To describe all Parts of a Plough geometrically, would require more Time and Learning than I am Master of: Therefore leaving that to be done by somebody else, who is better qualified for it, I shall at present attempt little more than what relates to the Three added Coulters.

In Plate I. Fig. I. is the Portrait of a common Two-wheel’d Plough used in Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, and Wiltshire, and in most other Countries of South-Britain; and is generally esteemed the best Plough for all Sorts of Land, except such miry Clays that stick to the Wheels, and clog them up, so as they cannot turn round.

But they have, in some Places, a Contrivance to prevent this Inconvenience; which is done by winding Thumb-ropes of Straw about the Iron Circles of the Wheels, and about the Spokes. The Wheels pressing against the Ground, the Thumb-ropes are distended on each Side: which Motion throws off the Dirt, and prevents its sticking to the Wheels, which it would otherwise do.

’Tis commonly divided into Two Parts; viz. the Plough-head, and the Plough-tail.

The Plough-head contains the Two Wheels A, B, and their Axis or Spindle of Iron passing thro’ the Box C, turning round both therein, and in the Wheels; the Two Crow-staves D, D, fastened into the Box perpendicularly, and having in each Two Rows of Holes, whereby to raise or sink the Beam, by pinning up or down, the Pillow E, to increase or diminish the Depth of the Furrow; the Gallows F, thro’ which the Crow-staves pass at top, by Mortises, into which they are pinned; G the Wilds with its Links and Crooks of Iron, whereby the whole Plough is drawn; H the Two-chain, which fastens the Plough-tail to the Plough-head, by the Collar I at one End, and by the other End passing thro’ a Hole in the Middle of the Box, is pinned in by the Stake K; L the Bridle-chain, one End whereof is fastened to the Beam by a Pin, and the other End to the Top of the Stake, which Stake is held up to the left Crow-staff, by the With M, patting round it above, and under the End of the Gallows below; or instead of this With, by a Piece of Cord, and sometimes by the End of the Bridle-chain, when that is long enough.

The Plough-tail consists of the Beam N: the Coulter O; the Share P; and the Sheat Q; the Hinder-sheat R, passing thro’ the Beam near its End; S the short Handle, fastened to the Top of the Hinder-sheat by a Pin, and to the Top of the Sheat by another Pin; T the Drock which belongs to the right Side of the Plough-tail, and whereto the Ground-wrist V is fasten’d; as is the Earth-board, whose Fore-part W is seen before the Sheat; and also the long Handle X, whose Fore-part Y appears before the Sheat, and is fasten’d to the Drock by a Pin at a, the other End of which Pin goes into the Beam. Z is the double Retch, which holds up the Sheat, and passes through the Beam to be fasten’d by its Screws and Nuts at b and c.

But without intrenching much farther upon the common Plough-wright’s Art, whose Trade is his Living, I’ll hasten to shew the necessary Difference there is betwixt the common Plough, and the Four-coulter Plough, beginning with Fig. 2. where it is represented as standing upon a level Surface.

Fig. 2. And, First, The Beam differs in Length, being Ten Feet Four Inches long, as the other Plough-beam is but Eight Feet; it differs in Shape, as the other is strait from one End to the other, but this is strait only from a to b, and thence turns up of a sudden, in the manner that is shewn in the Cut; so that a Line let down perpendicular, from the Corner at a, to the even Surface whereon the Plough stands, would be Eleven Inches and an half, which is its Height in that Place; and, if another Line were let down, from the turning of the Beam at b, to the same Surface, it would be One Foot Eight Inches and an half, which is the Height that the Beam stands from the Ground, at that Part; and a Third Line let down to the Surface, from the Bottom of the Beam, at that Part which bears upon the Pillow, will shew the Beam to be Two Feet Ten Inches high above the Surface in that Part.

From the End a, to the Back-part of the first Coulter, is Three Feet Two Inches; from thence, to the Back of the next Coulter, is Thirteen Inches; thence to the Third, Thirteen Inches; and from thence to the Fourth, the same. From a to b is Seven Feet.

