_The Description of a_ Four-coulter’d Plough.
To describe all Parts of a Plough geometrically, would require more
Time and Learning than I am Master of: Therefore leaving that to be
done by somebody else, who is better qualified for it, I shall at
present attempt little more than what relates to the Three added
Coulters.
In _Plate_ I. _Fig._ I. is the Portrait of a common Two-wheel’d Plough
used in _Berkshire_, _Hampshire_, _Oxfordshire_, and _Wiltshire_, and
in most other Countries of _South-Britain_; and is generally esteemed
the best Plough for all Sorts of Land, except such miry Clays that
stick to the Wheels, and clog them up, so as they cannot turn round.
But they have, in some Places, a Contrivance to prevent this
Inconvenience; which is done by winding Thumb-ropes of Straw about the
Iron Circles of the Wheels, and about the Spokes. The Wheels pressing
against the Ground, the Thumb-ropes are distended on each Side: which
Motion throws off the Dirt, and prevents its sticking to the Wheels,
which it would otherwise do.
’Tis commonly divided into Two Parts; _viz._ the Plough-head, and the
Plough-tail.
The Plough-head contains the Two Wheels A, B, and their Axis or
Spindle of Iron passing thro’ the Box C, turning round both therein,
and in the Wheels; the Two Crow-staves D, D, fastened into the Box
perpendicularly, and having in each Two Rows of Holes, whereby to raise
or sink the Beam, by pinning up or down, the Pillow E, to increase
or diminish the Depth of the Furrow; the Gallows F, thro’ which the
Crow-staves pass at top, by Mortises, into which they are pinned; G
the Wilds with its Links and Crooks of Iron, whereby the whole Plough
is drawn; H the Two-chain, which fastens the Plough-tail to the
Plough-head, by the Collar I at one End, and by the other End passing
thro’ a Hole in the Middle of the Box, is pinned in by the Stake K; L
the Bridle-chain, one End whereof is fastened to the Beam by a Pin, and
the other End to the Top of the Stake, which Stake is held up to the
left Crow-staff, by the With M, patting round it above, and under the
End of the Gallows below; or instead of this With, by a Piece of Cord,
and sometimes by the End of the Bridle-chain, when that is long enough.
The Plough-tail consists of the Beam N: the Coulter O; the Share P; and
the Sheat Q; the Hinder-sheat R, passing thro’ the Beam near its End;
S the short Handle, fastened to the Top of the Hinder-sheat by a Pin,
and to the Top of the Sheat by another Pin; T the Drock which belongs
to the right Side of the Plough-tail, and whereto the Ground-wrist V
is fasten’d; as is the Earth-board, whose Fore-part W is seen before
the Sheat; and also the long Handle X, whose Fore-part Y appears before
the Sheat, and is fasten’d to the Drock by a Pin at _a_, the other End
of which Pin goes into the Beam. Z is the double Retch, which holds up
the Sheat, and passes through the Beam to be fasten’d by its Screws and
Nuts at _b_ and _c_.
But without intrenching much farther upon the common Plough-wright’s
Art, whose Trade is his Living, I’ll hasten to shew the necessary
Difference there is betwixt the common Plough, and the Four-coulter
Plough, beginning with _Fig._ 2. where it is represented as standing
upon a level Surface.
_Fig._ 2. And, First, The Beam differs in Length, being Ten Feet Four
Inches long, as the other Plough-beam is but Eight Feet; it differs in
Shape, as the other is strait from one End to the other, but this is
strait only from _a_ to _b_, and thence turns up of a sudden, in the
manner that is shewn in the Cut; so that a Line let down perpendicular,
from the Corner at _a_, to the even Surface whereon the Plough stands,
would be Eleven Inches and an half, which is its Height in that Place;
and, if another Line were let down, from the turning of the Beam at
_b_, to the same Surface, it would be One Foot Eight Inches and an
half, which is the Height that the Beam stands from the Ground, at that
Part; and a Third Line let down to the Surface, from the Bottom of the
Beam, at that Part which bears upon the Pillow, will shew the Beam to
be Two Feet Ten Inches high above the Surface in that Part.
