The immediate occasion of this little volume was a malignant
misrepresentation from the pen of Ben: Perley Poore. With slight
variation from the original text, the words of Thomas Jefferson about
Benjamin Franklin and his maligners, quoted in the body of this
monograph, apply to this case: I have seen with extreme indignation
the blasphemies lately vended against the memory of the father of the
American plow. But his memory will be venerated as long as furrows are
turned and soil tilled. The present object, however, is not so much to
refute falsehood as to establish the truth, and make it a part of the
permanent knowledge of the public. To the extent that this object
shall be attained, will these labors be rewarded.
It is not the design of this publication to disparage any one; on the
contrary, it is desired to give ample credit to all who contributed to
the solution of the plow problem. If only brief mention is made of
others, it is because they really deserved but little credit, or their
merits are forever buried in obscurity. It is proposed to set forth
without exaggeration, the claims of the supreme inventor in this line
to the grateful remembrance of the public. And by the public is meant
not only the American people, but all who are fed from the ample
granaries of this country, or share the benefits of the improved
tillage, whether on this continent or in Europe, made possible and
actual by the inventive genius of Jethro Wood.