This Crookedness of the Beam is to avoid the too great Length of the foremost Coulters, which would be necessary if the Beam was strait; and then, unless they were vastly thick and heavy, they would be apt to bend, and the Point of the Fourth would be at so great a Distance from its Coulter-hole, that it would have the greater Power to loosen the Wedges, whereby the Coulter would rise up out of its Work, as it never doth when the Beam is made in this bending Manner. This Beam is made either of Ash, which is the lightest, or of Oak, which is the most durable. Its Depth and Breadth may vary, according to the heavier or lighter Soil it is to till; but this before us is in Depth Five Inches at the first Coulter-hole, and in Breadth Four Inches.

Fig. 4. Is the Sheat Q in Fig. 1. (broad Seven Inches) with the Iron Retch on it, the left Leg of which Retch must stand foremost, to the end that the Edge of its Fore-part, that is flat, may fit close to the Wood of the Sheat: This Retch holds the Sheat fast up to the Beam by its Nuts and Screws; as also doth a Pin driven into the Hole a, which Hole being a small Part of it within the Beam, the Pin being driven into the Hole, draws up the Sheat very tight to the Beam. The principal thing to be taken notice of here, is the Angle b c d, which shews the Elevation of the Sheat; the Line c d is supposed to be equal with the Bottom of the Share (or rather with the plain Surface whereon it stands); when this Angle at c is larger than of Forty-five Degrees, a common Plough never goes well: In my Four-coulter Plough I choose to have it of Forty-two or Forty-three at the most.

Fig. 5. Is the Share; a is the End of the Point; b is the Tail of the Share, long from a to b Three Feet Nine Inches; c the Fin; d the Socket, into which the Bottom of the Sheat enters; e a thin Plate of Iron riveted to the Tail of the Share: By this Plate, the Tail of the Share is held to the hinder Sheat, as at d in Fig. 1. by a small Iron Pin with a Screw at its End, and a Nut screw’d on it on the inner or right Side of that Sheat. From a to f is the Point, long about Three Inches and an half, flat underneath, and round at Top: It should be of hard Steel underneath. From f to c is the Edge of the Fin, which should be well steeled; the Length of it is uncertain, but it should never make a less Angle at f than it appears to make in this Fig. The Socket is a Mortise of about a Foot long, at the upper Part, Two Inches deep: The Fore-end of this Mortise must not be perpendicular, but oblique, conformable to the Fore-part of the Sheat which enters it; the upper Edge of which Fore-part must always bear against the Sheat at e in Fig. 4. but if this End of the Socket should not be quite so oblique as the Sheat, it may be help’d, by taking off a little of the Wood at the Point c.

Fig. 6. Shews the Share, with its right Side upwards, in the same Posture as when it plows; whose Side a b should be perfectly strait, but its under Side at c, which is its Neck, should be a little hollow from the Ground, but never more than half an Inch in any Plough, and a Quarter of an Inch in a Four-coulter Plough; so that the Share, when it is first made, standing upon its Bottom, bears upon the level Surface only in Three Places; viz. at the very Point a, at the Tail b, and at the Corner of the Fin d.

Fig. 7. Is the Share, turn’d Bottom upwards; and shews the Concavity of the Fin at a; which must be greatest in a stony rubbly Soil.

Fig. 8. Shews the Share, the right Side upwards, but leaning towards the Left.

