PLOUGH HARNESS.
In plough gears the ordinary bridle and collar are employed. The
back-band is made in various ways. The method with hooks is taken
first. The eye of the hook (Fig. 105, p. 109) is 4 in. wide. Cut the
leather 3 ft. 9 in. long and 4 in. wide; turn down 3 in. at each
end, and beat the bend slightly with the hammer to keep it down, and
crease it with the screw-race, making two rows on each side; mark the
centre from each end, and draw a line straight across at this point,
then two lines each 5 in. from the centre, so that the distance
between them will be 10 in.
Cut two pieces of leather 10½ in. long and ¾ in. wide; dye and crease
one side of each piece, having previously cut a small piece out of
each corner of the side being worked. A line must then be drawn with
the compasses along the centre of this narrow piece. Make a mark
across the centre, and place it underneath the back-band, centre to
centre, as far as the line just drawn; tack it down for stitching,
and place the other piece in the same manner on the other side, so
that the pieces may be a little over both lower lines at each end.
This piece is called the facing; the place on the back-band where the
pieces are to be stitched is pricked out before tacking them down.
The work of stitching is now commenced, care being taken to keep the
line close to the edge of the back-band; make the thread of three or
four cords of coarse hemp.
Having a 1½-in. tinned dee at hand, cut a piece of leather 1½ in.
by 4 in.; shave and point both ends, then crease, black, and prick
them like the side, with eight or ten marks per inch. Place the dee
in the centre of this piece, and lay it flat on the back-band in
the centre, measured from both sides, or from the top line to either
of the lines below, and then stitch, having tacked it down. When
ploughing is being done, the rein is run through this dee, and there
must be one dee on each back-band on the opposite side when the
horses work in pairs, but for a single horse there is one on each
side of the same back-band.
The next part to be made is the panel, used for preventing soreness
of the back of the animal when ploughing, brought about by the
constant pressure in one place. Take a piece of linen, or basil
leather, 14 in. by 7 in., and lay the back-band on it centre to
centre, and evenly over both sides; make the spot stitch thus // //
// across the back-band, and through the linen along the middle line.
Then the partition between the two sides will show the object of
these facings, which make the pad slightly wider than the back-band,
and so ease the horse’s back.
Having stitched across the centre, turn in the lining all round
about ½ in.; if, however, the material employed is basil, no turning
is required. Make a pleat at each corner of the end of the facing,
making both exactly the same length; put another pleat opposite the
first, so that the width may be the same as that of the back-band and
facing combined.
If the panel is basil, the corner is cut off to obtain the true
length, and then stitched together where the cut was made instead
of making a pleat. Now begin to stitch all round, commencing about
1½ in. from the centre on one side so as to have an opening for
stuffing. Work round along the cross lines at the bottom until within
1½ in. of the centre of the other side in a direct line from the
starting point. Spot-stitching is executed in the usual style.
Stuffing is the next operation, the flock being put through the
opening left on each side of the centre line. Lay the back-band flat
on the bench and stuff each side rather tightly by the aid of the
stuffing-stick; the leather side of the back-band is underneath,
whilst the openings are near the edge of the bench. Smooth well
towards the sides, and flatten with a mallet, and continue the
stitching along the opening to the starting-point; this completes the
top.
The hooks must now be put in, an operation which is performed as
follows: Cut two saving pieces from a thick, firm face of hide;
good, close-grained stuff is wasted on such work as this, the best
material, as a rule, being that from the face of a gear hide. Cut the
pieces 7 in. long, and if the back-band is to be 4 in. wide, make the
pieces 5 in wide. Cut one end slanting to 4 in., of the same width as
the back-band, and shave it. Round off the corners of the other end,
leaving it the full width; black and crease the edges.
[Illustration: Fig. 105.—Plough Back-band Hook.]
Put the hooks in their places and the saving pieces under them about
1½ in. lower down than the extremity of the hook; tack them down
exactly in the centre. Having marked and pricked the back-band with
four rows running from the hook upwards to the end of the saving
pieces, stitch with a four-cord thread, nine or ten stitches per
inch, and then stitch a line across close to the hook to bind all
together. Now the back-band is in working order.
The plough back-band, with chains instead of hooks, is made in
exactly the same manner, but when there is only one chain and a bar
across in the bend to hold it, a hole must be cut in the centre of
the bend for the passage of the chain. For two chains and a bar
make two holes; the saving pieces can be made a little narrower
with chains, and the body of the back-band need not be so long in
proportion to the length of the chains. As a guide in determining
the length of the body, whatever may be the length of the chains or
hooks, it should be remembered that the length of the back-band over
all must be about 4 ft. 4 in.
Couplings are also a necessary part of plough gear. In some
localities only cross-straps are employed from mouth to mouth when
ploughing in pairs. Cut the strap 1 in. wide and 28 in. to 30 in.
long, turn it in about 1 in. at each end, and make a hole for the
buckle, and shave the points. Take two billets of the same width, 1
ft. long, and trim them to a point at one end, shaving the other;
then edge back, and crease them; place the buckle in, and then the
thin end, 2 in. down at the back of the buckle. Put a loop between
the chape by the buckle and stitch one billet and buckle at each end;
punch two holes in each billet.
Sometimes two coupling straps are employed for a pair: the straps
cross each other from the hames of each horse to the mouth of the
other. They are made to the first style, but longer, being 38 in. in
length, each with 12-in. billets; in some cases they are made a foot
longer than this, the coupling being cut into two, one end 15 in.
long with a buckle and loop, and the other made to buckle on, with
numerous holes for adjusting the length. This is a very convenient
method, for when a young horse is coupled with an old one, the
coupling must be shortened on the side of the former animal to keep
it back until it has learned the ordinary working pace.