From the End _a_, to the Back-part of the first Coulter, is Three Feet
Two Inches; from thence, to the Back of the next Coulter, is Thirteen
Inches; thence to the Third, Thirteen Inches; and from thence to the
Fourth, the same. From _a_ to _b_ is Seven Feet.
This Crookedness of the Beam is to avoid the too great Length of the
foremost Coulters, which would be necessary if the Beam was strait; and
then, unless they were vastly thick and heavy, they would be apt to
bend, and the Point of the Fourth would be at so great a Distance from
its Coulter-hole, that it would have the greater Power to loosen the
Wedges, whereby the Coulter would rise up out of its Work, as it never
doth when the Beam is made in this bending Manner. This Beam is made
either of Ash, which is the lightest, or of Oak, which is the most
durable. Its Depth and Breadth may vary, according to the heavier or
lighter Soil it is to till; but this before us is in Depth Five Inches
at the first Coulter-hole, and in Breadth Four Inches.
_Fig._ 4. Is the Sheat Q in _Fig._ 1. (broad Seven Inches) with the
Iron Retch on it, the left Leg of which Retch must stand foremost, to
the end that the Edge of its Fore-part, that is flat, may fit close to
the Wood of the Sheat: This Retch holds the Sheat fast up to the Beam
by its Nuts and Screws; as also doth a Pin driven into the Hole _a_,
which Hole being a small Part of it within the Beam, the Pin being
driven into the Hole, draws up the Sheat very tight to the Beam. The
principal thing to be taken notice of here, is the Angle _b c d_, which
shews the Elevation of the Sheat; the Line _c d_ is supposed to be
equal with the Bottom of the Share (or rather with the plain Surface
whereon it stands); when this Angle at _c_ is larger than of Forty-five
Degrees, a common Plough never goes well: In my Four-coulter Plough I
choose to have it of Forty-two or Forty-three at the most.
_Fig._ 5. Is the Share; _a_ is the End of the Point; _b_ is the Tail of
the Share, long from _a_ to _b_ Three Feet Nine Inches; _c_ the Fin;
_d_ the Socket, into which the Bottom of the Sheat enters; _e_ a thin
Plate of Iron riveted to the Tail of the Share: By this Plate, the Tail
of the Share is held to the hinder Sheat, as at _d_ in _Fig._ 1. by a
small Iron Pin with a Screw at its End, and a Nut screw’d on it on the
inner or right Side of that Sheat. From _a_ to _f_ is the Point, long
about Three Inches and an half, flat underneath, and round at Top: It
should be of hard Steel underneath. From _f_ to _c_ is the Edge of
the Fin, which should be well steeled; the Length of it is uncertain,
but it should never make a less Angle at _f_ than it appears to make
in this _Fig._ The Socket is a Mortise of about a Foot long, at the
upper Part, Two Inches deep: The Fore-end of this Mortise must not be
perpendicular, but oblique, conformable to the Fore-part of the Sheat
which enters it; the upper Edge of which Fore-part must always bear
against the Sheat at _e_ in _Fig._ 4. but if this End of the Socket
should not be quite so oblique as the Sheat, it may be help’d, by
taking off a little of the Wood at the Point _c_.
_Fig._ 6. Shews the Share, with its right Side upwards, in the same
Posture as when it plows; whose Side _a b_ should be perfectly strait,
but its under Side at _c_, which is its Neck, should be a little hollow
from the Ground, but never more than half an Inch in any Plough, and a
Quarter of an Inch in a Four-coulter Plough; so that the Share, when it
is first made, standing upon its Bottom, bears upon the level Surface
only in Three Places; _viz._ at the very Point _a_, at the Tail _b_,
and at the Corner of the Fin _d_.
_Fig._ 7. Is the Share, turn’d Bottom upwards; and shews the Concavity
of the Fin at _a_; which must be greatest in a stony rubbly Soil.
_Fig._ 8. Shews the Share, the right Side upwards, but leaning towards
the Left.
