The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, March 22, 1920, Page 7

o b ol P o o RSSO 70N & { a patan From Crooked Stick to Modern Plow A Brlef Hlstory of the Development of the Farmer’s Most Important . Implement F rom Earliest Times 2] OR almost 5,000 years the soil has been %] furrowed for the production of crops, but in only 150 years of that 50 cen- turies has any sustained effort been put out to attain a scientific method for turning the furrows. For thousands of years practically all that man - used in plowing was 2 crooked stick which he some- times tipped with iron to keep from hunting a new stick so ‘often. We know the ancient Chinese knew about tilling the soil because an emperor in 2737 B. C. got out an edict to his subjects telling them to practice the art of husbandry niore earnest- ly, and Chinese historians tell of a plow of that date that was fashioned of wood. . The first constructive step toward the modern plow is recorded in-the patent granted in 1720 to: Joseph Foljambe of Yorkshire, England, for several improvements on a more or less crude plow which had been imported from Holland. One of the im- provements was for the first clevis ever known to be used on a plow. Adthough this model was far bet- ter than any others in existence at that time, it did not come very rapidly into public favor until James Small got behind it in 1763 and began to build quantities in his factory at Black Alder Mount, Scotland. ; Another notable achievement gave impetus to plow progress when the first known cast-iron share was pat- ented by Robert Ransome, Ipswich, England, in 1785. He was also grant- ed a patent in 1803 for chilling the share. Metal share plows spread to many parts of England at this time, but practically nothing was done to- ward introducing them into America. During colonial times England had discouraged factories of all kinds and the introduction and improvement of plows was slow. Although iron shares were in practical use in England, the all-wooden plow is said to have been the favored pattern in America. Here at first fac- tories were unknown, the village blacksmith building each plow as a unit and scarcely any two alike. The moldboard, as in the Webster plow, was hewed out of a tree with a twisted grain so the desired curve could be ebtained without runnmg out the grain. The surface was reinforced with iron straps and an iron tip. .This type of plow was in use for the first 30 or 40 years of the nineteenth century, al- though there was more or less activity among de— signers to evolve an iron plow. 3 FIRST PATENT IN AMERICA WAS GRANTED IN 1797 While the first patent in America was granted to Charles Newbold in 1797 for improvements on the plow, they did not appeal to the farmers, and it was not until 1819 that a real start was made toward the metal furrow-turning parts. In that year Jethro Wood was granted a patent on a plow having a cast-iron moldboard, landside, standard and sharé. With this innovation and big step for- ward plows came into stronger demand, so that factories began to spring up all’ over the eastern states. Previous to this time, and for some time after, until the cast-iron plow became favorably known, every plow represented an individual order and design, was tailor-made, so to speak, but fol- lowing in a few years the granting of the Wood patents quantities were made from one pattern. All of this activity toward building a satisfactory plow was centered in the East., But when the Cen- tral West began to call the more venturesome to its wonderful opportunities, and they came through in their wagons with all their earthly belongings, in- cluding the cast-iron plow of the East, and when they started to turn the furrows in the stxcky, rich soil of Illinois, the plow of.the East failed alto- gether. What had been an ideal construction for the ‘East was unsuitable for the western soil. The shape of the shave and the material of which it was made had to be changed. History credits two or three men with being responsible for the plow construction that won over the virgin soil of the Middle West. Among these was William Parlin, Daniel Webster, best known as a statesman, de- voted much of his spare time to improving the plow. This plow, with a metal share and colter and strips of metal nailed to the wooden moldhoard, Webster’s improvements, was the best plow in existence in America 80 yecrs ago. g i The steel plow is exclusively a child of the West, as it was the result of many experiments of pioneer genius to get a plow that would scour and turn the slabs of black fertility, The story of Parlin’s early struggle to establish his business after his plow was proved good, his trips with a wagonload of plows out across the country, as far as Iowa 'sometimes, to stock his dealers, waiting a year for his pay, would furnish enough material for an epic on the plow’s right to a place among the essential things that are re- sponsible for the supremacy of the corn and wheat states of the plains. STEEL PLOW WAS GOAL OF WESTERN MANUFACTURERS The first retord of 1mprovements to adapt the ' eastern plow to the West is the patent granted to John Lane at Chicago in 1833. At