PLOUGHING MATCH.

Colonist, Volume III, Issue 284, 10 July 1860, Page 2

PLOUGHING MATCH.

On Tuesday last the Nelson Ploughing Match took place at Richmond. The weather was as fine as could be wished, but fine days had previously been so rare, that many farmers were unwilling to take their teams off their own lands on such a day, and the attendance of ploughs was less than had been expected. In Class 1 (the horse teams) there were, however, a good number of competitors, and the judges pronounced the ploughing to be of a very superior character. In this class the first prize was won by one of Mr. Saunders'e ploughmen, Walter Davidson. On entering the field few persons suspected that he was to carry off the chief laurel, as, although his plough (one of Ransom's) looked a dangerous one, his horses were far too young and mettlesome, and were too much excited by their new company to render them by any means a desirable team; for a task in which one wrong step might have lost all. But with admirable judgment the "canny Scotchman " walked them up and down in their places without pulling in his plough until they had become reconciled to all the strange sights and sounds by which theywere surrounded, and then with a soothing voice and a steady rein he put in his plough and turned over the straight and well measured furrow 9, which secured to him the well contested prize. He commenced ploughing an hour after and finished an hour before the advertised time. The winner of the second prize, Mr. Redwood's ploughman Rose, had a very steady team, and his furrows were beautifully straight and equal, and somewhat smaller than W. Davidson's, but his grass was not put well out of sight, and he made a slight mistake in his last finish after setting a pattein to the whole field by the style in which he finished his first land. The third prize was awarded to T. Sullivan, holding his father's plough. His ploughing was useful, tolerably straight, and very well turned over; but so much beyond the prescribed width that none of the spectators suspected that any prize would be awarded to him. An extra prize was awarded to Robert Woolnough, another of Mr. Saunders's men, the judges saying that it was " the prettiest ploughing in the field, but not deep enough." This man held a plough made and sent out to him by his own brother, of the firm of Priest and Woolnough, King-ston-on-Thames. With this plough he had been able to turn such a very narrow furrow, had skimmed it so deeply with the skim coulter, and set it up so very close together, that we believe the judges, who were not on the ground until the ploughs had left, were themselves deceived as to the depth at which he really had ploughed his ground. In the Bullock Teams the first prize was taken by Mr. Butler's ploughman, George North, with a Scotch swing plough, made by W. A. Moir. His beginnings and finishings were not so stylish as those of some older hands, but his ploughing was as straight as any in the field, and reflected the greatest credit both upon himself and his driver, Henry Hammond. The second prize was obtained by Mr. Ranger, with what he afterwards described as a subscription team, and the third by Henry Hammond, son of Mr. David Hammond, with Mr. Barnicoat's team. James Butler, being a few months two old to compete in the boys' class was obliged to take up his station amongst the men, and although it was not likely that the men would let a boy of that age beat them, his ploughing was very superior to anything that was done in the boy class. The old lea upon which the match came off was too tough for the boys, one of whom was only 13 years of age; and although both the prizes in this class were awarded, they were certainly not awarded to anything meritorious.

Besides these successful candidates, we ought to mention that there was some excellent ploughing performed by the unsuccessful candidates with the horse teams. The ploughing of Thomas Brown with Mr. Schroder's team was greatly admired, and that of Mr. John Andrews with his own team was straight and well performed on his part, but his plough would not turn a sufficiently narrow furrow, and aiming to keep within the advertised width, his work was set too much on edge. Indeed many of the candidates lost all chance by having ploughs that would not turn a furrow so deep and narrow as was required by the regulations ; the only two ploughmen in the field whose furrows did not average more than nine inches were Woolnough and Rose. On the ground we were much pleased to see some agricultural implements exhibited which we think calculated to effect a great improvement in the corn crops of this province. Mr. Woolnough exhibited a Suffolk drill with a horse hoe to match, with all the latest improvements, just sent out from his brother, both of which he intends to work for hire in this province. In a country like this where the absence of severe frosts in winter and the general dryness of our summer render the spring and summer the only seasons in which weeds can be attacked with advantage, we expect to see great advantages derived by a judicious use of the drill and horse hoe.