In placing of the Share rightly upon the Sheat, consists the well going
of a Plough, and is the most difficult Part of a Plough-wright’s Trade,
and is very difficult to be shewn. Supposing the Axis of the strait
Beam, and the left Side of the Share, to be both horizontal, they must
never be parallel to each other; for if they were, the Tail of the
Share, bearing against the Side of the Trench, as much as the Point,
would cause the Point to incline to the right Hand, and go out of the
Ground into the Furrow. If the Point of the Share should be set, so
that its Side should make an Angle on the right Side of the Axis of
the Beam, this Inconvenience would be much greater; and if its Point
should incline much to the Left, and make too large an Angle on that
Side with the Axis of the Beam, the Plough would run quite to the left
Hand; and if the Holder, to prevent its running out of the Ground,
turns the upper Part of his Plough towards the left Hand, the Fin of
the Share will rise up, and cut the Furrow diagonally[259], leaving it
half unplow’d; beside, the Plough will rise up at the Tail, and go all
upon the Point of the Share: To avoid these Inconveniences, the strait
Side of the Share must make an Angle on the left Side of the Beam, but
so very acute, that the Tail of the Share may only press less against
the Side of the Trench than the Point does. This Angle is shewn by the
prick’d Lines at the Bottom of _Fig._ 1. where the prick’d Line _e f_
is supposed to be the Axis of the Beam let down to the Surface, and
the prick’d Line _g f_ parallel to the left Side of the Share; but
this Angle will vary as those Two prick’d Lines are produc’d forwards
to the Fore-end of a long and a short Beam, keeping the same Subtense:
For Plough-wrights always take this Subtense at the Fore-end of a Beam,
whether it be a long Beam or short one; and it is the Subtense _e g_,
that determines the Inclination the Point of the Share must have toward
the left Hand. Plough-wrights differ much in this Matter; but, by what
I can learn by those that make the Ploughs I see perform the best, this
Subtense at the Fore-end of an Eight-feet Beam should never be more
than one Inch and an half; and by full Experience I find, that whether
the Beam be long or short, the Subtense must be the same; for when my
Plough-wrights take this Subtense at Eight Feet from the Tail, when
they make my Four-coulter Plough, whose Beam is Ten Feet Four Inches
long, the Point of the Share will incline too much to the Left, and
it will not go well until this Fault be mended, by taking the same
Subtense quite at the End of the Beam; which makes the mentioned Angle
more acute.
[259] This is the greatest Misfortune incident to a common
Two-wheeled Plough, and happens generally by the Fault of the Maker,
though sometimes by the Plowman’s setting it so, that the Point of
the Share turns too much to the Left. I have seen Land plowed in this
manner, where not half of it has been moved, nor better tilled than
by Raftering, not only cut diagonally, but also half the Surface
hath remained whole, where when the Earth that was thrown on it was
removed, the Weeds appeared unhurt on the unplowed Surface. In this
Case, they for a Remedy let the Plough to go deeper; and then, if it
go deep enough for the Fin to cut off the Furrow at a just Depth, the
Point will go below the Staple, which may ruin the Soil, unless it be
very deep.
When our _English_ Ploughs go in this manner, they make much worse
Work than the _Eastern_ Ploughs, that have no Coulter; for these,
contrary to ours, though they always cut their Furrow diagonally,
cut it thin on that Side from which it is turned, as our bad Ploughs
leave it thin on that Side towards which it is turned. The Earth the
_Easterns_ leave by their Diagonal in one Furrow, is taken off by
the next; but ours leaving Part of their Furrow behind them, on the
Side next to the plowed Part of the Field, come at it no more; but
the other can plow cleaner, their Diagonal being contrary to ours,
which leaves the Trench deepest on the Side next to the unplowed Part
of the Field; but unless the Fin of the Four-coultered Plough go
parallel to the Surface of the Earth, it will not plough at all; or
will leave Two or Three of its Four Furrows untouched.