In placing of the Share rightly upon the Sheat, consists the well going of a Plough, and is the most difficult Part of a Plough-wright’s Trade, and is very difficult to be shewn. Supposing the Axis of the strait Beam, and the left Side of the Share, to be both horizontal, they must never be parallel to each other; for if they were, the Tail of the Share, bearing against the Side of the Trench, as much as the Point, would cause the Point to incline to the right Hand, and go out of the Ground into the Furrow. If the Point of the Share should be set, so that its Side should make an Angle on the right Side of the Axis of the Beam, this Inconvenience would be much greater; and if its Point should incline much to the Left, and make too large an Angle on that Side with the Axis of the Beam, the Plough would run quite to the left Hand; and if the Holder, to prevent its running out of the Ground, turns the upper Part of his Plough towards the left Hand, the Fin of the Share will rise up, and cut the Furrow diagonally[259], leaving it half unplow’d; beside, the Plough will rise up at the Tail, and go all upon the Point of the Share: To avoid these Inconveniences, the strait Side of the Share must make an Angle on the left Side of the Beam, but so very acute, that the Tail of the Share may only press less against the Side of the Trench than the Point does. This Angle is shewn by the prick’d Lines at the Bottom of Fig. 1. where the prick’d Line e f is supposed to be the Axis of the Beam let down to the Surface, and the prick’d Line g f parallel to the left Side of the Share; but this Angle will vary as those Two prick’d Lines are produc’d forwards to the Fore-end of a long and a short Beam, keeping the same Subtense: For Plough-wrights always take this Subtense at the Fore-end of a Beam, whether it be a long Beam or short one; and it is the Subtense e g, that determines the Inclination the Point of the Share must have toward the left Hand. Plough-wrights differ much in this Matter; but, by what I can learn by those that make the Ploughs I see perform the best, this Subtense at the Fore-end of an Eight-feet Beam should never be more than one Inch and an half; and by full Experience I find, that whether the Beam be long or short, the Subtense must be the same; for when my Plough-wrights take this Subtense at Eight Feet from the Tail, when they make my Four-coulter Plough, whose Beam is Ten Feet Four Inches long, the Point of the Share will incline too much to the Left, and it will not go well until this Fault be mended, by taking the same Subtense quite at the End of the Beam; which makes the mentioned Angle more acute.

Fig. 3. Shews the right-hand Side, and upper Side of the Four-coulter Plough, of which V the Iron Ground-wrist is shewn in Fig. 9. long Two Feet Five Inches, deep at the End b Four Inches, and Three-eighths of an Inch thick, except at the End a, where it is thin enough to bend, so as to fit close to the Share, as at e, in Fig. 6. The Ground-wrist has Four small Holes near its End a, into one of which goes a Nail, to fasten it to the Shear, thro’ the long Hole in the Side of the Socket of the Share, as at a, in Fig. 10. and then it will stand in the Posture shewn by e f, in Fig. 6. From the Outside of the Ground-wrist at f, to the Outside of the Share at b, is Eleven Inches and an half, which is the Width of the lower Part of the Plough-tail at the Ground; the Ground-wrist has several Holes at the upper Side of its broadest End, as at b, in Fig. 9. by which it is nailed to the lower Part of the Drock T, as in Fig. 3. which Drock with its Perforations is shewn in Fig. 11.

Fig. 12. Is the Earth-board, with its Inside upwards; the Notch a b shews the Rising of the Wood, which takes hold of the Edge of the Sheat, to hold it the firmer, to which it is fastened by the Holes c and d; and at the other End it is fastened to the Drock, at the Hole e. All which is seen as it stands mark’d with W, in Fig. 3. But this Pin, with which it is fastened to the Drock, is bigger in the Middle than at each End; which prevents the Earth-board from coming near the Drock: By this Pin, the Earth-board is set at a greater or less Distance from the Drock, as there is Occasion to throw off the Furrow farther from the Plough at some times than at others: It always stands considerably farther out on the right Hand than the Ground-wrist does, which is one Reason that the Drock is made crooked, bending outwards in that Part.

The long Handle X is Fig. 13. long Five Feet Four Inches, broad in the widest Part Four Inches, pinned to the Sheat thro’ the Holes a b, and pinned to the Drock through the Hole c.

The short Handle S is Fig. 14. and is long Three Feet Nine Inches, pinned to the hinder Sheat (being Fig. 15.) by the Hole a, and to the Top of the Fore-sheat above the Beam by the Hole b.

The Handles are made so long, for the more easy guiding of the Plough; but the lazy Ploughman is apt to cut them off shorter, close up to the Plough, to the end that, bearing his whole Weight thereon, he may in a manner ride instead of walking; but if he should thus ride on long Handles, he would tilt up the Fore-end of the Beam, and raise the Share out of the Ground.

