HOW TO PLOUGH.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 558, 13 July 1909, Page 8

HOW TO PLOUGH.

NOT SO AS IT LOOKS. .;.':. SOME'-PRACTICAL HINTS. ~ ■:; . It is not every ploughman who really knows how/ to. plough, for ..there r is. a: great deal: more in; the art than the casual onlooker, gazing leisurbly' f rom a window -.'of" a Main'. Trunk train .at ploughtime, would ..perhaps imagine.. : . Some of the points to be attended to in, the setting and using of'a plough are weir explained by "Leics." in'tho "Farmer 'and Stockbreeder."' * '- .•""■ -.','■■ ■ . v •. ;....;... <■ v -. •■...■■ '.-:- : ; ■ . : ■:•■■ ..;>.. ;,\->. ■ Setting.-;:': ■■•■ : ' ;:;'■»;■■" ; ; ■,■[■.■■ ■/'■':-- There is a great deal -of art in letting a 'plough (he.says).'."A-.swing-plough.must.,be, well' Bet, ; 'or it will Vnot work at all. A' whool. plough may;'• however,' be Very badly sot; and still do work of :a.'sort. "Suppose a wheell plough was taken' all to pieces, and: one:had to put it into going order. : Tho : first thing to do wouldrbo to put the collar on.the beam, and fit; in.the standard for the large or furrow-wheel.. That is'.fixed so 'that the bottom of the; .wheel-is : exactly on, a .level, with the Sole: bf.-.the plough,'and as this rarely needs alteration; it is a good plan, when one has found the exact height,to run it";' to 1 cut a mark.on..the..'standard- with a cold chisel. The plough will:npw-'starid,up-.right. .The next thing" is'.toy fit'i; on., the, isharp,' and set the',coulter. ■'.■Lγ the hands.-.of an ■ experienced. ploughman; a round coulter is to be preforredjVas,he'may. set the-edge land just as much or •as little as ho 'requires. A youtlj, yifill find a flat-sided ,coul : >ter easier to sot,, as the. edge : is'■■/ ar the blacksmith left it.j.'This-v is :, adjusted by wedges, and many an old nail and :bit of.' scrap iron; is pressed into service :by an old hand. * ' . ; \" ' \ ; •.;■•.■' Toyota Good Bitev;"-;/': 7 , '- ( ' " :: "-'-. "■ As a~ rule, the coulter collar should. be set welLback on the beam, bo.that, when affixed, the coulter.. slopes sharply, as by' this means stubblo' i or,mamire>rises i.up , ;.the coulter, and falls;'over rather than' drives Before it, as it will: if .upright. .. Tho point of the coulter is, sot-just'.on-a level, with tho bottom of;'the share;'-and about an inch' in-front of the point of;it. On brashy land sometimes a; pebble.;will become wedged between the two, an'd throw, out; the';plough.,' The coulter niay'then,be dropped;;a fraction' lower. ' When thoiiland is. very, .hard,.the' plough •will not always bite, in this position,, and it may be necessary, to set the coulter back oh they Bharo;.and''lbt the ipointof. tho, . shared do: the first;cjitting; ' ~ ;Wneinl ' a coulter is worn to some extent it may have .to be set in. this positionibecause' of its .'Bhortness,. as we do not care ; to take it,to..; the. smithy: until it is fairly well wprn;dQwn.;.-.On ; ha.rd land "the point of share, may becomo. worn so that it will "not'bite..-' Chipping a' imail'pieco off the-lpoiritj-so-as'toVrougnen-it, will often tnafea. share last for another day before being {discarded for',a now. one. Hammering and rSughening the.pojntofthe coulter is at :.; ;'■;' • ~ '■ , .:.,'. A Draught. --vf : ' ..-f :.-•; ; -Tho coulter should always be set sufficiently towards the land /with'Jthe cutting edge,'so that the plough would keep about its width,; if no furrow wheels were' on and., the, notches in.the right placed that is, about two holes from the extreme fright,of/the hake'•for.', a: single team in th« furrow, and aboutone hole to the left of the middle of the hakefor a pair abreast; It is nothing unusual: for a novice to have the coulter pulling too much into tho land; and to correct this by narrowing the slide at the set screw of the large wheel,: assisted by having the notches of the- hako far too narrow.. This adds, very much to the draught,ras''the large wheel.is binding-hard on the side'of the furrow and tho forces 'do not balance, the coulter trying hard to takoa:'ividor.furrow all. the time and the'horses by "main strength pulling it out from the land. • , ■ ■•,■' _ : . •.. No man'can make good,work with an lllsct plough, so that it will be seen that setting the coulter' right is, 'of the ■ utmost importance. The small or land side wheel is then.ijffixecl, and.thbugh'this may have to be altered when setting out a piece,; as will be\ shown later, its final place is decided by tho depth ofHho ploughing. For five-inch work it must be fixed so that the.bottom of the wheel is five' inches higher than the bottom of the farrow,' and so;-on always. .' .