_Fig._ 3. Shews the right-hand Side, and upper Side of the Four-coulter
Plough, of which V the Iron Ground-wrist is shewn in _Fig._ 9. long Two
Feet Five Inches, deep at the End _b_ Four Inches, and Three-eighths
of an Inch thick, except at the End _a_, where it is thin enough to
bend, so as to fit close to the Share, as at _e_, in _Fig._ 6. The
Ground-wrist has Four small Holes near its End _a_, into one of which
goes a Nail, to fasten it to the Shear, thro’ the long Hole in the Side
of the Socket of the Share, as at _a_, in _Fig._ 10. and then it will
stand in the Posture shewn by _e f_, in _Fig._ 6. From the Outside
of the Ground-wrist at _f_, to the Outside of the Share at _b_, is
Eleven Inches and an half, which is the Width of the lower Part of the
Plough-tail at the Ground; the Ground-wrist has several Holes at the
upper Side of its broadest End, as at _b_, in _Fig._ 9. by which it is
nailed to the lower Part of the Drock T, as in _Fig._ 3. which Drock
with its Perforations is shewn in _Fig._ 11.
_Fig._ 12. Is the Earth-board, with its Inside upwards; the Notch _a
b_ shews the Rising of the Wood, which takes hold of the Edge of the
Sheat, to hold it the firmer, to which it is fastened by the Holes
_c_ and _d_; and at the other End it is fastened to the Drock, at the
Hole _e_. All which is seen as it stands mark’d with W, in _Fig._ 3.
But this Pin, with which it is fastened to the Drock, is bigger in the
Middle than at each End; which prevents the Earth-board from coming
near the Drock: By this Pin, the Earth-board is set at a greater or
less Distance from the Drock, as there is Occasion to throw off the
Furrow farther from the Plough at some times than at others: It always
stands considerably farther out on the right Hand than the Ground-wrist
does, which is one Reason that the Drock is made crooked, bending
outwards in that Part.
The long Handle X is _Fig._ 13. long Five Feet Four Inches, broad in
the widest Part Four Inches, pinned to the Sheat thro’ the Holes _a b_,
and pinned to the Drock through the Hole _c_.
The short Handle S is _Fig._ 14. and is long Three Feet Nine Inches,
pinned to the hinder Sheat (being _Fig._ 15.) by the Hole _a_, and to
the Top of the Fore-sheat above the Beam by the Hole _b_.
The Handles are made so long, for the more easy guiding of the Plough;
but the lazy Ploughman is apt to cut them off shorter, close up to the
Plough, to the end that, bearing his whole Weight thereon, he may in
a manner ride instead of walking; but if he should thus ride on long
Handles, he would tilt up the Fore-end of the Beam, and raise the Share
out of the Ground.
The chief, and most indispensably necessary thing to be observed, is,
to place the Four Coulters in such a manner, that the Four imaginary
Planes described by the Edges of the Four Coulters, as the Plough moves
forwards, be all of them parallel to each other, or very nearly so;
for if any one of them should be much inclined to, or recede from,
either of the other three, they could not enter the Ground together.
In order to place them thus, the Coulter-holes must be made through
the Beam, in the manner as they are shewn in _Fig._ 3. _viz._ the
Second Coulter-hole is Two Inches and an half more on the Right than
the First, the Third, Two and an half more on the right Hand than the
Second, and the Fourth, Two Inches and an half more on the right Hand
than the Third, conformable to the Four Incisions or Cuts they are to
make in a Ten-inch Furrow: And because no single Beam is broad enough
to hold the Four Coulter-holes at this Distance, we are forced to add
the Piece shewn in _Fig._ 16. The Second Hole is made Part in the Beam,
and Part in this Piece; the Third and Fourth are made wholly in this
Piece, in which _a_, _b_, _c_, are the Ends of the Three Screws, which
fasten the Piece to the right Side of the Beam by their Nuts.
The Distance of Two Inches and an half, by which each of the Three
added Coulters stand more to the right Hand than that immediately
behind it, must be reckoned from the Middle of one Hole to the Middle
of the other.