The chief, and most indispensably necessary thing to be observed, is, to place the Four Coulters in such a manner, that the Four imaginary Planes described by the Edges of the Four Coulters, as the Plough moves forwards, be all of them parallel to each other, or very nearly so; for if any one of them should be much inclined to, or recede from, either of the other three, they could not enter the Ground together. In order to place them thus, the Coulter-holes must be made through the Beam, in the manner as they are shewn in Fig. 3. viz. the Second Coulter-hole is Two Inches and an half more on the Right than the First, the Third, Two and an half more on the right Hand than the Second, and the Fourth, Two Inches and an half more on the right Hand than the Third, conformable to the Four Incisions or Cuts they are to make in a Ten-inch Furrow: And because no single Beam is broad enough to hold the Four Coulter-holes at this Distance, we are forced to add the Piece shewn in Fig. 16. The Second Hole is made Part in the Beam, and Part in this Piece; the Third and Fourth are made wholly in this Piece, in which a, b, c, are the Ends of the Three Screws, which fasten the Piece to the right Side of the Beam by their Nuts.

The Distance of Two Inches and an half, by which each of the Three added Coulters stand more to the right Hand than that immediately behind it, must be reckoned from the Middle of one Hole to the Middle of the other.

The Fore-part of every Hole must incline a little towards the Left; so that the Backs of the Coulters may not bear against the left Side of the Incisions made by the Edges.

Each Hole, being a Mortise, is one Inch and a quarter wide, with its Two opposite Sides parallel from Top to Bottom; each of these Mortises, or Holes, are long at Top Three Inches and an half, and at Bottom Three Inches; the Back-part, or Hinder-end, of each Coulter-hole is not perpendicular, but oblique, and determines the Obliquity of the Standing of the Coulter, which is wedged tight up to it by the Poll-wedge i, Fig. 1. as all Coulters are.

Fig. 17. Is a Coulter; a b is its Length, being Two Feet Eight Inches, before it is worn; e d is its Edge, Sixteen Inches long; d c is the Length of its Handle, Sixteen Inches; this is made thus long, at first, to stand above the Plough, that it may be driven down lower, according as the Point wears shorter; this Handle is One Inch and Seven Eighths broad, and Seven Eighths of an Inch thick, equally thro’ its whole Length: Its Breadth and Thickness might be described by a rectangled Parallelogram.

In all Ploughs this first Coulter is, or ought to be, placed in the Beam in manner following; viz. its Back to bear against the Back of the Coulter-hole, its right Side above to bear against the upper Edge of the Coulter-hole, and its left Side to bear against the lower Edge of the Coulter-hole; so that always Three Wedges at least will be necessary to hold the Coulter; the Poll-wedge before it, as at i, in Fig. 1. another Wedge on the left Side of it above, and a Third on the right Side underneath: The Coulter-hole must be so made, that the Coulter standing thus across the Hole, its Point may incline so much towards the Left, as to be about Two Inches and an half farther to the Left[260] than the Point of the Share, if it were driven down as low as it; but it never ought to be so low in any Plough: As to its bearing forwards, the Point of the Coulter should never be before the Middle of the Point of the Share: What Angle the Coulter would make with the Bottom of the Share, may be seen by the Posture it stands in, in Fig. 1. If it should be set much more obliquely, it would have a greater Force to raise up the Poll-wedge, and get loose.

The Three added Coulters should stand in the same Posture with this already described, in regard to the Inclination of their Points towards the Left: And this is a very great Advantage to them; for by this means, when the Fin is rais’d up, by turning the Handles towards the Left, their Points do not rise out of the Ground on the right Hand, as they would do without this described Inclination towards the Left; but in regard to their Pointing forwards, I find it best, that every one of the Three should be a little more perpendicular than that next behind it. So the Coulter 4 stands the nearest to Perpendicular of any of them. By this means there being more Room betwixt them above than below, they are the more easily freed from the Turf, whenever the Pieces, being covered with a great Quantity of Couch-grass, or the like, rise up betwixt them: which tho’ this seldom happens, makes a Necessity for a Man, or a Boy, to go on the Side with a forked Stick, to push out the Turf and Grass, which might otherwise fill the Spaces betwixt the Coulters, and raise up the Plough out of its Work.