Run the . Le'tfei. ■ • Many' men have a. fancy for , running a plough leaning to one side with the land wheel higher than it should' be thinking that this'will putV better edge on the work. This is nonsense, as the edge depends" upon the width'in relation to the depth of the furrow.-; Tho plough should always run level, and if the furrow is not Being pressed up there, is something wroDg, possibly the wing of the sheUboard may want screwing' oiit a little wider. The reader may rely upon these details, for not only was.l.agood'ploughmaii in my youth, but I havo since judged, the work- of, hundreds,' including some of the ■best ploughmen in-England. For alli.'ordirtar.y work, the cock/(the upright notched iron on which the draw chain is liopked) should bo run rather lotfer than the. middle, as :.'if. ,tbo,< high the' wheols, are pressed harder bntne land, and this increases the draught ior.thb'h'qrsos. In'tho summer, .when, the land is'very'dry and hard,.it:is often necessary -and 'lengthen the draw chain',; as itho .plough'.runs steadier so, and is not so likely to.jerk out. In-'all other times tho draw, chain should be fairly •short, as tho nearer, the, horses are to tho work ,the 'easier it* is' for'them,, and it does, awayv'.with the .riccessity/.fpr.i'.s'uch, an . extremely wide headlandj;' :;';'."': '■'."'.■ Although ono:cari: ; set ;a' plough approSiTnately 1 by sight, it is-sure to need elicht alterations ,whcii oae -bogina -to -work.. U- a

plough iis roallv well sot, it is not very difficult to bold if tho furrow wheel is taken right off. Indeed, in ploughing hard land after vetches, mown green, or fed on, I liiivo before now taken off.'Uio furrow' wheel nnd standard, and taken out tho coulter, gauging tho width by tho hand, nnd bursting up the land by tho'sharo alono. . Tho Skimmer. Tho plough has other accessories which are occasionally .used. Ono, tho sltimmor. itself, almost a miniature plough, is used on clover lea, and sometimes for , burying rubbish. It is impossible to set tho skimmer until nil elso is done, and tho plough running steadily and doing good work,; tlion the skimmer is fixed toa collar on tho beam just in front of tho coulter, so as to bite out a strip of turf about an inch wido nnd turn it towards tho furrow. But as littlo as possible ehould bo taken, just «o that baro soil should show 1 at'.tho furrow seame, and all grass bo buried; for if, much is taken tho turning furrow, breaks its back over it, thus.leaving unsightly'jvork and'a. flattened surfaco, instoad of tho clearly defined, furrow edge bo necessary for tho after cultivation. Chain and Ball. ', When ploughing in manuro on looso land which has been well worked, a ball and chaiu is somotimes used. Thb'chain is fixed to tho head of the coulter at such a length that the ball just- drawsclear of tho turning furrow, when tho manuro is long and strawy this is a • great help, although one has to bo careful in turning tho plough': "come back" or-to tho loft, or tho chain gets under the shellboard. ..- ■/-."■ ~.: . ■, For, exhibition , work tho furrows • ehould lie-so that .the distance from the apex to tho valley 'is the samo v on either sjdo. .This gives the most exposed surface, and the harrowing edge. A furrow 8 inches wide, or. a: liljtlo over, to 51 inches dopth, will, aboutSdo .this. A 6-inch furrow will do,' about-Sin* wide, and so on. In ordinary, farm'ploughirigKp'often take a littlo wider, ferthosakb.of-gottjng : oil, but'in any case the .width.v;should ■riot';bo : so great in proportion to the. depth'that the furrows lio flat or the■ -surfdee,,'bpcomes ' water sodden, anrl-.does not. dry/so' , quickly afterwards. ; Of courso,' .I'' : am ; .;spe'aliirig of land that need's the most careful cultivation. Light soils may'be shoyciled over almost anyhow with a digger,-Width being a-matter of no object, so is a broad share to cut all ruobish.. ; . ~ ' ~ ... ' •-.. ... ■■':