If by the Drawing of the fore Horse or Horses, the Plough should bear too hard upon the Thiller, it may be helped by making a Row of Holes near the hinder Side of the Plank, for the Draw-pin, instead of those in the Middle; for the farther backwards the Draw-pin is plac’d, the less will the Limbers bear on the Thiller, especially when drawn by more Horses than one; because the fore Horses draw the Limbers more downwards than the Thiller doth, as may be seen in [Fig. 4.]
[Fig. 4.] shews the manner how the Hoe-plough is drawn, and how the Traces are fix’d to it. The Traces of both Horses are fastened to the Notches of the Ends of the Whipper at a and b. The Traces of the Thiller by their fore Part are fastened to an Hook, or Ring, on the Wood of the Collar, as is usual for other Thillers; and the fore Part of the next Horse’s Traces is fastened to his Collar in like manner; but these Traces, being twice as long as those of the Thiller, must be held up in the Middle by a Piece of Cord or Chain, as at c, where one End of it is fastened to the Trace, and passes over the Top of the Collar, behind one of the Hames, and before the other to keep it from slipping backwards or forwards; its other End is fastened to the opposite Trace on the other Side, as this End is at c. This prevents the Chain from falling down, and getting under the Horse’s Legs in turning; but beware that this String or Chain be not so short as to hold up the Traces higher than their strait Line; for that would press upon the Collar, and gall the Thiller, besides occasioning the Plough to be drawn too much upwards; for this drawing of the fore Horse by a different Line from that of the Thiller, is a great Advantage for keeping the Plough the firmer into the Ground.
If there is another Horse, his Traces are fastened at the Collar of the Second, in the same manner as in drawing of a Waggon.
When we hoe betwixt Rows, where the Plants are very high, as those of Turnep-seed, which are much higher than the Horses, to turn a new Furrow up to the Row, when there is a Trench in the Middle of the Interval, where the Horses must go, we find it best to place the Beam by the Holes B and E, in [Fig. 3.] and the Draw-pin near the left Limber, which brings the Tail of the Plough to the Right-hand, and the fore Ends of the Limbers being towards the Left, the End of the right Limber (by turning the Handles a little to the Left) bears against the wooden Saddle at d, and cannot hitch into or take hold of any of the Plants to tear them. And that no Part of the Limber may take hold of any Plant, we make it very smooth from one End to the other; and cut off the Corner of the Plank equal with the Limber, that the Plants may slip by it without hanging in it, or being broken by it. The Whipper standing towards the left End of the Plank, its End b does not reach so far towards the right as to take hold of the Plants, its End a being over the Interval, where no Plants are; and to keep its right End the more out of Danger of hurting the Plants, we place the Hook of its Chain nearer towards this End, by which means the left End, becoming heavier, sinks lower, and raises the right End higher; and the higher it is, the more secure the Plants will be from it; because they are held off by the Limber above.
This way my Turnep-seed has been ho’d, when one would have thought it impossible for a Plough and Horses to go betwixt the Rows without destroying the Crop. Almost in this manner we give our Wheat the last Hoeing, to turn the Furrow a Second time towards the Row. When the Plants of the Rows are very high, the Driver must go in the next Interval, on the Left of the Plough; and the Holder has a Cord, like the Reins of a Bridle, which he lays over the End of the Draw-pin, which keeps it from falling down, until he has occasion to use it for guiding or turning the Thiller.
When we turn the Furrow from the Row (which will then be ever on the left Side of the Plough), the Plough must be set in a very different and contrary Posture; but then the Plants commonly being low, there is no Danger of the Whipper’s or Limber’s hitching or taking hold of them; but the Driver must take care, that he does not tread on them, nor suffer any of the Horses to do so; and they of themselves, when they are not blind, take all the Care they can to avoid it; and I observe, that the Plants are oftener injured by the Driver, than by the Horses.
’Tis in this last-mentioned manner of Hoeing, when we go very near to the young Plants, the First or Second time, that we must take care of burying them with the Earth, which (especially when dry and fine) is apt to run over to the left Side of the Plough; this we can in great measure prevent, when the Ground is clean, by nailing with Three or Four Nails a very thin square Piece of Board to the Sheat, with one Corner bearing at, or below, a, in [Fig. 1.] and its other lower Corner bearing on the Back of the Coulter on its left Side at b, its upper Corner reaching to c or higher; its fore End is ty’d on to the Coulter by a leathern Thong passing thro’ an Hole very near the End of the Board. The lower Edge of the Board must come no lower than the prick’d Line a, b, which, at b, is just even with the Surface of the Ground, before it is rais’d by the Share; for if this Board should be set down too near the Share, the Plough would not go; but, being set in this manner, it prevents the Earth (when never so much pulveriz’d in the driest Weather) from running over upon the Plants to bury them, tho’ the Plough go very near them; except in this case, we never use a Board, the Earth running over to the left Side, being often advantageous in Hoeing; for it changes more Surface of the Ground, than if it went all to the right; and when in Summer we hoe from the Wheat-rows, not going very near to the grown Plants, this Earth that runs over the Share to the Left, helps to mend such Places where the Furrow was not thrown up close enough to the Row by the precedent Hoeing.
The first time we turn a Furrow towards the Row, the Horses go in the Trench near to it, and the Plough stands on the left Side of the Horse-path, almost in the same manner as when the Furrow is turn’d from the Row; but we very often make use of a common Plough, for throwing down the Ridge, which has lain all the Winter in the Middle of the Interval. One Wheel, going on each Side of that Ridge, holds that Plough to a great Exactness for splitting this Ridge into Halves, which the Earth-board, being set out for that Purpose, throws up to the Row on each Side of the Interval.
We also very often make use of the Two-wheel’d Plough, for raising up the Ridges, whereon we drill the Rows; not but that the Hoe-Plough will do every thing that is necessary to our Husbandry: Yet the common Ploughs being heavier than we usually make our Hoe-Ploughs, they by their Weight, and Help of their Wheels go a little steadier: and besides the Ploughmen, being more accustom’d to them, prefer them before all other, where their Wheels are of no Prejudice.