’Tis to be observed, that none of these Coulters ought to descend so low as the Bottom of the Share, except when you plow very shallow: ’Tis always sufficient that they cut through the Turf, let the Plough go never so deep in the Ground.

It is necessary also, that when you plow very shallow, the Fin of the Share be broad enough to cut off the Fourth Piece or Furrow; else that, lying fast, will be apt to raise up the Ground-wrist, and throw out the Plough: But when you plow deep, the Ground-wrist will break off this Fourth Furrow, altho’ the Fin be not broad enough to reach it.

Sometimes the First or left Furrow is apt to come through betwixt the First Coulter and the Sheat, and so falls on the left-hand Side of the Plough: This is no Injury; but yet it is prevented, by letting the Second Coulter stand a little higher than the Third; and then the Second Furrow, holding the First at its Bottom, will carry it over, together with itself, on the right Side by the Earth-board; but yet never set this, or any of the Three added Coulters, so high that they may not cut through the Turf. But as for the first Coulter, tho’ it should cut but an Inch or Two within the Ground, the Share will break off the first Furrow in raising it up.

Remember, as often as the Point of any Coulter is worn too short, that you drive down the Coulter with a large Hammer, carried for that Purpose; and when it is driven low enough, fasten the Wedges again, so as to keep the Coulters in their right Postures, that their Incisions may be all of them equidistant.

Fig. 18. Is a Nut, with Two of its opposite Corners turn’d up, by which it is driven round by a Hammer, and has so great a Force, that Three of them, with their Screws properly placed, hold the Piece, Fig. 16. as fast to the Plough-beam, as if they both were made of one Piece of Wood; but as often as the Wood shrinks in dry Weather, the Nuts must be screw’d farther on, both here and in all other Places where they are used: particularly, those which hold up the Retch; for if the Sheat should once get loose, there is no Cure but by a new one.

Betwixt this Nut and the Wood, there should be a thin Iron Bolster, about the Thickness of a Shilling, broader than the Nut, to prevent the Nut from eating into the Wood, especially when it is to be often screw’d, as on the Retch of these Ploughs, and most of all on the Hoe-plough; but sometimes we use a Piece of Shoe-leather instead of an Iron Bolster.

Note, There must be Iron Plates upon all the Coulter-holes both above and below, Three of which are seen on the Piece in Fig. 16. There is no need to say how they must be nailed on with many Nails made for the Purpose.

Fig. 19. Is the Iron Collar, fastened to the Beam by Two short Crooks A, B, which take hold of Two short Pins driven into the Plough just behind the Second Coulter-hole, one on one Side, and the other on the other Side of the Beam. The Crook A is seen on the left Side of the Beam near c, in Fig. 2. the Crook B doing the same on the other Side of the Beam, which is seen near a, in Fig. 3. C is the Crook (for its Shape called a C) which holds the Tow-chain to the Collar by the Link D, being Part of the said Chain taking hold of its Fore-claw; the other Claw taking hold of one of the Five Notches of the Collar: This Collar is partly seen at d, in Fig. 2. Both the Claws of the Crook (or C) turn upwards, so that they cannot take hold of any thing that may rise under the Plough: The Use of the Notches is to help the Direction of the Point of the Share, which has been described by the prick’d Lines under Fig. 1. As the Point of the Share wears, it inclines a little more towards the Right, and is remedied by moving the Crook into a Notch nearer to the Left, which will direct the Point a little more towards the Left: This is more easy to be done here than in the common Plough, whose Collar moves round the Beam: We can, by changing the Crook from one Notch to another, incline the Point of the Share towards the Right or Left at Pleasure. The Length of each Side of this Collar is a Foot long.

The Tow-chain is best seen in Fig. 3. where the Link Y is that which passes thro’ the Box, and is pinned in by the Stake, as has been shewn in Fig. 1. which Stake is commonly nailed to the Box, to prevent its rising up. When we would draw up the Plough a little nearer to the Crow-staves, we take hold of the Crook by a Second or Third Link. Note, That the shortening of the Chain does also a little incline the Point of the Share towards the Left.

