The complete farmer: or, a general dictionary of husbandry ... in which everything valuable from the best writers on this subject will be extracted ... / By a society of gentlemen, members of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce.

Date:: 1766

Credit: The complete farmer: or, a general dictionary of husbandry ... in which everything valuable from the best writers on this subject will be extracted ... / By a society of gentlemen, members of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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$jrt fatK i friaiiriiJr, as fci givi* tw6 Jlrefl!ionf t6 thte plough, as is ddtie when hnrfes art yoked in pairs; By which' tht drailght willlikewife be rtadcflrbrtgcr. To do‘this, the foam of the pair imiliediately befdre the hindmoft Oiuft be fixed, not to their yoke, but to the bcarti; and, to prevent this foam frOm incommoding the hindmoft in turning, a lirik rtiuft be fixed to their yc«e for it to pafs through, the link long enough to allow the foam to be fully ftretched. Wherl there are more than fwb pair in the plough, as is TttoIVcomrnon, the largeft-fized cattle fliould be placed next the plough, and the fmalleft-fized immediately before them. For the lower that the yOke Of thefe laft is placed, the nearer will the direiflion of theif foam be to the foam Of thofe before them ; and thereby the lefs weight laid tlp'on their necks. This method of placing the cattle is cohttary to the ordinary way: for it may be obfcrved, that the fmalleft-fized oxen are always placed next to the plOilgh. ftut thefe different ways of plating the cattle are both founded upon the fame rcafon : for the fmalleft-fized trttefi are placed next the plough in the ordinary way of yoking, that fo their yoke, to which the foam of the pair bcfoie'them is fixed, may be as low as poftible: for the Tower that it is placed, the nrarer the directions of the two foams approach each other, and the lefe weight is laid Upon the necks of the hindmoft pair. And, for the fame reafon, the foweft-fized oxen fhould be placed in the mid¬ dle, when yoakcd in the manner propofed, that fo' they may be lefs incommoded by the pair before them. If, in confidering the moft proper method of yoking cat¬ tle in ploughs, we had nothing in view but the ftrength of the draught, and conveniency of the cattle; We would al¬ ways recommend the yoaking the cattle fn fuch a Way, as to apply two forces to the plough in different direeftiorts. But as we muft alfo have in our vievV the going of the plough, hence it becomes necelTary to obferve, that fonie- times it is an advantage, to have the draught of the whole cattle in the fame direeftion. In ploughing lea, where th^ fwardistotigh, or any kind L^and. Where there are inthtruptrorrs from roots, or the hared- of the bottom; the plough, rf two forces ar6 applied td it Hi differdrttdire£!ic«iS‘, goes very unfteadily, fometirncs too deep, and at other times toofliallow; artd is very difficult to ittan^e. The reafeki is obvious: when the plough meets with fuch interruptioiis, as tend to rtiake it go deeper, or (hallower, than its ordinary way of going; if at the fame time, the force that adls contrary to the interruption ceafes; therrthe plough, irt fpiceof all the attention of the ploughman, will either ftart out of ground, or go in too deep, according to the tendency of the interruption. But when fhere is only one force adting upon the plough, it is, in fottie refpe^, like the wheeled plough ; it goes fieadtly, and at a certain depth ; at leaft, it is not fo difficult to manage it, as ivhen there are two forces aefting in different direiftiom : for though fome of the cattle, at the time when the interruption is given, fhould ceafe to draw, yet the draught continues ftill in the fame diredfion, and the ploughman has only the alteration oc- cafioned by the interruption, to redlify. Every perfon knows, that an' ox-plough goes much more fteadily than a horfe-plough : and this is occafioned, not only by the na¬ ture of the animals, oxen being more fteady in drawing than horfes ; but alfo by the manner of yoking them, oxen being yoked irr fuch a manner, as that one force only is applied to the plough. Thus it apppears, that no abfolute determination cart be given, which of thefe two ways of yoking cattle in ploughs is to be preferred. Men muft weigh the advantages and difadvantages attending each way, and determine accord¬ ing to circumftances. If the land is of a kind not eafily ploughed, the Cattle not well trained, and the ploughmen trot ejtpert, the work will be beft performed, if there is only one force applied to the plough. But if the land is eafily ploughed, that is^ has few things in if to incom¬ mode the plough’ in going; if the cattle are well trained, and the ploughmen ekpert, the Wotk Will be Well enough performed, and the labour lefs fevere upon the cattle, if two forces are applied to (he plough in di^erertt direc¬ tions. ■ , Yoak y land., the qua^fttity of land which A yoak of oxen might plough in a day. finis. \$