The Fore-part of every Hole must incline a little towards the Left; so
that the Backs of the Coulters may not bear against the left Side of
the Incisions made by the Edges.
Each Hole, being a Mortise, is one Inch and a quarter wide, with its
Two opposite Sides parallel from Top to Bottom; each of these Mortises,
or Holes, are long at Top Three Inches and an half, and at Bottom
Three Inches; the Back-part, or Hinder-end, of each Coulter-hole
is not perpendicular, but oblique, and determines the Obliquity of
the Standing of the Coulter, which is wedged tight up to it by the
Poll-wedge _i_, _Fig._ 1. as all Coulters are.
_Fig._ 17. Is a Coulter; _a b_ is its Length, being Two Feet Eight
Inches, before it is worn; _e d_ is its Edge, Sixteen Inches long; _d
c_ is the Length of its Handle, Sixteen Inches; this is made thus long,
at first, to stand above the Plough, that it may be driven down lower,
according as the Point wears shorter; this Handle is One Inch and
Seven Eighths broad, and Seven Eighths of an Inch thick, equally thro’
its whole Length: Its Breadth and Thickness might be described by a
rectangled Parallelogram.
In all Ploughs this first Coulter is, or ought to be, placed in the
Beam in manner following; _viz._ its Back to bear against the Back
of the Coulter-hole, its right Side above to bear against the upper
Edge of the Coulter-hole, and its left Side to bear against the lower
Edge of the Coulter-hole; so that always Three Wedges at least will be
necessary to hold the Coulter; the Poll-wedge before it, as at _i_, in
_Fig._ 1. another Wedge on the left Side of it above, and a Third on
the right Side underneath: The Coulter-hole must be so made, that the
Coulter standing thus across the Hole, its Point may incline so much
towards the Left, as to be about Two Inches and an half farther to the
Left[260] than the Point of the Share, if it were driven down as low as
it; but it never ought to be so low in any Plough: As to its bearing
forwards, the Point of the Coulter should never be before the Middle
of the Point of the Share: What Angle the Coulter would make with the
Bottom of the Share, may be seen by the Posture it stands in, in _Fig._
1. If it should be set much more obliquely, it would have a greater
Force to raise up the Poll-wedge, and get loose.
[260] I find that sometimes it is necessary in some of these Ploughs
for the Point of this Coulter to stand yet farther on the Left of the
Share’s Point.
The Three added Coulters should stand in the same Posture with this
already described, in regard to the Inclination of their Points towards
the Left: And this is a very great Advantage to them; for by this
means, when the Fin is rais’d up, by turning the Handles towards the
Left, their Points do not rise out of the Ground on the right Hand,
as they would do without this described Inclination towards the Left;
but in regard to their Pointing forwards, I find it best, that every
one of the Three should be a little more perpendicular than that next
behind it. So the Coulter 4 stands the nearest to Perpendicular of
any of them. By this means there being more Room betwixt them above
than below, they are the more easily freed from the Turf, whenever the
Pieces, being covered with a great Quantity of Couch-grass, or the
like, rise up betwixt them: which tho’ this seldom happens, makes a
Necessity for a Man, or a Boy, to go on the Side with a forked Stick,
to push out the Turf and Grass, which might otherwise fill the Spaces
betwixt the Coulters, and raise up the Plough out of its Work.
’Tis to be observed, that none of these Coulters ought to descend so
low as the Bottom of the Share, except when you plow very shallow: ’Tis
always sufficient that they cut through the Turf, let the Plough go
never so deep in the Ground.
It is necessary also, that when you plow very shallow, the Fin of the
Share be broad enough to cut off the Fourth Piece or Furrow; else that,
lying fast, will be apt to raise up the Ground-wrist, and throw out the
Plough: But when you plow deep, the Ground-wrist will break off this
Fourth Furrow, altho’ the Fin be not broad enough to reach it.