Fig. 20. is the Iron-wilds. The Leg A is of one Piece with that which has the Notch, and that passes thro’ the Leg B by the Loop at a; both which Legs pass thro’ the Box, and are pinned in behind it, by the crooked Pins C, D. This Figure is seen with its Crooks on it, both in Fig. 1. and Fig. 2. Note, That the Holes in the Box, thro’ which these Legs pass, must not be made at right Angles with the Box, but must incline upwards, so that the Fore-part of the Wilds may be higher than the Hinder-part, or else the Upper-part of the Crow-staves would lean quite back when the Plough is drawn. If the Beasts that draw immediately next to the Plough be very high, their Traces must be the longer; else they and the Wilds making too small an Angle with the Tow-chain at the Box, when they draw hard, the Wheels will rise from the Ground, and be apt to overturn: This Angle I suppose should not be less than of 160 Degrees, and the Angle made by the Tow-chain or Traces that are drawn by the Cattle that go before them, will make an Angle with the Tow-chain at the Box yet much more obtuse. The Use of these Notches in the Wilds is, to give the Plough a broader or narrower Furrow: If the Links are moved to the Notches on the right Hand, it brings the Wheels towards the left Hand, which gives a greater Furrow; and when the Links are moved towards the left Hand, it gives a less Furrow, by bringing the Wheels towards the right Hand.

The Distance betwixt the Two Legs of the Wilds is Eight Inches and an half; the Length of the Legs is Nineteen Inches. They must be of convenient Strength. The Links being placed in Notches distant from one another, prevents one Wheel from advanceing before the other; which would happen, if the Links were both in One Notch, or in Two adjoining Notches, except they were middle Notches: These Links are each Six Inches and an half long.

E is the Ring, by which the Two Links, and the Two Crooks F and G, are held together, and on which they all move.

The Height of the Wheels in Fig. 2. The left-hand Wheel is Twenty Inches Diameter; the Diameter of the right Wheel is Two Feet Three Inches; the Distance the Wheels are set from each other at the Ground, is Two Feet Five Inches and an half; the Crow-staves are One Foot Eleven Inches high, from the Box to the Gallows; they both stand perpendicular to the Box, and the Distance between the Crow-staves is Ten Inches and an half. The Pillow is pinned up at its Ends by Two small Iron Pins, which are chained to it, that if they drop, they may not be lost. These appear in Fig. 1. and Fig. 2. The Height from the level Surface, up to the Hole in the Box, where the Tow-chain passes through it, is Thirteen Inches (being Two Inches below the Holes of the Wilds, on the Hinder-side of the Box); the Height at the other End, where the Crook of the Collar takes hold of the Pin in the Beam at c, in Fig. 2. is Twenty Inches high above the same level Surface, and shews how much the Chain descends forward, for drawing down the Plough, and by which Descent may be known what Angle the Chain would make with the Surface, if it were produced forwards in a strait Line; which is a thing material for the good going of a Plough; and so is the Angle the Tow-chain makes with the Beam: About the Middle of this Tow-chain, there should be a Swivel, whereby one End of the Chain may turn without the other.

When this Four coulter Plough is made, I would advise, that it be tried with only the first Coulter, before the other Three are put in; for if the Plough does not go well with One Coulter, it is not likely it should go well with Four; and I never yet have seen or heard of any that went well with One Coulter, that did not also go well with Four, being placed as is here directed.

The Proofs of a Plough’s performing well are these; viz. If it makes a Furrow of an equal Depth on the right Hand and on the left, and turns it off fairly: If, in its going, the Tail of the Share, and the Bottom of the Drock, bear against the Bottom of the Furrow; and if it goes easy in the Hands of the Holder, without pressing one Arm more than the other; then the Plough is certainly a good one.

The Ploughman who is accustom’d to a Two-wheel’d Plough, never suffers the Wheels to overturn, in turning out at the Land’s End, from one Furrow to another; for which Purpose, after he has lifted the Plough a little round, he has a Knack of holding up the Crow-staves with the End of the Beam, by pressing his Hand hard against the Handle, whilst the Plough lies down on one Side, until the Horses, the Wheels, and the Plough, come near to a Line in the Beginning of the Furrow; and then he lifts up his Plough, and goes on.