that time he had a little shop just below the site of the Illinois Cen- tral depot at Twelfth street. Efforts of the success- ful ipventors were centered upon producing a steel plow. The first steel moldboards were made of saws and were very crude, but in 1836 saw steel seven and eight inches wide and one-fourth inch thick was obtainable from Pittsburg. Two sec- tions of this were required.and served fairly well and a little later the steelmakers rolled steel spe- cially for shares and parts that was wide enough without a joint and the industry thereupon ex- panded by leaps and bounds. This was the turnmg pomt toward multiple and ever-increasing production of this implement. Another essential invention was 2 soft center steel, which made possible the three-layer shape ‘in moldboard or other part and thus prevented . the warp in heating that had been a se- rious objection to previous models, on account of not turning the soil cleanly. Further, this invention made a much stronger construction possible. - This was in 1868, and while there were many other improvements from time to time, the creation and refinement of the steel share was a principal turning point toward opening up the great agricultural possibilities of the An early artist’s conception of the first step toward the modern sulky plow. Middle West. Experience and Methods With Potatoes ‘BY CHARLES OLIVE S WE have been quite successful with the growing of good potatoes, perhaps our method of raising them will inter- est.other farmers. 'We usually plant from 10 to 20 acres yearly, and find this land profitable, especially so now- When the price is around $1.50 a bushel, adays. potatoes pay better than grain. We have found that it does not pay to plant potatoes on land which is run out. One year we tried to grow potatoes on a piece of land that had produced only 12 bushels of wheat to the acre. The result was a very poor crop of spuds, less than 60 bushels to the acre. The next spring we hauled on manure on the same piece of land, then plow- ed it, harrowed it twice, and cultivated it four times. In the fall we dug up 180 bushels of fine potatoes to the acre. Light soil, easy to work, is best for potatoes. Spuds that such soil produces are smooth and quite uniform in size. - An ideal crop to precede potatoes- is clover. ‘We cover the potato field with light manure, usually during the winter, and double disk at once in spring. This disking helps to conserve the moisture, and also mixes the manure, so that if there are any foul seeds, they will start grow- ing. After the first disking, we let the land lie for a few days, or till we get a good rain. Then ‘we disk again and let the field alone till plantifig time. Then we plow seven inches deep and harrow four times to pack the.ground. We plant the pota- toes from five to six inches deep, allowing 26 inches between the hills and 36 inches between the Tows. Only the best potatoes are used for seed. We do not grow all our seed, for we -have found that better results are obtamnd by changing the seed every year. Seed from other localities produces from 30 to 40 per cent more potatoes than seed of our own selection and growing. We do not cut the potatoes smaller than quarters, and each plece has PAGE SEVEN . one or two eyes. Such cuttings produce a less number of small potatoes. Before cutting we dip the potatoes in a solution of one pound of corrosive sublimate to 50 gallons of water. The potatoes remain in the solution for an hour and a half. This treatment prevents scab and other diseases from getting into the soil. And right here let me say that it is very important to have disease-free seed potatoes, for it is on'account of the presence of disease that only about one-third of the hills usually become good. If it were possible to obtain perfectly disease-free seed wonderful potato crops could be raised. As soon as we have planted the potatoes we har- row the field crossways to level the ground and keep the moisture. Then we harrow weekly until the potatoes are up. When the rows begin to show quite plainly we start cultivating, and go over the field once a week. We keep this work up till the potatoes start to form, which is about the time that the vines are in full bloom. We have found that it does the potato plants much good to culti- vate after every rain.’ Of course every potato raiser is bothered with bugs. When the eggs are hatched and the bugs half-grown we spray the plants with a mixture of two pounds arsenic of lead in 60 gallons of water. We put on the solution with a sprayer. Two men with a sprayer can go over a 20-acre field in a day or less. We spray twice, the second time one week after the first, thus making sure that all the bugs are killed. We usually raise around 190 bushels of potatoes to the acre, while some of our neighbors get only 90 bushels to the acre. As already stated, much de- pends on what we plant. Healthy, large, vigorous seed usually produces such potatoes. But suitable soil .and correct cultivation are also important. (Note—Many experts prefer the use of a forma- Iin solution for treatment of seed potatoes. What is the expenence of other League farmers "—THE EDITOR.) [}