Sometimes the First or left Furrow is apt to come through betwixt the
First Coulter and the Sheat, and so falls on the left-hand Side of
the Plough: This is no Injury; but yet it is prevented, by letting
the Second Coulter stand a little higher than the Third; and then the
Second Furrow, holding the First at its Bottom, will carry it over,
together with itself, on the right Side by the Earth-board; but yet
never set this, or any of the Three added Coulters, so high that they
may not cut through the Turf. But as for the first Coulter, tho’ it
should cut but an Inch or Two within the Ground, the Share will break
off the first Furrow in raising it up.
Remember, as often as the Point of any Coulter is worn too short,
that you drive down the Coulter with a large Hammer, carried for that
Purpose; and when it is driven low enough, fasten the Wedges again, so
as to keep the Coulters in their right Postures, that their Incisions
may be all of them equidistant.
_Fig._ 18. Is a Nut, with Two of its opposite Corners turn’d up, by
which it is driven round by a Hammer, and has so great a Force, that
Three of them, with their Screws properly placed, hold the Piece,
_Fig._ 16. as fast to the Plough-beam, as if they both were made of
one Piece of Wood; but as often as the Wood shrinks in dry Weather,
the Nuts must be screw’d farther on, both here and in all other Places
where they are used: particularly, those which hold up the Retch; for
if the Sheat should once get loose, there is no Cure but by a new one.
Betwixt this Nut and the Wood, there should be a thin Iron Bolster,
about the Thickness of a Shilling, broader than the Nut, to prevent
the Nut from eating into the Wood, especially when it is to be often
screw’d, as on the Retch of these Ploughs, and most of all on the
Hoe-plough; but sometimes we use a Piece of Shoe-leather instead of an
Iron Bolster.
_Note_, There must be Iron Plates upon all the Coulter-holes both above
and below, Three of which are seen on the Piece in _Fig._ 16. There is
no need to say how they must be nailed on with many Nails made for the
Purpose.
_Fig._ 19. Is the Iron Collar, fastened to the Beam by Two short Crooks
A, B, which take hold of Two short Pins driven into the Plough just
behind the Second Coulter-hole, one on one Side, and the other on the
other Side of the Beam. The Crook A is seen on the left Side of the
Beam near _c_, in _Fig._ 2. the Crook B doing the same on the other
Side of the Beam, which is seen near _a_, in _Fig._ 3. C is the Crook
(for its Shape called a C) which holds the Tow-chain to the Collar by
the Link D, being Part of the said Chain taking hold of its Fore-claw;
the other Claw taking hold of one of the Five Notches of the Collar:
This Collar is partly seen at _d_, in _Fig._ 2. Both the Claws of the
Crook (or C) turn upwards, so that they cannot take hold of any thing
that may rise under the Plough: The Use of the Notches is to help the
Direction of the Point of the Share, which has been described by the
prick’d Lines under _Fig._ 1. As the Point of the Share wears, it
inclines a little more towards the Right, and is remedied by moving the
Crook into a Notch nearer to the Left, which will direct the Point a
little more towards the Left: This is more easy to be done here than
in the common Plough, whose Collar moves round the Beam: We can, by
changing the Crook from one Notch to another, incline the Point of the
Share towards the Right or Left at Pleasure. The Length of each Side of
this Collar is a Foot long.
The Tow-chain is best seen in _Fig._ 3. where the Link Y is that which
passes thro’ the Box, and is pinned in by the Stake, as has been shewn
in _Fig._ 1. which Stake is commonly nailed to the Box, to prevent its
rising up. When we would draw up the Plough a little nearer to the
Crow-staves, we take hold of the Crook by a Second or Third Link.
_Note_, That the shortening of the Chain does also a little incline the
Point of the Share towards the Left.
