
addition of the fourth horse increases
the efficiency Of the unit by about 10
per cent and the addition of the fifth
horse to the 16-inch pillow results in
similar increase. Excepting under
! favorable conditions, sulky pillow
seems to be somewhat of an overload
used on these farms.
Many Gang PIows Used. .
Over $50 men reported using horse
,rawn gang plOws on their farms.
| bout so per cent of these plows have
| 14-nch bottoms. Most of the remain
ing plows have 12-nCh bottoms. Some
plows with 13-inch bottoms were re-
ported, but the number was so small
that no figures on their performance
are given Over three-fourthS of the
men who use gang plOws also reported
the use of sulky plows.
A comparison of an average days
work for 16-inch sulky plows and 2S-
inch gang plows shows that so far as
horse labor is concerned the gang pillow
drawn by four horses is the most eff
cient unit in both spring and fall. In
the spring this outfit covers one and a
quarter acres per day per horse, while
both the sulky pillow drawn by three
horses and the gang pillow drawn by five
horses cover one acre per day per
horse. The gang pillow drawn by six
horses covers but nine-tenthS of an
acre per horse.
In the fall four horses with the gang
plOW cover Luz acres per morse, while
three horses on the sulky pillow and
five horses on the gang pillow cover sc
acre and 81 acre per horse, respec.
lively. Four horses on the sulky pillow
and six horses on the gang pillow cover
~ and >.78 acre per horse, respectively
However. the gang is evidently a
heavy load for four horses in the fall
excepting under favorable conditions
The 2S-inch gang pillow is somewhat
heavier load for six horses. the most
popuar-sized team used in the fall
than is the 16-inch sulky for -four
horses, but is a lighter load than the
16-inch sulky for three horses.
AS far"as man labor is concerned
the gang pillow drawn by six horses is
Of course, the most efficient unit both
in the spring and fall, but when horse
labor as well as man labor is con.
sidered, 1t is seen that the advantage
Of this largest unit is somewhat less
ened.