_Fig._ 20. is the Iron-wilds. The Leg A is of one Piece with that which
has the Notch, and that passes thro’ the Leg B by the Loop at _a_;
both which Legs pass thro’ the Box, and are pinned in behind it, by
the crooked Pins C, D. This Figure is seen with its Crooks on it, both
in _Fig._ 1. and _Fig._ 2. _Note_, That the Holes in the Box, thro’
which these Legs pass, must not be made at right Angles with the Box,
but must incline upwards, so that the Fore-part of the Wilds may be
higher than the Hinder-part, or else the Upper-part of the Crow-staves
would lean quite back when the Plough is drawn. If the Beasts that
draw immediately next to the Plough be very high, their Traces must be
the longer; else they and the Wilds making too small an Angle with the
Tow-chain at the Box, when they draw hard, the Wheels will rise from
the Ground, and be apt to overturn: This Angle I suppose should not
be less than of 160 Degrees, and the Angle made by the Tow-chain or
Traces that are drawn by the Cattle that go before them, will make an
Angle with the Tow-chain at the Box yet much more obtuse. The Use of
these Notches in the Wilds is, to give the Plough a broader or narrower
Furrow: If the Links are moved to the Notches on the right Hand, it
brings the Wheels towards the left Hand, which gives a greater Furrow;
and when the Links are moved towards the left Hand, it gives a less
Furrow, by bringing the Wheels towards the right Hand.
The Distance betwixt the Two Legs of the Wilds is Eight Inches and
an half; the Length of the Legs is Nineteen Inches. They must be of
convenient Strength. The Links being placed in Notches distant from one
another, prevents one Wheel from advanceing before the other; which
would happen, if the Links were both in One Notch, or in Two adjoining
Notches, except they were middle Notches: These Links are each Six
Inches and an half long.
E is the Ring, by which the Two Links, and the Two Crooks F and G, are
held together, and on which they all move.
The Height of the Wheels in _Fig._ 2. The left-hand Wheel is Twenty
Inches Diameter; the Diameter of the right Wheel is Two Feet Three
Inches; the Distance the Wheels are set from each other at the Ground,
is Two Feet Five Inches and an half; the Crow-staves are One Foot
Eleven Inches high, from the Box to the Gallows; they both stand
perpendicular to the Box, and the Distance between the Crow-staves is
Ten Inches and an half. The Pillow is pinned up at its Ends by Two
small Iron Pins, which are chained to it, that if they drop, they may
not be lost. These appear in _Fig._ 1. and _Fig._ 2. The Height from
the level Surface, up to the Hole in the Box, where the Tow-chain
passes through it, is Thirteen Inches (being Two Inches below the Holes
of the Wilds, on the Hinder-side of the Box); the Height at the other
End, where the Crook of the Collar takes hold of the Pin in the Beam at
_c_, in _Fig._ 2. is Twenty Inches high above the same level Surface,
and shews how much the Chain descends forward, for drawing down the
Plough, and by which Descent may be known what Angle the Chain would
make with the Surface, if it were produced forwards in a strait Line;
which is a thing material for the good going of a Plough; and so is
the Angle the Tow-chain makes with the Beam: About the Middle of this
Tow-chain, there should be a Swivel, whereby one End of the Chain may
turn without the other.
When this Four coulter Plough is made, I would advise, that it be tried
with only the first Coulter, before the other Three are put in; for
if the Plough does not go well with One Coulter, it is not likely it
should go well with Four; and I never yet have seen or heard of any
that went well with One Coulter, that did not also go well with Four,
being placed as is here directed.
[Illustration: _Plate II._
_P. 307_
_B Cole Delin et Sculp_]
The Proofs of a Plough’s performing well are these; _viz._ If it makes
a Furrow of an equal Depth on the right Hand and on the left, and turns
it off fairly: If, in its going, the Tail of the Share, and the Bottom
of the Drock, bear against the Bottom of the Furrow; and if it goes
easy in the Hands of the Holder, without pressing one Arm more than the
other; then the Plough is certainly a good one.
The Ploughman who is accustom’d to a Two-wheel’d Plough, never suffers
the Wheels to overturn, in turning out at the Land’s End, from one
Furrow to another; for which Purpose, after he has lifted the Plough
a little round, he has a Knack of holding up the Crow-staves with the
End of the Beam, by pressing his Hand hard against the Handle, whilst
the Plough lies down on one Side, until the Horses, the Wheels, and the
Plough, come near to a Line in the Beginning of the Furrow; and then he
lifts up his Plough, and goes on.